Billboard advertising is a great way of getting your company noticed. The location and size of the billboards is the key to the success of the campaign and catching the eye of potential clients. For commuters going the same way to work every morning, whether on foot or on wheels, billboard advertising is hard to miss. If designed and located properly it can be visible from miles around without being too obtrusive. There have are many fantastic, innovative billboard advertising campaigns. Advertising in this way is very popular in the USA with huge billboards alongside the major highways and in the high streets. One advantage is that this form of advertising cannot be turned off, can be mobile by being mounted on wheels and vehicles. This is a great benefit in the UK where planning permissions can be necessary. You cannot change the channel and you cannot help but see the advertisement which may, in the long term, influence your buying decisions.

One interesting idea was developed by Nike for runners who may have ‘hit the wall’. A cleverly designed transparent billboard encourages weary runners to keep going even when they are tired and at the point of giving up. At first glance you cannot tell whether it is a huge photograph pasted on a wall or if it is a frame you can actually walk through. The vision of the billboard advertising campaign is cleverly designed so that not only is your attention drawn to it immediately. It may even give you a second wind by upping your heart rate! Runners should beware! The sheer ingenuity of the billboard advertising campaign draws not only the attention of runners to their products, but others who may be considering taking up running, or purchasing Nike shoes for leisure wear. The whole objective of advertising is to get the product noticed, and billboard advertising has become more popular over the years as an effective outdoor advertising media.

Continuing on the running theme, another billboard advertising campaigns designed for Nike is a billboard promoting assistance with training for a 10K run with a huge counter and integrated running machine. This was located in Buenos Aires in Argentina. Passersby are encouraged to walk or run on the enclosed treadmill and for every kilometre run, Nike donated an agreed amount to UNICEF. This particular billboard advertising campaign not only encourages people to get fit and healthy, and have fun at the same time.

For companies looking to promote their products, billboard advertising can be a major part of an overall marketing and advertising campaign. It will not be suitable for all products and services, but for major companies such as Nike, it raises awareness in a completely different way. Creative billboard advertising injects fun into a promotional campaign without being overbearing. It can be far more effective than a telephone campaign where consumers can be irritated by being cold called at inconvenient times. Billboard advertising is a more subtle way of getting the message out – albeit on a huge board!