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 Advertising Billboards, Great Publicity.

Article brought by Walt R. Eader

When I lived in the city I usually had to take a bus into work every day. It was never a good idea for me to drive, as the parking where I worked was sky high. I got used to the bus, but when my brother came to stay with me for a while, he offered to pick me up for work each day.

Info: Several years back the advertising billboards people put a big picture of "Sharlene Wells, Miss America" on billboards all over town. She was everywhere. The clever use of the girl had two purposes; the first was to cover up all the unsold boards. The second was to show the effectiveness of billboard advertising.

I loved it, and it was much better than riding the bus. He was always caught in traffic on a certain street each day though, and he came to loathe the advertising billboards he saw as he sat there. It became something that he would talk about each day as his irritation grew.

It wasnt the idea of advertising billboards that annoyed him. There was one in particular that must have been purchased for someones birthday. It said something about some guy named Ray. It was a rhyming birthday wish, and I have to admit is was one of the cheesiest things I have ever seen.

I felt bad for poor Ray. That billboard was up for a long time before it was replaced with something else. I bet even Ray wished someone would take it down. Though this wasnt the norm for advertising billboards, it was up for at least two months.

Did you now that:

• More than 40 criminal suspects have been apprehended due to advertising billboards.
• More than 53 communities have used outdoor advertising for crime fighting efforts within the last three years.
• An increasing number of outdoor advertising companies are helping police by posting pictures and Crimestopper   call-in numbers for anonymous tips.
• Authorities are using digital billboards to issue AMBER Alerts and emergency information.

My brother decided to handle his irritation at advertising billboards with a sense of humor. Because the billboard about Ray rhymed so well (or so badly, depending on your point of view), he would make all of them rhyme. I would have to listen to this all the way home from work, though I have to admit he was really good!

He would read each of the advertising billboards we went by and then make up his own rhyme about them. Though it got annoying sometimes, I have to admit it was much easier to listen to than some of the stuff I would hear on the bus each day.

If you want to use advertising billboards for your business, they are a great way to get peoples attention. However, you should do yourself a favor and try not to annoy the people who may be viewing it each day. If they get irritated with what you put on advertising billboards, they may never want to come into your business.

Keep the copy clean, simple, and to the point. Also, remember to change it so that they arent seeing the same thing day in and day out.

Info: In 1900, a standardized billboard structure was created in America, and ushered in a boom in national billboard campaigns. Confident that the same ad would fit billboards from Connecticut to Kansas, big advertisers like Palmolive, Kellogg, and Coca-Cola began mass-producing billboards for the national market.

Advertising Billboards resources:

Outdoor advertising association of America

Successful billboard advertising

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