Creating A Real Estate Billboard Campaign: Best Practices

Here are some best practices for creating a real estate billboard campaign:

1. The fewer the words, the better: Considering that people are on the move when they read billboards, allot for about six seconds of reading time; that’s the industry average for reading a billboard. So, six words is about the max that you have to get your message across. Being concise is tough, but too much text will get passed by. If you have a sophisticated brand, product or service, you should stay away from billboards completely.
2. Get noticed, but don’t distract: Most of the time, billboards target drivers, bikers, cyclists or pedestrians. You have just a few seconds to get a message across to people who are on the move, which creates an interesting dilemma for the advertiser. You want to get noticed, but you don’t want to cause any accidents.
3. Billboards are not for direct response: There are some genuinely awful billboards covered in phone numbers and website addresses, and without a doubt, people are not calling those numbers or visiting those websites.
4. Remember, they’re not the be all, end all: A billboard is an effective secondary advertising medium, which means that it’s ideal for brand-building and supporting a campaign, but it just can’t do the heavy lifting. Billboards are the wrong medium for anything other than a quick message.
5. Don’t be too clever: A boring billboard will get no attention. A smart billboard will grab the attention and leave a lasting impression. A billboard that’s trying too hard to be clever, well, more than likely, it will get lost on the audience.
6. The more billboards, the better: One billboard is not cheap — but it’s also not very practical either. Billboards are a mass market medium, but they need more than one location. You want as many eyes on them as possible, which is a compelling argument to go with digital billboards to get on more signs in heavily trafficked areas.
7. Get creative: Get creative with your billboard ideas. A flat billboard is the standard, but it doesn’t have to be the norm.
8. Keep it simple, stupid: A billboard is a quick read. Most of the time, you see it as you speed past it in your car, so it needs to get the message across as efficiently as possible.
9. Be wary of logo size: You might be tempted to spend your valuable space on your logo. That would ring true if your logo were easily recognizable like the golden arches or the Coca-Cola ribbon. If your logo is not that iconic, it’s better to match logo with words that make an impact and drive awareness.