5 Ways to Improve Your Billboard Advertising

May 24, 2010 in Communications with 1 Comment

In the past, churches signs have consisted of a catchy rhyme or the chapter and verse that will be preached next Sunday. Now more and more churches are using screen-printed banners and billboards for promotion.  I’ve discovered the cost for one of these signs is pretty steep—billboards can run for up to $5000! While these signs may be pricey, they are also a great promotion tool—if used effectively.

So before you start eying that billboard, here are a few features of effective sign communication and promotion:

  1. Keep it simple. Make your message short and to the point, about 8-10 words. The average driver spends only 7 seconds reading a billboard or sign.
  2. Modify your design. What worked in the bulletin, PowerPoint, or flyer will not necessarily work on an outdoor sign or banner.
  3. Remove the clutter. Don’t clutter a sign with colors (like yellow lettering on a white background or red on a blue background) that are difficult to read, and use a clear font rather than an elaborate script.
  4. Generate a response. Be creative. Use eye-catching images and exciting words so that your sign is memorable.
  5. Don’t overdo it. Like any form of marketing, if you use it all the time, it’ll just become noise in people’s lives. They’ll begin to ignore it.

In case you’re interested, I found a great article on billboard signs. Same principles generally apply to any signage used to grab the attention of drive-by traffic.

Has billboard advertising worked for you? What responses have you received from billboard ads?  What other recommendations would you add to improve effectiveness?

One Response to “5 Ways to Improve Your Billboard Advertising”

  1. Cody Jensen May 24, 2010 at 10:51 am #

    I live in Tulsa, Ok and just helped start a church (CityChurch Tulsa) and we have had a billboard for a few months now and we have had a large response from It.

    Design: White BG with our citychurchtulsa.com logo large in the center. “Sundays at 10:30″ in the top right corner. And “meeting at the Tulsa Ballet” on the bottom centered.

    Responce: We have seen many people join us on Sunday and mark on the connection card that they saw our billboard. Also, we (the staff) have all been told many many times “oh, I saw your billboard” when we tell people that we are a part of CityChurch.

    Quality/Quanity – we have one billboard that we have moved one time.

    We have found a great response from a clean billboard with simple info.