Billboard creative is a smart concept and a simple clear message. As long as you remember concept and simple, you will always deliver billboard creative that is memorable and effective.
WARNING: If you believe in putting as much information on a billboard as possible so you feel like you are getting your moneys worth, stop reading and keep doing what you’ve been doing because I bet my paycheck you are one of those self-taught Adobe Creative Suite gurus and have some sort of a degree in marketing so you feel that empowers you to do creative work. Sorry, but since they made CS3 available to the public, everyone thinks they know how to do creative, and billboards were the first to suffer.
Keep It Simple
You should not put more than 12 words on a billboard. Now, some will disagree with me on this but if your billboard is in a high traffic area you can get away with 12 word
s. For example, I was in Boston sitting in a car on the way to a client meeting, sitting in stop and go traffic and I saw this billboard. I had plenty of time to read it and the concept was simple.
So, let’s say your billboard is along a highway that’s 65 mph and everyone does 85 mph - you really need to keep it simple. To make this happen, you have to distill the message down to its simplest form. This is one of your key goals in creating great billboard creative - what is the key message, and how can you express it in the fewest possible words?
Legible Type Styles
There are a lot of type styles out there - and most of them should never be used on a billboard. Most of the highly stylized type styles that are popular in magazine spreads and MySpace layouts are completely inappropriate in billboards, although many graphic people refuse to acknowledge this. If you look at a typeface and go wow that’s a killer font, think about ONLY using it to lay out a haunted house flyer. The type styles you use must be easy to read. Those include simple styles such as a sans serif. Always use styles that have very bold, thick strokes - they are easier to read at far distances. If the viewer can’t read your copy, what it the point of the billboard?
Graphic Must Convey
If you are going to put a picture in the billboard make sure that it compliments the concept and helps tell the story. For example, a restaurant might want to show they have fresh salads. You could just show a real high quality photo of a salad and call it a day, or they could visually show how fresh the salads are.
Test and Re-test
Once you have a design that meets these criteria, you have to test it on some sample consumers to see if it works. These may be, in the simplest form, some of your co-workers. Now, I can tell you that if you and your media director are in harmony and know where the billboard is going to be running that might help your idea. If you are not in harmony, their idea of what is readable and your idea of what is readable might turn into a screaming match.
So tape the finished billboard concept to a distant wall, and then have the guinea pig (Media Director) walk toward the wall and tell you when they can see it clearly and what it means (try as best as you can to replicate the distance and size that the billboard will be seen). Be sure to use a color printout, so you don’t cheat with the simple, high-contrast black and white version. An award winning billboard will have good visibility at a distance as long as most of the copy is legible - yet just the headline grabs the viewer’s attention and makes them want to read the balance of the billboard.
Conclusion
There is no magic to producing great billboard ad copy. In fact, when you get away from the simple, time-proven roots of great copy and a great simple concept is when you fail in your mission. You may be tempted to stray from these logical benchmarks to create “edgy” advertising (I just threw up in my mouth) - but instead all you will create is an embarrassment. Due to the difficulty in reading a
billboard ad at 65+ mph from 1,000’, a lot of the creative things that work in print ads just don’t apply here.
So if you want to be known for having billboards that really sell a product or service and create brand awareness, you need to stick to the points outlined above. Remember, ideas rule the world. If you can articulate clearly, and visually demonstrate your product or service so your billboard is memorable, y ou don’t need us. The good news is for the 99% of you reading this we’re here to help you.
Joe Easton
Creative Director
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