Design Tips for Effective Mobile Billboard Ads

Where the "tires hit the pavement" or what is considered the “make or break” component of a mobile billboard ad campaign is the graphic design on the side of the billboard truck. Since I’ve been in the outdoor media business for about twenty years, I’ve a good sense of what will work and what will be a flop. I’ve run many a campaign where my clients' submitted creative could have been a lot better.

Articulating what it takes to make a great mobile billboard design is a little tougher. In this case I relied on my graphics and production manager, Russell Arthur to lend a hand with this blog post. He has put together the following information. Below, please find a brief summary on what it takes to create an effective ad design:

Creating Effective Ad Design

While there is no exact science when designing for the outdoor medium of mobile billboards, there are a few basic guidelines that should be considered to ensure better success. Mobile billboard advertising presents limitless options and approaches for creative design. There are boundless opportunities for designing effective mobile billboard advertising, but you should follow some basic rules.

The Creative Challenge

Designing mobile billboard advertising is visual storytelling. The appearance of an ad can astonish viewers with words or motivate them with pictures. Through the use of humor or drama, the designs can sway consumer judgment to sell products or services. However, designing for the mobile billboard medium is a challenging communication task that requires the expression of a concept with clarity and sober focus. When a mobile billboard is well designed, it will entertain consumers with eye-catching impact.

Basic Rules for Design

Mobile billboards are often working in traffic. The viewing audience is mostly mobile. People travel swiftly in vehicles or walk at a brisk pace while they perform the activities of daily life. Mobility limits the potential viewing time of a mobile billboard message to only a few seconds. Because of limited exposure time, mobile billboard designs require a short and snappy creative approach. However, high frequency is a fundamental strength of this medium and repeated exposures will ensure that a message is absorbed and retained over time.

Color

Designs bursting with color can evoke emotional responses that will inspire lasting impressions. Contrasting colors work best to create a sense of strength in a design.

Like sound waves, light rays have varying wave lengths of frequencies. The lighter the color, the higher the frequency. These wave lengths determine perception of color. Some pigments absorb certain light frequencies and reflect others. We see the reflected frequencies as color.

Complimentary colors as red and green together are not readily legible. They have similar value, so their wave lengths set up vibrations. Any color of similar value will have a lower visibility. However, although yellow and purple are complimentary colors, they have strong contrast in value and little vibration and provide maximum visibility. Bright, contrasting colors are the key to an effective design.

Lettering/Copy

Fonts (typeface) selected for mobile billboard designs must be easy to read from variable distances and angles. Ample spacing between letters, words and lines will enhance visibility. The relative size of letter characters is also an important consideration. The general rule is the larger the letter the easier to read.

Crowding too many letters into the design defeats the purpose. Often an advertiser (particularly many of our clients) feel they want to get their “money’s worth” by filling every square inch with sales copy. As Martha Stewart says… “Not a good thing.” With mobile billboard design, less is certainly more! A bold headline and a few lines of supportive copy should do the trick. Anything more and it will not be read, period.

Location Considerations

Mobile Billboard advertising could convey the right message, to the right audience, at the right time, in the right place. Understanding the dynamics of the marketplace is essential for designing effective mobile billboard campaigns. If possible, your design should convey a message that is relevant to the area and consumer.

Keeping it Fresh

Mobile Billboard advertising is a frequency medium that provides multiple exposures to a message throughout the full duration of a campaign period. Keeping the design fresh in terms of varying the ad creative throughout the life of the campaign is another important factor. New ads remind people who are already in the marketplace that a brand, store or service is good choice. Consistent and repeated exposure to a mobile billboard message over an extended period of time will maintain high levels of advertising awareness and recall. To avoid memory decline, multiple design executions for a campaign can be implemented simultaneously or introduced at appropriate intervals during the campaign period.

Lastly, Eight Easy To Remember Design Tips!

1. Stress product identification.
2. Use few words.
3. Choose legible typefaces.
4. All elements should work together.
5. Use big illustrations or photos.
6. Keep the background simple.
7. Use bold and vibrant colors.
8. If you’re not sure it’s needed… get rid of it!
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Billboards2go.com has an award winning graphic design team that can help you with your creative efforts. Most simple design assistance is offered complimentary. Never hesitate to speak with us about our design services. Call, 800-772-7539 and ask to be connected with our Graphics & Production Manager, Russell Arthur.