Our #1 Rule for Outdoor Advertising
If you Google “billboard design tips,” you’ll have no problem finding advice like simplicity is key, large text, only one message, yada, yada, yada. While these are essential, they don’t make a good ad.
Before we make a billboard legible, we follow this single rule:
don’t.
be.
boring.
Good God, there’s a lot of boring, ignorable, forgettable, practically invisible, pointless outdoor advertising out there. I love this quote from Eddy Herty, Creative Director at OUTFRONT Media, “100% of boring ads don’t matter.” It can’t be said better than that.
Simple directionals like the above Sonic billboard have a place, but this billboard is on a local commuter street. Most of the viewers drive by this billboard AND the store every day, yet this ad doesn’t tell them anything they don’t already know. Completely ignorable.
Your ad needs to be compelling—something people aren’t expecting, something they don’t know already, something that punches them right in the gut. This can be done with a smart headline or a captivating visual or both that work together.
Our 3D billboard campaign for Sonic was visually arresting. From a mile away, you could see enormous blocks of color coming straight for you. As you got closer, the whole thing came into focus. Oh, there’s a straw sticking out of it. It’s a slush. Sonic. Grape and blackberry. It is hot out. Imma get one. Hey Siri, reroute me to the closest Sonic.
You can tell people where to go all year long, but if they’re not interested in or even aware of what you’re selling, they’re not buying.
Don’t waste your out of home media dollars on boring creative. Let’s talk.
