Outdoor advertising works well for promoting your product inspecific geographic areas. While billboards, bus benches, andtransit advertising can be very effective for the small-businessowner, any successful outdoor campaign begins with your ownlocation’s signage.
Your outdoor sign is often the first thing a potential customersees. Your sign should be sufficiently bright and conspicuous toattract attention (without being garish) and sufficientlyinformative to let prospective customers know what’s soldthere.
Ride around town and observe which signs catch your eye. Notewhich ones don’t. Then think of the impression each sign gives you.Remember that you never get a second chance to make a firstimpression, so give this important marketing tool your bestefforts.
If you’re involved in a business that has a fleet of vehiclesconducting deliveries or providing a service, your company’s name,logo, and phone number should be clearly visible on the vehicles.It’s free advertising that allows you to increase your exposure inyour market.
Billboards are most effective when located close to the businessadvertised. Because of their high cost, they’re usually used toreach a very large audience, as in political campaigns. They’relikely to be too expensive for most small firms, and somecommunities have strict ordinances governing the placement ofbillboards. In Vermont, for example, they’re prohibited.
Bus-bench advertising is an excellent medium because it’s highlyvisible, like a billboard. Essentially, bus-bench advertisers havea huge audience, held captive at red lights or in slow-movingtraffic. An account executive of a Los Angeles-based bus benchmanufacturing company said that an advertisement on one bus benchat a busy Los Angeles intersection would be seen by 35,000 to50,000 people per day.
Usually, the advertising consists of simple two-color artworkwith your company’s name, brief copy describing the product orservice, address and phone number. Rates and terms vary dependingon the city you’re in.
Call your city’s mass transit department or local bus company tofind out who rents advertising space on their bus-stop benches.Some outdoor advertising companies also handle this type ofadvertising.
Transit advertising on buses and taxicabs reaches lots ofpeople, especially commuters. Your ad is highly visible, and marketresearch on transit advertising shows that it’s very effective.
