Out-of-home media offers a unique canvas for your creative. You can’t skip through or block outdoor ads, so it is a medium that offers you a physical way to grab attention. Breaking through the clutter in an outdoor environment may be challenging at first. But follow these tips for the most effective mobile billboard campaign.

Easily Convey Your Key Message

Mobile billboards are reaching an on-the-go out-of-home audience. You only have five seconds to tell your story. In order to make your message quick and easy to understand, we recommend your mobile billboard design:

• Use 7 words or less
• Stick to one key message; too much will clutter and confuse
• Design the layout to reflect how we read in a “Z” pattern on the space
• Use imagery that will instantly help make the connection between the message and your brand
• Rely on clean, bold, non-serif fonts
• Simplify
• Print the ad as a business card size and make sure the message still resonates

When simplifying your message, think about the core message, the call-to-action and a compelling image to tie it all together.

Brave Creative Gets Noticed

And more importantly, it gets remembered!

If you want to engage with your audience, use creative that evokes an emotional reaction and drives impact. When you’re designing your mobile billboard creative to be memorable:

• Consider the shock factor, add humor or experiment with the extraordinary
• Enhance the creative with build-outs, props, optical illusions or textures when it supports your key messaging
• Skip the white space; it doesn’t have as much impact in out-of-home as it does print. Instead use a bright, bold image or color in the background with proper contrast.
• Push the creative envelope with an edgy, daring theme

A great creative concept will give your campaign a heartbeat. Don’t be afraid to use striking images or get clever in your delivery of the message.

Of course, be sure to stay authentic to the brand, but why not do it boldly?

Be Locally Relevant

There are a lot of benefits to using mobile billboards in your out-of-home media plan. If we had to pick our favorite it would be its hyper-local prowess and ability to reach the precise audience you intend in each market.

Make sure the creative speaks to your specific audience with these tips:

• Incorporate the market or neighborhood name in which you’re running
• Use local icons, teams or celebrities to tie your message more closely to the community
• Call out local references or landmarks
• Consider different languages when aiming your message to a cultural audience
• Know the differences in dialect; use local speak to better engage with the audience
• Adapt your creative to resemble other ads, such as mobile ads, also running in the market for the best integrated approach

When the ad is contextually relevant, it will resonate with your audience. This supports ad recall and likelihood for conversion.

If your campaign is event-based or if you’re geoconquesting your competitors, your creative can reflect those specific locations. Your creative will be more compelling.

We have an art team who is ready to assist with your creative, or you can submit your own. Let’s discuss your creative out-of-home media ideas.

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