Deciding whether to run your out of home campaign on billboards, benches, transit or Wild Posting® is actually only part of the equation. Once you decide on the format, you need to settle on the type of campaign you want to run, brand awareness or call to action.
Both are effective, and both can work for just about any type of company across industries. Your decision depends on many factors, including:
- Age of your company.
- Goals for your campaign.
- Location of the campaign.
How can you land on the type of campaign that’s right for you? Read on to learn what each campaign style delivers. You can always contact us for help if you’re still not sure where yours would fall.
Brand Awareness Campaign
Aim: To Create Awareness of a Brand and Its Services
A brand awareness campaign does exactly what it sounds like. It lets people know about your company and what you do. This type of campaign works best for newer companies whose identity and services may not be widely known.
The goal is to familiarize people with what you offer and imprint your brand in their minds for the future. Then, your company will pop into their head when they try to remember who can help them with a particular issue.
Billboards accomplish brand awareness very effectively. A board for this type of campaign is simple and acts as a showcase for your products. You tell people what you have available and hope they are interested.
Best Location for Brand Awareness Billboards
For a brand awareness campaign, you want people to view your billboard daily. That means placements in a high-visibility, high-traffic area, such as right by the highway. If someone sees your board on the way to work every day, they become used to the branding.
What Type of Company Should Use Brand Awareness?
While it’s open to any company, new businesses and startups will get the most from a brand awareness campaign. They are building from nothing and need people to recognize their offerings. Brand awareness alerts people to your existence quickly, whereas it could take months for public relations efforts to generate a story in the local paper or a blog.
What Should a Brand Awareness Billboard Convey?
A board promoting brand awareness should showcase your brand and services. For instance, if you have a new restaurant, you want to identify what you do and what you sell. You might have pictures of the food you sell or the interior of your dining room, along with creative that says you have the best wings in town.
Tie Into Existing Campaigns
One fantastic aspect of out of home advertising is how well it complements other forms of media. It can reinforce messages being delivered elsewhere and vice versa. You may pursue a brand awareness campaign that ties into another campaign you run on digital or social. Echoing the same creative themes will build your audience faster, as you can increase recognition across platforms.
You also want to build on local knowledge to ensure your campaign is a success. That can mean:
- Identifying the best demographics to advertise to and targeting the board in neighborhoods where they live, work or commute.
- Referencing a local landmark, saying or cliché to show your authenticity.
- Keeping the concerns of locals top of mind in all your advertising efforts.
Best Creative for Brand Awareness Campaigns
A brand awareness billboard should be simple, with big, bold wording and a noticeable logo. It keeps viewers top of mind, with easy-to-understand messaging. You can showcase your products on the board, too.
The best brand awareness campaigns can be reused year to year because the creative is so strong. There shouldn’t be anything to date the campaign. They serve as a refresh to put your brand back on people’s radar, and hopefully the repeat will spark memories of the previous campaign.
Call to Action Campaign
Aim: To Spark People to Do Something Related to Your Product
Call to action (CTA) campaigns try to get people to take action. A billboard may direct you to visit a website, call the business for more information, or purchase a product. The aim is to drive results, though the desired result varies by industry. You want people to be so moved by your billboard that they do something proactive.
Often companies meet this goal by sharing special pricing or promotional offers on the billboard. They might direct viewers to visit the store or go to a website to cash in on the deal.
Ways to Track CTA Results
How can you tell if your call to action billboard is connecting? You can use tools to track responses, such as:
- Special hashtags only associated with the board. You can see when and where they’re used across social media sites.
- Dedicated websites or landing pages unique to the campaign.
- Phone numbers unique to the campaign.
Most Effective Messaging for CTA Campaigns
The best way to connect with people through a CTA campaign is to employ commanding language. Your message should cause a reaction with viewers. Employing phrases such as “now out,” “limited time” or “call now” creates urgency in your message. People take action immediately because they think time could be running out.
Best Creative for CTA Campaigns
Bold and pointed creative that funnels people to the action mechanism works best for CTA campaigns. You can also consider using a directional if you have a store or restaurant located close to the billboard. Directionals point drivers toward your business. It might be an arrow pointing toward your story, or it could be an exit number where your business is located. (Think of McDonald’s billboards along the highway that tell you where the next Mickey D’s is located.)
Every CTA campaign billboard should include at least one of the following that invite people to take action:
- Hashtag.
- Phone number
- Website.
- Address.
- Arrow/directional.
- QR code.
By building your campaign around the proper type of billboard, you will get better results and connect with the right potential customers to build your business. Reach out to us to get started.