Less is Moore

Less is more. That’s the lesson for the day. In advertising, it’s always the lesson, but never as much so as when it deals with billboards. Here are a few simple things to remember when working with your designer. Remember, the message on your billboard has only a few seconds to reach your target.

Words

Most scripts are hard to read, especially if read at a distance from a moving vehicle. Choose bold, easy to read text. And keep your message short and simple.

Color

High contrast colors work best. While red is always a great color for marketers, red on black is almost impossible to read. Try black on yellow or white on red instead. Check out these color choices.

Image

Your photography or graphics should be high quality in both composition and resolution. That means vector format for logos and illustrations and high dpi for bitmap/raster images. See my blog “Can you send that in an eps?” to learn more about the difference in graphic file formats.

Take time to get the perfect image. Think about what idea you’re trying to convey. Show your concept to coworkers and see if in a few second the words and image work together to communicate your message.

Audience

Think about the demographics of your audience. Consider if factors such as age, race, gender in your campaign are relevant. If you use a pun, joke, or catchy phrase, make sure it is clear enough to reach your target audience.

Call to Action

Your call to action could be as simple as “visit us at” or “call today.” Or a board may just need to communicate a fact as in our recent board for Decatur Morgan Hospital.