Hoardings and billboards haven’t been hit at all by the digital revolution. That is evident in the soaring demand for hoarding advertising services. Though the brunt of the first and second waves of the Covid-19 pandemic kept people indoors, eventually they needed to head outside for work, hanging out, picnics and the odd trip to the airport or train station. When they are on the road, nothing grabs their attention more than large hoardings. Even if they are driving, they cannot miss the hoardings. That’s why businesses just can’t afford to ignore billboard advertisements. They are one aspect of traditional advertising that just isn’t likely to die.
Why Hoardings Are Ideal Even for the Digital Age
Hoardings, also referred to “billboards”, can be created quickly with the help of an experienced hoarding advertisement service. Gone are those days of painstaking and precarious manual painting tasks. Today, thanks to digital printers you can get full-size hoardings printed, rolled up and transported to the location where the hoarding surface has been put up.
As you know, billboards are large wooden or metal surfaces erected on stands. The big advantage they offer is that they are large, keeping them in the line of sight of passing motorists. Because of the massive surface area, they just can’t be ignored. The other advantage is that the large canvas offers plenty of room for creativity.
Research by advertising agencies claims that over 50% of people remember the catchphrase they found on a hoarding. On the other hand, the engagement rate of digital marketing is only around 1% to 3%!
The Case for Hoardings and Billboards
The whole purpose of marketing campaigns is to reach out to the largest percentage of your target audience. That’s not all. The audience that views your marketing material must also end up showing interest in your products and services, and eventually buy them, increasing your sales revenue and giving you greater returns for all the investment you’ve put in. As long as that’s the goal, hoardings and billboards will continue to be around. Their prominence and the massive surface area they cover – points we’ve already mentioned – give you the greatest chance to attain greater ROI from them.
While all marketing strategies usually require businesses to reach out for leads, with hoardings, leads come to you. With your business contact number mentioned in the billboard, you could get direct calls, which could lead to a massive footfall in your stores or physical business location. A strategically placed hoarding with your address could directly draw people to your store.
Why the Physical Location of the Billboard Is Important
Strategic placement of the hoarding is essential if you are running a brick-and-mortar business or a physical store where you need people to visit your location. You could also be running an online ecommerce business, in which case the strategic physical location of the billboard is not so important. It is interesting to note that even wholly online businesses such as Amazon carry out hoarding marketing.
Designing the Hoarding Ad Content
Now we come to the actual design of the billboard. Just having it big and in-your-face doesn’t guarantee results. You need designs that impact readers. That calls for maximum creativity and innovation in hoardings design and installation.
- Remember, the attention span of pedestrians and passing motorists is very small. So there is no point in having large chunks of content.
- Billboards absolutely need graphic or visual elements that stand out. With short attention spans, readers’ minds can capture visual elements faster.
- When it comes to text, you need catchy captions and concise catchphrases plus a call to action with your phone number and/or address added. That means readers can come directly to you.
Some top brands, however, don’t provide any contact details in their billboard ad. That builds up curiosity in the readers, who then do everything they can to find out about the business and the services they offer either through Google or by asking around. Usually, such ads are placed at highways, though closer to the town or city these brands’ stores or offices are located. That makes it easier for motorists to find the business. However, many of these kinds of ads are more common for top brands that people are already aware of and are popularly visited by them.
Leads from billboards are usually quality leads that can be converted to customers easier and faster. And, as we’ve seen, with so many creative possibilities, it is unlikely that anyone wouldn’t get hooked to billboard ads.