Why Billboards Have Got It All Wrong

By Cory Fossum
Principal, Fossum Creative


We all have our opinions about billboards. Some people like them. Others say they’re an eyesore... they’re a distraction... they’re inappropriate. I can’t really dispute any of those.

But when done correctly, they’re also pretty effective at getting a message out.
I mean, where else are you going to find a guaranteed daily audience of thousands of people just begging for something to look at? Better yet, most members of this audience repeat the drive week in and week out, so every day you get a chance to remind them of your business and products.

The problem is that many of the folks who write and design billboards are getting it all wrong. And they’re completely blowing a fantastic marketing opportunity in the process.

As I found myself stuck in traffic last week, I took a closer look at some of the more troublesome billboards. They reminded me of three of the top problems I see in marketing and advertising these days:

1. The copy is too small and can’t be read.
I drove past one billboard that had a tiny block of copy in the middle of a giant graphic. I’m sure it said something clever, but I’ll never know because I couldn’t read it.

Instead of digesting the marketing message the company wanted me to read, I spent my time simply trying to see the words themselves. (By the way, my eyesight is still really good, so that wasn’t the problem.)

By the time I drove by, not only had I missed the message, but I didn’t even get a chance to see who the message was from. The company had completely wasted the sign on me.

Lesson: If there's copy to be read, be sure that people can read it.

If you’re designing a billboard, make sure the text is large enough to be seen from a car passing by. Or if you’re designing a web site or magazine ad, make sure the font is big and bold enough that no one has to squint to read it.Otherwise, you’re just wasting your money on a blown opportunity.

2. The ad is too clever for it’s own good.
There were a few billboards that I simply didn’t get. One of them used a pun that made no sense to me. On another one, I couldn’t figure out what the tagline had to do with the image. I was just dumbfounded.

If I had had more time, I’m sure the lightbulb would have gone on for me in each case. But I was driving. I didn’t have time to digest a really clever ad. And I wasn’t going to risk an accident trying to figure it out.

Once again, not only did I miss the message, I missed out on who it was from. Another company had wasted a bunch of prime real estate on me.

Lesson: You only have a few seconds at most to make an impression on your targets. Don’t waste them trying to be cute and clever.

Your readers are either trying to get home really fast, or they’re trying to skip through the pages to get to the main article. They won’t always stop to figure out your ad. Instead, spend the brief time you have making sure the readers understands the benefits of your product or services.

And then make sure they know who you are. Which leads me to my third point.

3. The company name can't be seen.

This one blew my mind. I made it through the tagline. I got the point. But I had no idea what company or product the billboard was advertising.

When I got close enough, I noticed a company name in the bottom right corner. But it was so small that I couldn’t make it out.

What was the point? Did it get in the way of the clever ad? Did the logo look bad with the graphic treatment the designer had created? Or had someone just lifted a magazine ad and slapped it on a billboard. Whatever the reason, there is really no excuse for this.

Lesson: If your reader doesn’t know who the message is from, the message is a failure. There are no two ways around this.

So make sure that your company name and logo is prominently displayed on any and all of your marketing communications.

Also, be aware of your medium. While a small company logo may work on a regular print ad, it probably won’t be seen on a billboard where your readers are cruising by at high speeds. Be sure your creative team knows the difference.

Now I know that you probably aren’t designing billboards. But take a look at some of your own marketing communications and see if you're committing any of these blunders yourself.

And if you are, find a way to fix them right away. Your marketing dollars are limited. So be sure to use them wisely.

© 2005, R. Cory Fossum. All rights reserved.

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