The Advantages & Disadvantages of Billboard Advertising

Billboard advertising is generally part of a company's overall marketing plan, using larger-than-life billboards to spread the message about products, services or special events. These boards are meant to appeal to potential customers that drive or walk by, piquing their interest enough to take advantage of what the business in question has to offer. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this form of advertising.

With billboard advertising, there is no option to turn it off or flip the page. Chances are, your potential clients are driving right by your advertisement daily, and they will look at it. For this reason, the bolder your ad, the better. Ads with little to no art, neutral colours or boring artwork are less likely to be visually appealing to potential clients than those that look bright and exciting.

Because the nature of this form of advertising appeals to people driving in their cars, they have maybe two to three seconds to glance at your ad, according to Marketing Scoop. That's a short period of time in which to grab their attention to make them want to know more about what you offer. By comparison, a TV commercial might span 30 seconds and more, and a potential customer's eyes can linger on a newspaper ad for as long as they wish.

Billboard advertising features options, including bustling digital billboards and 3D, that seem to jump right off the structure. That kind of creative impact can be enough to grab someone's attention as they drive by -- many of whom do so repeatedly, exposing them to your ad over and over again, according to Marketing Scoop. This kind of catchy appeal may make a potential consumer curious enough about what you offer to seek you out for more information.

Billboard advertisements are exposed to a wide of range of customers who are literally on the go. While this is good in terms of numbers, it is a disadvantage in that you cannot track those numbers. Because of the transient nature of billboard viewers, it is difficult to gauge the effectiveness of the advertising, according to the Small Business Notes website.