by BIG Mike McDaniel
Copyright 2005
http://BigIdeasGroup.com
More about advertising from BIG Mike McDaniel
Several years back the billboard people put a
big picture of "Sharlene Wells, Miss America" on billboards
all over town. She was everywhere. The clever use of the girl
had two purposes; the first was to cover up all the unsold boards.
The second was to show the effectiveness of billboard advertising.
Surveys were conducted before and after the one
month showing of Sharlene’s pretty mug. Before, only 1.5%
of people surveyed could recall her name when asked "Who
is Miss America". After, the number jumped to an amazing
12%.
The billboard people pointed to this example
as proof of the power of outdoor advertising. It gave them the
open door to pitch hundreds of potential new customers.
If you bought 50 billboards in your town and
used the Miss America approach, people would surely know your
name, too.
Here’s the skinny on outdoor advertising;
billboards.
You MUST Plan Ahead
First, outdoor is not a "quick fix". If sales are down,
you can’t quickly put up a few boards to boost the numbers.
You must plan ahead. Lead time is not short when using outdoor.
The best use of boards is for image building and brand awareness.
They are not cost effective for one time only sales or non-repeating
special events. Billboards are image builders. Using billboards
is akin to TV, it can mean you have "arrived" as a formidable
business.
Most are sold for a minimum of one month. You
pay twice. First for the board location and second for the media
used to put your ad on the board, paint, paper or plastic.
Paints
Painted billboards are the oldest form of outdoor advertising.
They are painted with special outdoor paint that is weather resistant.
Some outdoor paints are specially formulated to resist fading.
Painted billboards are also known as "painted bulletins"
but most commonly as "paints".
Papers
Poster Boards may be the best known. We have all seen the billboard
guy hanging off the ladder with the swirling wallpaper-like panels
being pushed into place with the big glue broom.
Poster Boards are printed on 8 to 30 sheets of
heavy paper, depending on the size. Posters with 8 sheets (6 x
12 feet) are called juniors. Regular boards use 30 sheets and
make a 12 x 25 foot sign, counting the heavy metal frame. They
are called 30-sheets.
Some old timers refer to poster boards as "papers"
and "paper bulletins". Papers look good for about a
month, depending on the weather. Nothing looks worse than an old
paper board, unattended for long periods where the wind and weather
has ripped and torn the panels torn away revealing layers of old
signs.
Plastic
All the rage now is the use of vinyl on boards. This allows for
better color, longer life and very fine graphics. If vinyl boards
had been available when they did the Miss America test, people
would still be in love with the lady on the board.
Vinyls are printed with a special printer, not
unlike your computer printer. Once sprayed with the ultra-violet
finish coat, vinyls can last for years. Vinyls are easy to spot.
They look brighter and better than traditional paper boards, Wind
has a tendency to get under them can make them ripple, as they
are normally not glued to the surface, but attached at the edges.
These are called "flex vinyls" and can be moved from
board to board without damage. Some vinyls are slipped over old
paper boards like a sack and you can see the outline of the paper
board’s metal boarder under the vinyl.
Bulletins are the giant boards you often see
along Interstates. They can be as big as 20 x 60 feet or as small
as 10 1/2 x 36 feet. Many of these large boards are supported
by one huge metal pipe in the middle. Rotary bulletins are the
same as bulletins but are moved every 60 days (hence the term
rotary).Some bulletins are painted, most use plastic.
Showings
Boards have ratings like TV shows, called Gross Rating Points
(GRP). Each board has a traffic count, and when divided by the
population, the result is a GRP. Billboard sales are usually made
in GRPs. Meaning you buy a 25 showing or a 50 or 75 or 100 showing.
A 25 showing would mean that at least 25% of the population would
see one of your boards at least once a day. A 25 showing could
take one board, three or many, depending on the traffic count
and the population. It is possible to buy only one board, but
not cost effective. After you decide to use outdoor, you have
to pay for printing the paper or vinyls and they usually come
in units of 10.
The best goal is to get a 100 showing. Studies
have shown that in a 100 showing, advertisers can reach 88% of
the adults 28 times a month. In a 50 showing, advertisers can
reach 83% of adults 15 times a month.
Cost
For example, a recent 50 showing in Salt lake City included 84
boards and cost $22,512 for one month (the 1- Month Rate). Buying
that many boards brought the cost per board to under $275. Don’t
expect a rate this low for smaller markets or a one or two board
buy. In most cities the average billboard costs $400 to $600 a
month.
Some board locations are stacked. Opinions vary
as to whether top or bottom position is better. Some boards are
"tri-vision" mechanically turning small panels to reveal
3 different ads every 30 seconds.
There are other forms of outdoor. The giant single
pole super boards along the Interstates are best used for spur
of the moment sales "next exit" and "clean restrooms".
Small 4x8 painted boards stuck on a post in a
farmer’s yard must be fixed and redone by you regularly.
Let it sag or fall over just once and you image can go with it.
Here are BIG Mike’s Tips for Better Billboard
Advertising.
+ Buy at least a 50 showing and do it every other
month. Many times if the board is not sold after your time runs
out,it will remain up for free until replaced.
+ Be sure some if not most are lighted locations.
+ Choose stand alone rather than stacked if you
have a choice.
+ Don’t let the board salesperson select
the locations for you.
+ Buy vinyls instead of paper or paint and bleed
the graphic off the edge (so it wraps around the back of the board).
Makes you ad look even bigger
+ Keep the concept short and clever. Offer a
solution to their problem, entice them with something new. Avoid
same ol’ same ol’.
+ Use the rule of never more than 8 words and
one picture. Remember, most readers will be zooming by in a car
or truck.
+ Don’t put your picture on the board. Remember
the cardinal rule of sales. It’s not all about YOU,it’s
all about THEM.
+ Make outdoor a budget item and plan in advance.
Spend most of your time working on the concept and design, ‘cause
once it’s up there, it can’t be changed and will been
seen by everybody.
Final Thought
FYI - Miss America 2005 Deidre Downs.
