Monday, January 25, 2010

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING

Why should you/your client use Billboards?

Billboard business is all about location, because a billboard with a good location (on an Interstate or major highway) can have more viewers than the super eagles. Another great benefit of outdoor advertising is that it does not interrupt consumers in any way. There's no obnoxious sound, smell or other type of negative attention grabber. Billboards get noticed because of their messages, bright bold colors and creative graphics. Small businesses benefit the most from billboard advertising. Billboards are becoming more and more popular today. Perhaps it's because they reach more people for cheaper prices than any other type of media. Or perhaps it's because people are spending much more time in their vehicles now than ever before. Since billboard advertising is increasing so much, I think it is very important for all business owners and everyone involved in advertising to know the basics of billboards.

Rather than restricts ourselves to discussion on billboards only, in the next few weeks, Advertising Research Resource will be taken a total outlook on OUTDOOR ADVERTISING in general.

During this period, a lots of comments are expected from the gurus in the outdoor advertising industry to help sharpens our knowledge and how to get the most out of the medium.

Therefore, the series in outdoor advertising on this forum will properly take off next week where we will examine the origin of outdoor advertising in the world.

Before then however, let us have some flavour and a taste of what to expect. Happy reading!

Information about Billboards in Nigeria.
  • Outdoor advertising is the oldest and most basic type of advertising.
  • More people can view one particular billboard than AIT Television Station. The fact remains that the billboard must be located in a high traffic area.
  • Billboards are viewed nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by billions of different people.
  • OAAA did a study in 1999 that says people glance at 70% of the billboards they pass. Of these billboards, 63% are actually read. Most other types of media can not compare to this. And that is the fact.

Important things you should consider before placing your Billboard Ads.

If your product is a premium brand, and you have a specific targeted market; you should consider placing your billboards ads in places like; Lagos, Port-Harcourt and Abuja. A place can be very populated like Oyo state and very few people will be able to afford your product. That is because majority of the people there are low income earners. That does not mean that there will not be some people who will be able to afford your product, it only means you must be very tactical about the way you go about your campaign in such places.

If your focus is in Lagos, Nigeria for example, then you should concentrate effort in places like Aja, Lekki, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Ikeja, Magodo, Festac, some areas in Mafoluku Oshodi and a few other places where people that can afford your product stays.

If your product is for the low income earners like affordable toilet soap, you should concentrate more effort in places in Lagos like Ajegunle, Oshodi, Egbeda, Idimu, Ikotun, Agege, Ogba and some other few places.

Your brand will be more appreciated in these areas rather than just placing your billboard anywhere.

Reach

  • Billboards in Lagos reaches 80% of all Lagos population,
  • Television commercials (which ranks #1) reaches 85% of all Lagos population.

Other type of Media

  • The average person must see a television commercial at least seven times before they actually remember viewing the commercial. When one thinks about how much this will cost, one would realize that its true that:
  • Outdoor Advertising costs 80% less than television advertising, 60% less than newspaper ads, and 50% less than radio advertisements.

Billboard Facts

  1. Repetition is extremely helpful when you are trying to increase your product awareness, or when you simply want to get your message across to millions of people. This task can easily be accomplished with billboard campaigns.
  2. Outdoor advertising makes it extremely easy to target, or not to target, a specific market.
  3. Billboards are usually the final message we see right before we purchase an item. So why not direct everyone to your product?

Driving Trends

  • People are spending more time in their vehicle than they do to read the paper and watch the news! For example, the traffic in Lagos, Nigeria makes it possible for you to spend about six (6) hours on the road to work and back. For those that live on the mainland and work on the island will understand perfectly what I am writing about.
  • OAAA did a study in 1999 that says people glance at 70% of the billboards they pass. Of these billboards, 63% are actually read.
  • How do billboard rates compare to other types of advertising?
  • Outdoor advertising has a lower cost per thousand (CPM) than any other type of advertising. Outdoor ads cost 80% less than television commercials, 60% less than newspaper ads, and 50% less than radio ads.
  • Billboards have been rated higher than any other type of advertising for their ability to communicate ideas at the lowest possible prices.
  • Outdoor advertising has a larger audience than any other type of advertising. Outdoor advertising is the only type of media that has constant exposure. No other type of advertising allows your message to be displayed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • Ads on billboards are free to consumers; you do not have to buy a magazine, cable television, or a newspaper to see your advertisement.

Materials placed on billboards space. (Vinyls)

When you pay for a billboard space, you are told the money is for ‘Picture Area only (PAO)’, which means, the money does not include the printing for the material placed on the billboard. Vinyls are the materials pasted on billboards. A majority of the billboards with beautiful and complicated graphics have vinyls on them. These vinyls are printed on a wide format printer. Most vinyls are protected with a special Ultra-Violet coating that allows the vinyls to last for years.

SAV Vinyls- These vinyls have sticky backsides. Since SAV vinyls have sticky backgrounds, they cannot be moved.

Flex Vinyls- are the most common type of vinyl. These vinyls do not have sticky backs like adhesive vinyls, instead they are "hung" on the edges of the boards. Flex vinyls can be easily be moved to several different locations.

Backlit- This material is very similar to flex, except that it is like a mesh. It has the ability to reflect light that are placed at the back of the material. They are the one you usually see reflecting so much light from inside the billboard at night. They are usually a little more expensive than ordinary flex.


NB: Story culled for the forum users