billboard advertising - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

SeamlessGutters · 08-26-2009, 12:32 AM

Hey everyone. I had a specific advertising question I was hoping to have answered.

I was wondering what response/success anybody has had from large billboards on heavy traffic areas.

NOTE: PLEASE TO NOT RESPOND WITH - DO NOT DO ITS A WASTE OF money your way better off doing .....

I would rather have a effective conversation on billboard advertising, success and failures...

Thanks,

Cdat · 08-26-2009, 08:22 AM

I have never used a billboard BUT I have given companies my money when I saw their advertisements on billboards. I drive 128 miles every day and see a lot of signage. I do believe it is a very good plan to use one.

DetailHandyman · 08-26-2009, 03:47 PM

Seems if you had one in an area where traffic slows/backs up in rush hour, might be more effective.

Personally, I usually don't pay much attention to billboards. Unless, I'm sitting in traffic...

They have LED billboards around here. The advertised message rotates every few seconds. Nice color and like Vegas at night. I wonder what those cost compared to permanent display?

buildpinnacle · 08-27-2009, 09:25 PM

Seamless,

I purchased a billboard a few months ago with a 17,000 per day traffic count. So far, it's costing me $250/month (which isn't bad for the exposure) but I can only track 2 calls to it. Both calls were people calling to lambast me on my choice of marketing. We are in the insurance restoration biz and insurance claims are commonly referred to as 'acts of God'. After some heated debate we chose the slogan 'When God takes a break, We go to work for you' with pics of tornados, fires, you get the drift. You can imagine the jist of the two calls. Bad choice for me. Will use that particular money for internet next year. I am finding it doesn't work that well in our business....at least around here.

HSConstruction · 08-29-2009, 05:48 PM

I was tempted a few years ago and did some homework. I called other contractors who used billboards to see what the results were. The consensus was the cost per lead was not worth it. The billboard I was interested in was almost $800 a month, to me that $800 was best spent elsewhere. I think the only billboards that work are on I-95 "Pedro Says" They must spend millions a year on billboards.

Mike Finley · 08-29-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buildpinnacle

Seamless,

I purchased a billboard a few months ago with a 17,000 per day traffic count. So far, it's costing me $250/month (which isn't bad for the exposure) but I can only track 2 calls to it. Both calls were people calling to lambast me on my choice of marketing. We are in the insurance restoration biz and insurance claims are commonly referred to as 'acts of God'. After some heated debate we chose the slogan 'When God takes a break, We go to work for you' with pics of tornados, fires, you get the drift. You can imagine the jist of the two calls. Bad choice for me. Will use that particular money for internet next year. I am finding it doesn't work that well in our business....at least around here.

Here's a market secret for you and some help on understanding marketing, how and when and why it's effective and when it isn't.

There are two types of marketing, direct and indirect or better known as advertising for an immediate response and branding. When you put an ad in the yellow pages for instance under lets say for instance drain cleaning you are putting yourself in a place that people who have a need for your service are going to actually go to and seek out a solution. When you place a billboard on the road telling people you do drain cleaing it's more of a branding thing.

In the first medium nobody but somebody who needs a drain cleaned will open those pages up and look at them, but those people who do go there will have a need.

In the 2nd medium everybody driving past seeing your message is not driving past your billboard in search of a drain cleaner. When they do need a drain cleaned they aren't going to go driving around the city in search of somebody advertising on a bill board and then go - ah, there he is! and then call you.

If you have other advertising going on all the time, then the bill board is a branding component, reinforcing your existance and keeping you in front of people's minds as when they do have a problem, they will call you cause they know who you are already. But if you aren't already out there creating a brand and keeping your name at the top of the list of who to call in people's minds when they need your service, you're probably wasting your money on something like a bill board.

SeamlessGutters · 08-29-2009, 06:58 PM

Thank you, I couldn't agree more.

RJ Cooper · 09-01-2009, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Finley

Here's a market secret for you and some help on understanding marketing, how and when and why it's effective and when it isn't.

There are two types of marketing, direct and indirect or better known as advertising for an immediate response and branding. When you put an ad in the yellow pages for instance under lets say for instance drain cleaning you are putting yourself in a place that people who have a need for your service are going to actually go to and seek out a solution. When you place a billboard on the road telling people you do drain cleaning it's more of a branding thing.

In the first medium nobody but somebody who needs a drain cleaned will open those pages up and look at them, but those people who do go there will have a need.

In the ND medium everybody driving past seeing your message is not driving past your billboard in search of a drain cleaner. When they do need a drain cleaned they aren't going to go driving around the city in search of somebody advertising on a bill board and then go - ah, there he is! and then call you.

If you have other advertising going on all the time, then the bill board is a branding component, reinforcing your existence and keeping you in front of people's minds as when they do have a problem, they will call you cause they know who you are already. But if you aren't already out there creating a brand and keeping your name at the top of the list of who to call in people's minds when they need your service, you're probably wasting your money on something like a bill board.

Explained very well.

In my research, the best billboards are the ones that say, "If you need x then Next Exit!"

Branding and awareness are another reason for billboards.

How many people who drive by a billboard, really are out of ones market area. Interstates and such, many of the motorist are not potential clients, but the ad company quotas the number, hence the higher traffic, the higher the investment.

But, in reality the true prospect number is lower.