When Bigger is Not Always Better

This blog post offers a little insight and is a response to recent news events in the mobile billboard media category. With many companies, it often seems like bigger is better… but is that really the case? We’re always hearing that your business should “grow bigger” and “grow faster”. “Get out of your comfort zone, and expand!” is often common business advice.

But is this right? Well, the answer is complicated. The answer really is “it depends”. It depends on what is sacrificed with growth. Often business owners bite off more than they can chew, just for the sake of growth and the anticipated profits. I propose a symbiotic co-existence between the smaller and larger players in the mobile billboard landscape. There’s room for everyone. For instance, it was announced a few days back that Streetblimps was "acquired” by Do It Outdoors. My gut reaction is “congratulations, you're a great fit” Douglas Frantin, CEO of Streetblimps has built an impressive company over the past few of decades. As well, Do It Outdoors has proven themselves as a major fixture within the mobile billboard industry.

Is expansion always a good thing for the media buyers? Yes, in terms that they may make a larger media buy through one company that reaches multiple markets. But, often with expansion comes a negative aspect. Would an ad campaign (implemented through the larger billboard company) receive the proper care and commitment?

Before I jump into some of the pitfalls of working with larger media vendors (through the eyes of media buyers), let’s first examine some things that a smaller and more nimble mobile billboard company such as Billboards2Go offers, such as:

1. Personal and direct interaction between the VP of the company (me) and our clients, assuring each media campaign is run with the utmost professionalism and accountability. There’s less bureaucracy in my company and, with less people, the owners and founders are closer to the action, resulting in quicker decision-making, streamlined process and faster results. Simply put – we get stuff done!
2. A smaller mobile billboard fleet (in our case) is better maintained. When all of your sheep come back to the barn at night (metaphorically) you can implement a more vigorous maintenance schedule, therefor keeping your billboard trucks in tip-top shape.  Billboard2GO has a dedicated fleet management specialist working full time in our own depot in Linden New Jersey, assuring that our billboards units will perform as needed on every campaign. 
3. Since we are not the biggest players in the business, we can offer a more customized approach to our final product. Our competition typically offers a static printed banner loosely fit within a bulky sign frame, with very limited custom options.  Billboards2GO on the other hand, offers the skills of their prop-shop craftspeople to design and fabricate 2-D extensions, Pop-offs, 3-D elements, lighting effects, moving parts, and more.  We also operate custom-built mobile billboards that feature elevating sign frames. Each of our units can raise the FOUR-SIDED, full-bleed, 10’ x 22’ sign to 18 feet high. So, in this case “Bigger Is Better” We offer the “biggest” visual experience in the mobile billboard category!
   
4. Integrity! Integrity has been the backbone of our business model since 1999. We entered the mobile billboard business to uplift its image. How do we do so? By having a strict philosophy about what is advertised on our equipment. Back ‘in the day” when this industry was evolving many of our competitors advertised for shady businesses (to say the least) My partners and I promised ourselves that if we would be embarrassed to show an ad to our children than we would not run it. Since then, we follow a policy to not run ads that we believe may be inappropriate such as, tobacco products, adult-entertainment, boycotts, doxxing, and other shady-looking businesses.

On the other hand, the larger mobile billboard companies have such an incredible overhead they need to run through ad campaigns (and clients) as quickly (and in many cases ineffectively) as possible. Little thought may be attributed to integrity or accountability of the campaign. As I was once told by a friendly competitor "it doesn't matter what kind of sloppy job we do. If we lose the customer, there’s plenty more where they came from”. Well, that was a shocking revelation to me. We at Billboards2GO implement the opposite strategy. We believe it’s much easier to run an exemplary mobile billboard campaign and retain a client than it is soliciting for new ones. Many of our clients have given us repeat business for over a decade. The simple reason is, we go above and beyond for our clients. 

So, the next time someone says bigger is better, think of Billboards2GO, we’re the “smaller” mobile billboard company with the “biggest” mobile billboards!

The NJ Lottery wins big with Billboards2Go.com

WHEN A PLAIN RECTANGLE IS JUST NOT ENOUGH… CALL US!
The NJ LOTTERY wanted to go the “XTRA” mile to promote the added benefits of playing the “Jersey Cash 5 Xtra” lottery game. To do so, their marketing agency (Brushfire Inc) reached out to Billboards2Go.com to customize and operate several mobile billboard units, covering the state of New Jersey. The agency’s objective was to promote the new game features and support the many retail outlets that sell NJ Lottery games. A handful of high-profile retail chains benefited from the mobile billboard campaign exposure. Specific retailers, such as 7-Eleven, ShopRite, Wawa, QuickChek and others were destination stops during the month long tour of New Jersey.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH XTRA?
The following are a few of newly added features of the game, according to NJ Lottery: “Every day of the week, you've got a chance to win a rolling jackpot with Jersey Cash 5 XTRA. The estimated jackpot starts at $75,000 and grows with each drawing until it gets hit! Add XTRA to improve your odds and multiply non-jackpot prizes up to 5X!Now with the increased benefits, NJ Lottery players will have the opportunity to increase their non-jackpot prizes by up to five times on the long-time favorite game.”

Since its inception in 1970, the NJ Lottery has dedicated nearly $24 billion to programs and institutions that benefit millions of New Jersey residents. The Departments of Agriculture, Education, Human Services, Military and Veterans Affairs and Higher Education Services receive support from Lottery generated revenue.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX/RECTANGLE

On this project (as with many others) the advertising agency wanted more bang for their ad buck. The quickest and most cost effective way was to add a simple embellishment to the main design with an extension on the top of the billboard frames. The small and relatively inexpensive addition was certainly a big hit! When production was completed and shown to the agency, they were quite impressed with the results of their design idea. The “Jersey Big” promotion with a giant tomato theme was the perfect opportunity to introduce a pop-off section to the board.

Similar to Jersey Cash 5 Xtra design, we recommend that all of our clients think outside the rectangle to increase their ad's exposure effectiveness. Our mobile billboard advertising units offer a huge “artists canvas” to help create an eye-catching visual impact. The addition of an extension or embellishment to your billboard sign will add an air of excitement to your promotion. Simply put, extensions draw more attention to your billboard advertising. Our custom embellishments offer unique creative opportunities that grab the attention of drivers and pedestrians way beyond a standard static display.

Increasingly, creative agencies look forward to the ability to break the plane of the top and sides to engage deeper with the consumers. These basic production techniques will add extra impact and memorability to the message. At our Linden New Jersey based prop shop, we can produce custom 2D, 3D, LED lighting effects and even moving objects! Share your ideas with Russell Miller, our company's Graphics and Production Manager and he will guide you through every step of the process. To reach out to Russell, please send an email to graphics@billboards2go.com

SIMPLE AND COST EFFECTIVE
The cost to add a little extra flare to your mobile billboard design is a lot less expensive than you may imagine. Billboards2Go.com Prop Shop uses the latest creative and production technology to help keep production costs down and improve product turnaround times. “Our ultimate objective is to help our clients achieve their marketing goals. Their success is our success” says, Andrew Miller VP of Billboards2Go.com 

In short, Billboards2Go.com strove to make the Jersey Big campaign bigger than ever! For over 17 years Billboards2Go.com has been dedicated to delivering advertising excitement and creating a unique and memorable connection with its audience.

Impressions are not that impressive!

After being racked across the coals, advertisers are afraid to spend their ad budgets on underperforming or nonexistent media… and who can blame them? The Fortune Magazine article I linked to on the bottom of this blog post specifically references a multi-billion-dollar fraud perpetrated against savvy and not too savvy online media buyers. Not only does it hurt legitimate media outlets but also has far reaching repercussions throughout the ad media industry. The article declares, half or more paid online display advertisements that ad networks, media buyers, and ad agencies have knowingly been selling to clients over the years have never appeared in front of the eye-balls of live human beings. That is a shocking claim (but believable) considering the difficulty to offer realistic and solid proof of performance measurements.

Digital marketers may tell their clients that "impression" is ad slang for one person seeing an advertisement one time, but that statement is far from accurate. Online advertising is based on an "impression"— without the impression, then an advertisement cannot be viewed or clicked or provoke any other engagement. But, impressions may be manipulated in many ways from high-tech hacker algorithms creating a convoluted spider web of phony traffic to other tricky methods of deception such as "cookie-stuffing”, “fake clicks” and “fake websites”.

Ad media clients have been putting their faith (and large budgets) into a media that has been proven to be a wild guess. It’s almost as if there is a conspiracy of self inflicted denial. No one wants to admit there is a problem. Certainly, the ad agencies that rely on the revenue stream among the multitudes of web sites promoting thier space want to believe all is well in cyberdom. As the author of the linked article concluded “As long as a see-no-evil attitude will persist, half of the $50-billion digital marketing industry will remain fraudulent.

It’s time to wake up and smell the pixels. Online advertising is not what it’s touted to be. Although there is plenty of legitimate traffic, if you add up for all the fraud, you are paying a heck of a lot more per “impression” than you were lead to believe. “So much for making advertising more efficient and accountable.”

So what does this have to do with Billboards2Go.com? I will answer that with a simple declaration: “OOH media buyers please be aware that Billboards2Go.com offers a 100% proof-of-performance guarantee on every one of our mobile billboard advertising campaigns.” For over 15 years, Billboards2Go.com has excelled in quality proof-of-performance for our clients. From partnering with a major telcom provider for GPS Satellite Tracking of our many mobile billboard units to photographic proof in the client’s market, there is no doubt we are offering the best service available. Our mobile billboards are real, they're huge, and with about 500 square feet of ad space per unit, they make an awesome impression. They may be used for targeting specific events, zip codes, major shopping areas, other high-traffic venues and more.

If you are exhausted from wasting your ad budgets on underperforming media, please contact me immediately for a free consultation on what a Billboards2Go.com mobile billboard campaign can do to increase your bottom line. That's just how we roll. 

Please Visit Us at www.Billboards2Go.com

RE: http://fortune.com/2015/07/01/online-advertising-fraud/

Billboards2Go.com New Look

Billboards2Go.com has been in the mobile billboard business for over 15 years supplying high-quality mobile billboard ad campaigns. Every so often, you need to revamp your image before it goes stale. On that note, we upgraded our company logo (with a slight tweaking) and redesigned the company web site. Now it is truly “responsive” with all digital devices from PCs to smart phones. Our new site is easier to navigate and streamlined to make the overall experience that much more professional. So, please visit us soon and let us know how you like it. Thanks!

MOBILE BILLBOARDS THAT POP!

A quick note for all advertising “idea” people that are looking for a creative method to promote your clients’ brands: Now Billboards2Go.com is your One-Stop Resource for 3-dimensional signage fabrication for our fleet of Mobile Billboards Advertising Trucks.

As the OOH media industry is stepping up its game in innovation, Billboards2go.com is leading the way for the mobile billboard category. With over 15 years of quality mobile billboard experience targeting the east coast, no other company will give you more bang for your buck!

3-Dimensional billboards are an emerging new medium that has evolved from the traditional media of 2-dimensional billboards. 3D billboard construction used to be a time consuming and expensive endeavor, but with the amazing technological advances in recent years, the process has become significantly more convenient and affordable, allowing advertisers to take advantage of this creative new medium.

The appeal of 3D mobile billboards is the compelling visual message that leaves a lasting impression. It allows for a form of creativity and artistic expression that no other medium offers. A 3D mobile billboard is essentially a moving piece of art that delivers a message that creates an immediate and lasting impact on the audience. Additionally, Mobile Billboards will not be ignored and can get quality exposure (during prime time) at multiple location, delivering a diverse audience for the advertiser.

Billboards2Go.com offers traditional high-res printed banners, simple 2-D extensions to elaborate 3-D elements with moving parts and LED lighting effects. Like anything else, the bigger the budget the more expressive and impressive the outcome of the project will be. However, you will be amazed at what we can do with smaller budgets. With your creative input and our in-house production staff, we can collaborate on a design that will turn heads and greatly improve your bottom line. For further information on our creative process, please contact Russell, my company’s Production Manager at graphics@billboards2go.com. Thanks!

The 2015 Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City

Chalk up another successful event for Billboards2Go.com from this past Sunday. By utilizing two state-of-the-art mobile billboard units (moonlighting as parade floats) my company’s clients received a lot of “bang for their buck.” Not only does our mobile billboard’s huge sign space make a terrific canvas for a parade message, the quick production turnaround and reasonable rate is a much smarter alternative to the more complex, time consuming and costly traditional parade float.

About the Event:  From its humble beginnings, back in 1965 (traveling down Riverside Drive in New York City) grew a huge tribute marching up Fifth Avenue’s prominent parade route. According to this year’s figures, the Celebrate Israel Parade drew a crowd in the hundreds of thousands with thirty thousand participants. It was a sea of U.S. and Israeli flags, colorful balloons, marching bands, decorated floats and thousands of students grouped with vibrant matching tee-shirts, veterans and VIPs, such as Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo, all transforming Fifth Avenue’s typical bumper-to-bumper car traffic into a venue of joyful celebration.

I would like to take this blog opportunity to thank my clients for choosing Billboards2Go.com to represent their message at the event. StandWithUs.com and JDate.com are two highly regarded organizations with a strong belief that Israel is a nation that is a force for good in the world.

I personally believe Israel often gets a bad rap in the media and elsewhere. But if folks do their research, they will see Israel in a more positive light. Israeli-developed technologies range from cell phones and computers to the latest breakthrough medical procedures used every day around the world. Israel provides humanitarian assistance reaching many needy countries that require immediate critical aid. When it comes to disaster response, Israel has used its vast experience to assist countries impacted by natural disasters, terrorism, disease or war. Bar none, Israel is known for “making the desert bloom.” Israel has pioneered and shared its extensive agricultural techniques with the world. In addition, Israel contributes to a cleaner planet with cutting-edge renewable energy and water technologies. As nations struggle to make the best use of their resources, Israel’s technologies promise to improve the health and living standards of hundreds of millions across the globe.

Currently, the United States and Israel are close friends and allies. The continued strength of the U.S.-Israel alliance is rooted in the shared values of the two nations. So, if any nation deserves a day of celebration… Israel is the perfect candidate and the Celebrate Israel Parade up Fifth Ave was a wonderful tribute, which Billboards2Go.com was a proud participant!

Mobile Billboards Make Impressive Parade Floats!

What does JDate.com and StandWithUs.com have in common? Well, besides the apparent dedication to Jewish causes, they both will be represented at the “Celebrate Israel Parade” in New York City by Billboards2Go.com. Not only does the company’s mobile billboards make mean lean targeted advertising machines, they also double as quick, convenient, affordable and creative parade floats.

On May 31, 2015, the Celebrate Israel Parade will be traveling down Fifth Avenue from 57th Street to 74th Street (11am-4pm) The Parade will be on FOX MY9 from 12 to 2pm. It will also be live streamed on www.CelebrateIsraelny.org from 12 to 3pm. Quoted directly from their website: “This year’s 2015 Theme — “Israel Imagines.” The founders of Israel had a dream. They imagined a vibrant, independent and Jewish state that would not only be a haven for Jews from all over the world, but also one that would incorporate the best characteristics of its citizens: brains and brawn, creativity, determination, fairness and imagination – a state whose greatest natural resource is its people who could imagine that future – one that would benefit the whole world! Today’s Israel is a result of that dream. We invite you to use your imagination and creativity to highlight some of the things that Israel imagined and continues to imagine – some that have come to fruition and some still to be achieved.”

For a cost effective solution for representation in a parade, a mobile billboard makes sense on many levels. For one, it is quick to implement. Our basic standard turnaround is as little as 10 days. It is visually impressive with about 500 square feet of message space. In terms of presentation, Billboards2Go.com’s production team adds decorative tinsel to the lower section of the mobile billboard giving it the official parade float look. As for the printed banners, the creative may be anything the client needs from a simple message to a complex full color, high-resolution design. It's relatively quick and easy to print a 10' x 22' banner. For the more adventurous clients, (with a larger budget and more time) Billboards2Go.com production department offers 2-D and 3-D embellishments including moving parts and LED lighting effects.

We are a trusted media vendor to many major brands as well as countless small businesses within the NY/NJ/CT/PA markets. We are a mobile billboard company you may rely on. To learn more about our proof-of-performance and other unique features of our quality advertising media service, please visit our web site atwww.Billboards2Go.com. Hope to see you at the parade!

Hello Outdoor Media Buyers,

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year. Thank you for considering our media service. To show our thanks we are offering a set of mobile billboard advertising banners as a FREE GIFT to you (with any 5 consecutive day or more campaign in the north eastern New Jersey market. ) That's a huge savings and a great way to start the new year with effective exposure for your brand, business or special event. 

To take advantage of this gift, please book your mobile billboard ad campaign before January 30th, 2015. *Offer may be used anytime within the next six months.

We hope you're ready for another big year ahead. Wishing you great success and happiness in 2015!!

Best Regards,
Andrew Miller, VP

andrew@billboards2go.com

*Some restrictions may apply. Contact Andrew Miller for further details.

A Mobile Billboard for a Montel Williams TV Commercial

According to many, If you can make it in New York, you should be able to make it anywhere. That's because New York is the most dynamic and competitive city in the world, at least that is what the "Global City Competitiveness Index" states. Other cities ranking high on the list include London and Paris.

While the sheer size of New York's economy may play a part in its high ranking, the index takes a variety of factors into account, including a city's quality of life, human capital, as well as its business and regulatory environment. Although it should, the ranking does not specifically account for the heavy traffic throughout most of the city’s roads. Everyone knows the traffic in New York City is appalling. You have to deal with crazy taxis, buses and trucks and seemingly suicidal bikers and pedestrians. Keep in mind that pedestrians will cross wherever and whenever they want.

The story of New York is unarguably one about its people: who they are, where they reside and work, how they live and play. New York City offers incomparable museums, attractions, restaurants, hotels, theaters, entertainment and shopping. The amount of visitors (international and domestic) to New York City in 2013 was 54.3 million and they spent a whopping $38.8 billion.

Now that I painted a vivid picture of New York, in particular Manhattan, you need to imagine working here. In this town, “time is money” -  a term coined by Benjamin Franklin. Imagine again that you are going to shoot a TV commercial in Midtown at Columbus Circle by the Time Warner building. The sheer logistics is overwhelming and the red tape extensive! For the producer (in this case, the legendary TV talk show host, Montel Williams) the stakes are extremely high. You have a certain window of opportunity to get it right the first time. With a huge crew, many extras and lots of equipment costing a small fortune, the need for everything to go smoothly as clockwork is a prerequisite.

That is where Billboards2Go.com comes in… The TV commercial shot this past month called for a large billboard to be the backdrop of the event as well as driving around the city (as shown in the photo above.) A custom fabricated display with several lighted mirror stations stood at the base of the truck . This is where the “ordinary women off the street” would try the advertised beauty product “Derm Exclusive.” The commercial took three days to shoot and lasted several hours each day. The billboard featured Dr. Andrew Ordon, Board-certified Plastic Surgeon and TV Host.

Why Billboards2Go.com opposed to another mobile billboard vendor? The reason is simple; Billboards2Go.com offers a top quality product and service at competitive rates. Besides the fact that we use specially designed billboards that may elevate the sign frames for extra exposure, our high resolution printing capacity is perfect for up close presentations. Our reputation as a turnkey, reliable business partner who is familiar with the Manhattan market was also a key contributing factor to participating in the Montel Williams project.

When the stakes are high and the time is of the essence, Billboards2Go.com delivers!  Montel Williams found that working with Billboards2Go.com was a smart move. We contributed to the overall success of the project by being on time and ready to work as promised. The director of the commercial, Chris Strand was quite impressed with our presentation and stated the billboard looked fantastic and he would be happy to work with us again… Chock up another satisfied customer! 

Domino’s Pizza Brings Their Recruiting Efforts To The Busy Streets of New York City

Domino’s Pizza Corporate hired Billboards2Go.com in May of 2014 as a part of their marking strategy for a job recruitment effort. With a bold and clever mobile billboard advertisement stating Domino’s can put “dough in your pocket” - the billboard unit successfully targeted specific neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx recruiting for Delivery Drivers, Bikers and Assistant Managers.

Billboards2Go.com is proud to work with a fast food innovator and powerhouse like Domino’s Pizza. Each day, more than 1 million customers enjoy hot, delicious Domino’s Pizza products on every inhabited continent on Earth.  Domino’s Pizza operates over 10,000 stores in more than 70 countries. For Domino’s to turn to Billboards2Go.com for assistance with their recruiting effort shows they understand that Billboards2Go.com is a trusted and effective media source to the food industry.

Over the past decade, Billboards2Go.com has worked with a variety of companies from retail, financial, automotive and entertainment; but food brands have always been the most critical when it comes to presentation. That is why many top companies in the food industry consistently rely on Billboards2Go.com to represent their brands to the public with new, state-of-the-art mobile billboards.

Another unique aspect of the Domino’s Pizza ad message was a tag line “Enter “billboard” as your referral source to get a free cake on your next order.” The clever additional copy helped identify the effectiveness of the media placement and execution on the client’s side. As far as effectiveness, the Domino’s Pizza executive who hired Billboards2Go.com said after the campaign completion that the mobile billboard recruitment effort was very successful and working with the Billboards2Go.com staff has been a wonderful experience. What’s better than that!

Gambling on the Super Bowl with a Mobil Billboard Campaign

       

            Gambling on 800-GAMBLER.com was no gamble at all. As it turned out the NJ state sponsored gambling addiction hot line and help center took a shot on the Super Bowl and won big time. The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey hired Billboards2Go.com to run their first-ever mobile billboard awareness campaign. According to the CCGNJ organization’s “Information Specialist” Alice Ostapiuk, the mobile billboard they hired for a seven consecutive day campaign during the Super Bowl week was a true success. When the Gambler mobile billboard campaign ended, Alice said to Andrew Miller, VP of Billboards2Go, “Thank you for a job very well done, it looked great and many people saw our mobile billboard.”

The billboard was part of the Council’s campaign to call attention to the help available through the 1-800-GAMBLER helpline for sports bettors with gambling problems. Between January 28 and February 3, 2014, the billboard traveled a route around Bergen, Hudson, Essex, and adjoining areas, highlighting exposure to the local hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, business districts, commuter hubs as well as bumper-to-bumper traffic on major roadways. On Super Bowl Sunday, the mobile billboard traveled around the Met Life Stadium area as well as the above mentioned venues.

The Council was seeking to reach some of the estimated 35,000 NJ residents who are believed to be compulsive or problem gamblers who bet on sports. “Our message is that there is hope and help for this treatable addiction. With the Super Bowl being in NJ and the increasing availability of gambling opportunities in our State, there is a need to get out information to gamblers and families who may be struggling on their own.”

Typically, only deep-pocketed brands can afford Super Bowl placed advertising — as most media professionals know, a 30-second TV spot costs about $4 million, not including the cost that goes into developing an ad, securing a star if necessary, and producing it. However, considering the added amount of people coming into the area during the several days surrounding Super Bowl week, it was an outstanding economical opportunity for a select few brands to advertise with a mobile billboard campaign. According to the New York/New Jersey Super Bowl XLVIII host committee, visitors to the area have spent an average of $600 per person per day during the 10-day period surrounding the game and brought in over 600 million dollars to the local NJ/NYC economy.

CCGN was not the only non-profit organization with Super Bowl ad aspirations. Billboards2Go.com also ran several different mobile billboards for “ChooseNJ.com.” Founded in 2010, Choose New Jersey is a part of the state’s award-winning economic development organization; The Partnership for Action which consists of Choose New Jersey, the New Jersey Business Action Center, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the Commission on Higher Education. Together, they nurture economic growth throughout the state by attracting jobs and investment.

The “for-profit” organization, “Stevin Singer Jewelers” also took advantage of the influx of spectators to the area with two mobile billboard units. One promoting a Valentine’s message “They’re Real and They’re Spectacular” referencing the gold dipped roses available at their Philadelphia store as well as on-line. The second mobile billboard displayed a more general message promoting their web site, ihatestevensinger.com. The ad design was similar to the ubiquitous black and white billboards known to many in the Philadelphia area as the widely controversial as well as a successful media campaign started by owner Steven Singer over ten years ago.

              To sum up this article about the Super Bowl week exposure with a mobile billboard, one thing comes to mind…value! The quality exposure generated during the seven days surrounding the Nation’s biggest sports event was priceless. With approximately 500 square feet of advertising space traveling to the most populated areas such as Newark, Hoboken, Jersey City and Manhattan, the advertisers received a great deal of bang for their media buck. For a fraction of the cost of tradition media, Billboards2Go.com delivered a genuine Super Bowl audience for their clients.

FREE... may be the most appealing word in advertising!

St. Edmond's Academy Students in front of their Billboards2Go.com mobile billboard.

An economic motivation is where price is the main motivating factor. And “FREE”… to the ears of a consumer is one of the most beautiful sounding words they can hear. Although, the word "free" may be a double-edged sword for retailers. As an experienced media provider, I am often asked to come up with a “hook” for an ad and I always turn to what I believe is one of the best emotional motivators available, and that is to give something away for free. The word FREE typically catches our attention. Moreover, when used the correct way, almost always helps the retailer increase their bottom line.

If using the word FREE in an advertisement automatically guarantees sales and profits, everyone would be giving away FREE products and services. Free needs to be used with caution. And remember, there is an old rule in marketing, “Never give away something you sell, unless you have a reliable plan to make a profit doing it.”

You could learn that old rule the hard way when your advertisement backfires and becomes a recipe for regret. The best advice to ensure success of your “free” giveaway is to tie it to some kind of commitment to your product or service. The last thing you want is a flash mob that quickly raids your retail establishment, grabs whatever free items available, and turns around never to be heard from again. Not only did you not make any profit in that case, you probably lost future sales as well, all because you did not have a well thought out marketing plan.

So how do you make a profit giving away things for free? Number one; make sure the giveaway will induce a sale of one of your products and or services. For example: Free is a powerful tool when used properly. As with a mobile billboard promotion we recently created for the Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grill in Long Island NY, the word free is combined (and in my humble opinion) with another beautiful sounding word… Beer. The objective of the restaurant is to build a larger lunch crowd. A Free Draft Beer is a relatively inexpensive promotion for a restaurant when attached to the purchase of a main entrée. The hook will certainly motivate a receptive local audience to stop by the Greene Turtle for lunch. It's the proverbial "win win." The responding customers love receiving a free beer, appreciate the savings and the restaurant gets a lot of new business they may otherwise have missed out on.

Another recent entry into the world of “Free” is a mobile billboard campaign we are currently running for the St. Edmond’s Academy in Wilmington DE. (Photo shown above.) They've gone one-step further by offering "Free Tuition." Actually, the fine print is 6 months free tuition. Although, the perceived value is extremely high for a private school’s tuition, they are offering it as an incentive to enroll students for at least a full year. The offer of free tuition is from January to June and it's being marketed to public schools in their local area within a radius of about 20 miles from their academy. For the next few weeks, the mobile billboard will get exposure near the targeted public schools where parents are dropping-off and picking-up their kids. The billboard will also reach out to "parents" who may be found at local supermarkets and shopping malls.

With the huge clutter of different products and services available to consumers an understanding of how people are motivated to buy is essential to effective marketing strategies. Motivation works as a complex process and a tag-line of Free often works well. If you represent a product, brand or service that may benefit from a mobile billboard campaign with a “free something” hook, let us know and we will be happy to create an effective mobile billboard advertisement for you. By the way, our design services at Billboards2Go.com are... *FREE!

Mobile Billboard in Drag Race at Raceway Park Englishtown NJ

by Bob Goodwin 

On September 14th, Andrew Miller (VP of Billboards2go.com) was the race driver behind-the-wheel at the US Diesel Truckin’ Nationals. Andrew did not drive the Billboards2Go professional dragster, but he did race one of the company’s diesel powered mobile billboards. (photo shown left) According to track officials, the annual event at Raceway Park in Englishtown New Jersey attracted over seventeen thousand people- it’s biggest turnout in 25 years.

The US Diesel Truckin Nationals is an all day "trucks only" event that features hundreds of custom, racing and show trucks, plus the Transportation Industry Service and Equipment trade show. The event culminated with a thrill show featuring jet powered trucks, dragster trucks and Monster trucks pouncing on and crushing several lines of junked cars. The event draws huge crowds of people who work in the trucking and related industries among many others, young and old who just love trucks. There is no other truck extravaganza like it. Best of all, the thousands of Truckers, Fleet Owners, Manufacturers and Fans all attended with a good frame of mind and a special camaraderie that seems to exists only between soldiers that have experienced the crucible of combat together. 

Andrew ran 5 passes down the packed-bleacher drag strip making it all the way to the semi-finals. His Billboards2Go truck raced the ¼ mile track at decent ET of 25 seconds and at a shattering top speed of about 52 MPH. He was in a good position to win in his category when he “red lighted” on his last pass. Additionally after each pass, Andrew stopped a few times in different spots on the return road in front of the bleachers and tossed HFI logo tee-shirts and caps to the overwhelmingly enthusiastic crowd. Between the races the Billboard2Go truck slowly cruised the pit areas and parked in prominent positions to get the best possible exposure for the client HFI.

You may be asking yourself, how can a billboard truck win any race when they seem to be slow and lumbering? It’s an easy answer… it’s called Bracket Racing (Google it). Bracket Racing is a form of drag racing that allows for a handicap between the predicted elapsed times of two faster and slower vehicles racing down a 1/4 mile drag strip. The effect of the bracket racing rules is to place a premium on consistency of performance of the driver/vehicle package rather than on raw speed and HP, which in turn makes victory less dependent on large infusions of money, and more dependent on mechanical tuning and driving skill.

The Billboards2Go mobile billboard truck featured a message from the HFI Isuzu Truck Dealership. According to the HFI VP Brian Costigan, the audience and method of placement of his ad was ideal in every way. They were very pleased with the massive targeted exposure opportunity for their company. So much so that HFI booked the event again (that day) for the 2014 race. Andrew says he doesn't know of any other advertising job that would be as exciting on so many levels. His personal feeling about truck racing and getting targeted media exposure at the same time for his client is summed up in a few words… “Daddy has to go to work now. See you later kids.”

This article was written and submitted by Bob Goodwin, Customer Service Manager at Billboards2Go.com.  All inquiries about Billboards2Go.com media services may be sent to Andrew Miller, VP via email:  Andrew@Billboards2Go.com