I follow @acacamps on twitter. Today they posted a picture of their “Because of Camp” billboard in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately the billboard misses the mark, BIG TIME.
For a billboard to be effective, it should contain 7 words AT THE MOST. And the words should all be close to each other and any pictures shown. Otherwise the billboard is a waste of money and won’t do its job right.
The main purpose of outdoor advertising, and billboards in particular, is to REMIND people of things. I don’t know if the ACA’s billboard reminds people of camp. But a simple message like, “It’s Time to Sign up For Camp” would do the trick a lot better than the hodgepodge of pictures and words they’re using now.
How will people driving by on a street, highway or freeway grasp all these words and pictures in the brief second they’re exposed to this sign?
Unfortunately, they won’t.
Nice post. Marketing on billboards can be effective if done well, just like all forms of marketing. I am glad the ACA is trying to move in that direction. Seeing that picture I can see how hard that would be to see going down the highway. Seems like more of a magazine add than a billboard.
Hi Jennifer, thanks for your comment. I'm glad ACA is making a bigger marketing push, too. But you're right, this IS a magazine ad, not a billboard. Seems like ACA was trying to cram as much info as they could onto the billboard. Shame.
I agree with you both. On one hand it's so exciting to see an ad for camp, but on the other hand this particular one is rather ineffective. It's disappointing because camp is the source of so many great images and sayings. Hey, this could be a cool training exercise, especially for admin staff. If you only had seven words and one image to put on a billboard, what would you tell the world about camp…? 🙂