A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers. Typically showing large, ostensibly witty slogans, and distinctive visuals, billboards are highly visible in the top designated market areas.
The largest standard-size billboards, known as Bulletins, are located primarily on major highways, expressways or principal arterials, and command high-density consumer exposure (mostly to vehicular traffic). Bulletins afford greatest visibility due not only to their size, but because they allow creative "Customizing" through extensions and embellishments.
Posters are the other common form of billboard advertising, located mostly along primary and secondary arterial roads. Posters are a smaller format than bulletins and are viewed principally by residents and commuter traffic, with some pedestrian exposure.
Billboards are Cost Efficient :
Billboards have the lowest cost per thousands of impressions than all other media types. Your ad is available to consumers 24/7 on a billboard so your ad spend efficiency increases dramatically compared to the intermittent coverage offered by radio, television, print, or internet.
If you have limited ad dollars to spend, a billboard has the potential for the widest in our increasingly fragmented media environment and the only media that is unavoidable.
Billboards Deliver Your Message :
Billboard advertisers dominate the media landscape by complementing our mobile lifestyles. Businesses can target the time starved consumer with a billboard message that says who you are and what you sell with a few short words and images that can't be turned off or thrown away like other media.
Billboard advertising is big, bold and colorful with unlimited creative potential to capture consumer interest and give your business a competitive edge. Outdoor is unbeatable for branding and local advertisers can access this same benefit widely used by national brands to tap into the psyche of consumers.
Outdoor gives you long term product recognition and reminds potential customers daily how to access your products. The durability of your message builds the credibility of your business.
Billboard Usage :
Billboard advertising can be relatively inexpensive depending on the size and location, but the expense must be weighed against the kind of message you want to get across. Billboards are a very quick read, so they shouldn't contain a lot of information. This type of advertising can be a great option if your campaign is one of awareness and branding, but it should be avoided if you want to convey a lot of information about your product or service. Six words is the ideal amount of copy on a billboard, and that can severely limit your ability to communicate with potential consumers.
You should also consider the content and tone of the billboard because this can have some negative side effects. Sexually provocative billboards have caused accidents on roads and motorways—the Wonderbra ads were infamous for this— and you don't want the negative publicity of car accidents being directly linked to your ad campaign or product.
