An incorrect design in your outdoor media advertising could be the same thing as flushing money down the toilet. A nice little trick to help you determine if the next billboard or bus shelter artwork has the impact and readability to meet your objectives is to apply the rule of thumb, literally. If you have the artwork in your computer open the file and make sure to zoom it until it fits the screen (you should be able to see from top to bottom and left to right).
If you have a hard copy, tape it to a wall or ask someone to hold it for you. Now step back… keep walking getting away from it until you see the art is tiny enough to fit in your thumbnail. Now answer to yourself, how does it look? Can you read the text? If the layout looks like a tiny little mess and there is now way to read the copy you might be wasting your money. Notice I used the word "might".
The thing is the when most billboards and bus shelters are designed, clients still don't know the location in which they are going to be placed. If you're lucky to find the availability (and the budget) to place your ad on a traffic jam hot spot it is very likely that drivers will have time to read it and figure out its meaning. But if such piece ends up everywhere else, in which, under normal circumstances, cars are moving at least at 20 MPH, drivers and passengers will have only seconds to notice, appreciate and understand your message.
I know, using the thumbnail scale may sound extreme. It's ok if you want to find a new scale such as a whole finger or the hand, my recommendation is to get on the road with people that work in an unrelated field and identify which ads are only readable when they are “in your face". Also, count how many words you can read as you drive by. Did you catch the logo? Can you remember three specific details about the visual? Certainly, in outdoor media the old proverb “less is more” is a great guide to increase your chances of success.
The important thing is to keep yourself from letting the size fool you. You may have a 10 story building size mesh but if you fill the whole space with images and copy you will never get your message across.
The following are additional simple guides to help you create or approve the artwork for a potentially
memorable outdoor media execution.
1. Better to have your product name once, big enough, than twice or more. (Same applies for logos.)
2. Choose visuals wisely. Try to stay away from crowded or highly detailed pictures. Ask yourself if the image contributes to the communication objective. Does it really say something that is not said in the copy or is just a decorative item.
3. Always "prioritize". Since humans can only process one thought a time, even if that process doesn't follow the intended order you need to decide in which ideal sequence the stimuli should be internalized. The most important, and probably the biggest one, should be your focal point.
4. Use one single powerful message (seven words or less). Billboards, bus shelters and Meshs are the equivalent of a print advertisement. The fact that you have more space doesn't mean you have to follow the title/body copy/call-to-action structure. Well, you can do it BUT.... it is very likely that you, the copywriter and your competition will be the only ones to read it.
5. Take that one shot. In the ideal scenario we can hope drivers will look at your ad, at least once. If you segment the message you decrease your chances to get the whole idea across. For example, title on top, slogan on the bottom, etc. Eyes should flow through the stimuli effortlessly (meaning you should be able to read and appreciate everything in the artwork without rolling your eyes left and right, or just maybe once).
6. If using a slogan, make sure it is absolutely necessary. Sometimes we think of it as the last name of the product or brand, but in outdoor media it can be a burden crowding the ad or overpowering the main message. I usually recommend its use if it completes the idea of the intended message. If it adds a secondary line of thought, it’s a no-no.
7. If our friends from the legal department insist you must include “too much information”, it’s time to revisit your media plan. Including outdoor in your media mix for the sake of numbers, doesn’t guarantee you will reach the target.
Final thought: I respect if you decide to create outdoor media ads in a different way. I only hope that if the response is far from what you expected, don't surrender to the temptation of playing the blaming game. Before blaming the agency, the strategy, the account executives, the creative, the location or the media itself for the lack of desired results, revisit this post and try to identify how did the artwork approved missed the mark.
Pic by Michael Jastremski for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike
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