Billboards when used correctly can be a very effective medium conveying your message to thousands of people on a daily basis. Billboards are big (huge in Joburg) so they make your company look successful.
You have +-100m and 10 seconds (20 secs in Cape Town) to attract the eye, convey a message and create a memory within the mind of the viewer. The design needs to be well planned and based around the client's objectives which could include branding, a call to action or driving traffic to a website (no pun intended). If it's your contact information you want them to see then why put these up so small that one would need a 20ft magnifying glass just to read them?
Print campaigns are often extended to include billboard advertising and it seems that in this lies one of the problems. Often the print advert is just blown up and pasted on a billboard with no thought given to whether it will convey the correct message. Billboards are a medium on their own and should be treated as such.
Brainstorm considers the following elements to be vital when conceptualising a Billboard:
Billboard Design 101 • Ensure that the headline and/or visual is captivating
• Attract the eye
• Communicate simply (stay away from complicated concepts)
• Make sure the headline is big bold and easy to read
• Ensure that any contact details are big and bold
• Keep the contact no. simple if possible like 0800 4 water, as people are whizzing by in a vehicle.
Brainstorm believes in approaching advertising from within the eyes of the consumer. We get inside their heads and look through their eyes. Other elements we consider are obtaining detailed knowledge of the location before putting the billboard up, looking at the size of the space and the flow of traffic, as well as from what angles the billboard will be viewed. This approach ensures that the advert will be readable and that the message will be conveyed effectively.
Have a look at a billboard we would design to advertise ourselves. Note the catchy and bold headline and how simple the design is. Keep in mind that all though we are a fully fledged advertising agency and offer services including advertising and marketing campaigns, graphic design for signage, leaflets, brochures, websites, multimedia CD's, events public relations and so on we are not trying to say all that. All we have focussed on is that we are expert billboard designers. We are not trying to use the billboard as a magazine editorial.
That amazing artwork has little value unless you communicate clearly. Put us to the test, let us re-design a billboard for you or create a 50ft advert that will reach your brand objectives. Brainstorm - Rethinking advertising, making it work for you!
