We recently published an article about the many advantages of billboard advertising, and now we’re going to take deeper dives into each of the ways that billboard can benefit your brand. This entry is about how billboard ads get you noticed.
Billboards Get You Noticed by Capturing Attention
We’re in the advertising business, but even we can admit that our lives tend to be oversaturated with marketing messages coming at us from all angles. As a result, most Americans have gotten pretty good at tuning many of them out. Consider the following numbers representing the percentage of Americans who ignore each type of ad:
Source: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140211005607/en/Goo-Study-Most-of-Us-Ignore-Online-Ads
If that makes you wonder whether your advertising efforts (and budgets) are worth it, have faith. Out-of-home advertising in the form of billboards offers some more encouraging statistics. According to research, over 70% of travelers deliberately notice billboards, and 37% notice billboard ads each or most times they drive past one.
Furthermore, 56% report mentioning a funny or interesting billboard to others. But we think the most impressive statistic is that roughly 82% of people who viewed a given billboard sign over a month ago were able to recall the ad.
Other forms of advertising tend to come at us all at once, when we’re not interested, or find them to be an unwelcome distraction. Billboard ads, on the other hand, appear to capture attention because they stand out when you’re in the car where you have far fewer messages disrupting what you’re doing.
Billboard Ads Are Noticeable Because You Can’t Turn Them Off or Miss Them
On top of how we’re all learning to ignore ads on screens, online and TV advertising impressions are dependent upon your audience turning on a device and having it on when your ad appears. Billboard signs aren’t subject to that limitation.
When someone drives by your out-of-home advertisement, it’s always on. Even in the middle of the night drivers will see your ad because billboards typically have lighting and/or are placed at intersections with ample street lighting. Of course, digital billboards provide their own illumination.
Furthermore, in sizes ranging from 12 by 24 feet (“poster” billboards) to 20 by 60 feet (“bulletins” and “spectaculars”), it’s hard to miss billboard signs, even if you were trying to. And often when people are in their cars – either on long stretches of highway or stopped waiting at traffic signals – there may be little else interesting to look at. We’re sure that there are times when drivers actually welcome seeing billboard ads, especially if they’re funny or include exceptional graphic design.
Billboard Ads Get You Noticed by Increasing Your Exposure
Because of the 24/7 exposure offered by billboard signs, out-of-home advertising allows you to target a more diverse audience than other types of ads. And 98% of us have been in a car at least once in the last month, and the average person drives 25 miles during the hour or more they spend in the car each day. It’s almost impossible to spend that much time and travel that distance without seeing billboards. Plus, odds are that those drivers will see a given outdoor ad multiple times in a week – or even a day!
The nature of billboard advertising has the ability to increase both your number of impressions (the total number of times, on average, people see your ad) and your reach (the overall percentage of your target audience who will see your ad at least one time). Both impressions and reach maximize your opportunities to:
- Boost your brand awareness
- Get new customers to notice your business
- Build trust
- Make your message memorable
Get Noticed with Billboard Advertising
We hope this article has convinced you that billboard advertising is more than worthy of your ad dollars and that you’ll consider incorporating it into your advertising mix – if you haven’t already. Give us a call today, and we’ll help you select the perfect location and design an outdoor ad that will get your brand noticed.