Outdoor Advertising Articles, Learn outdoor advertising

OutdoorBillboard.com continues to grow and we appreciate all of our advertisers and visitors that continue to help us become the Number 1 website for the Outdoor Advertising Industry.

NEW E-BOOK on Billboard Investing - Watch for the release of this book in the next week or so. It is going to be excellent! It is currently being written by a highly successful Billboard owner from the Dallas area. After reading the rough draft, I am excited to be a part of this endeavor.

NEW Lead Service - We are currently finalizing the process of collecting leads from potential advertisers, land owners, and billboard sellers. This is going to launch this month and it would be to your benefit to get into this program early. The basic concept is that we will collect leads and forward them on to companies that cover that specific market or industry segment. If interested, let me know and I will forward you the details.

Seth Godin is one of the world’s most famous marketing experts. His latest book is called “Small is the new big”. For years I have really enjoyed reading Seth’s books because he has an amazing way of condensing concepts so that the ideas radiate and really hit the mark. Seth also has a sublime way of lobbing out these simple statements like “small is the new big” and then watching as pioneers of industry and entrepreneurs implement the words to send shockwaves through their businesses. Seth is a true magician in business but now more than ever, Seths’ recent statement is very true, especially for the outdoor advertising world. Here are the top 5 ways the OOH and Advertising Industries are impacted by the “small is the new big” philosophy. Also listed are the top 5 ways readers of this article can benefit from the change and opportunities on the table.

1. Small clever stickers on bananas and strategically stamped messages on eggs in the grocery store can be more effective than a big 14’ x 48’ billboard off a major Interstate.

2. A small trained team of four brand ambassadors in a nightclub can get 3000 college students sampling and ordering a new energy drink and then text messaging friends about the product, putting a non-existent brand on the map in less than an hour.

3. Smaller, more focused and more affordable forms of advertising are allowing small businesses to test advertising outside of the traditional staples of newspaper, phone books and junk mail. Great campaigns are not just for big brand marketers anymore and savvy small businesses are also thinking bigger and are more receptive to new ways of connecting with their markets and dominating their own backyards.

4. As a result of #3 above, the need for quality local media representation has spawned franchise and small business opportunities in the Advertising, Media and Outdoor Advertising Industries. Selling ads and integrated media campaigns is not just for the big slick New York ad shops anymore. Small locally focused media companies are strategically placed to deliver results for local and national clients.

5. Via a small connection or tiny wireless signals the Internet has and will continue to bring a big advertising world within reach. OutdoorBillboard.com is a great example of how our industry is progressing and how the Internet is helping local businesses put their fingers on the pulse of an industry. Web sites like this and others have provided a way for small and large companies alike to locate, discuss, evaluate, track, measure and gather information about outdoor advertising. The goal is giving the advertiser solutions.

This article was written by Bret Pawlowski, of www.Billboards-4-Rent.com and www.GolfAdsUSA.com which are Out-Of-Home Media companies focused on bridging the gaps between billboard advertising, consumer promotions and point of impact marketing. Copyright 2007 by Brands In Motion, Inc. All rights reserved.

Want to make a big impact? You’ve come to the right place. Billboard Connection’s media gurus can make you and your business look larger than life by capitalizing on the most cost effective form of advertising there is – Out-of-home.

Want statistics, cold hard facts or just interested in seeing some flat out gorgeous attention getting ads? Call us. Want to know where every stick of inventory is, every where by simply making one call? Call us. Then sit down with a latte and take a break while we put together a comprehensive proposal showing you the best available inventory in your requested areas. It doesn’t get much better than that.

So who are we and how do we do what we do? It’s not magic. It’s tenacity, attention to detail, knowledge and, well, maybe just a little bit of magic. Billboard Connection is an Out-Of Home Buying service catering to advertisers and Advertising Agencies. We can assist you and your clients with the Out-Of-Home portion of their advertising campaign. We will provide you with all the avails (available inventory) in the areas that you desire from multiple vendors and we can also provide the creative design and the production at a discounted rate. In addition, we will pre-ride the outdoor advertising media to ensure that only the best locations are presented. We will also ride the media post-buy and provide you with a Proof of Performance photo sheet.

Want your business to get moving in the right direction? Get moving with Billboard Connection's mobile billboard trailers. They are all that and less. By less I mean they cost less than other mobile truck style billboards and are a whole lot prettier to look at to boot.

Our mobile billboards allow your clients to have immediate access to places like sporting events, concerts, shore points, tight city streets, college campus' and more, without being restricted by weight or height limits.

They get noticed more than the everyday ho hum box truck, they eat up less gas and they cost less.

Billboard Connection's mobile billboards can get your clients noticed - they can come with a sound system and street teams, and the billboard is backlit, giving it a beautiful glow perfect for night viewing, oh, and did I mention they cost less?

Our mobile billboard team can brainstorm the best locations for your clients drive -by, or they can just follow orders and drive - its your call.

I can assure you that we will provide your company and advertisers with prompt and courteous world class customer service. We look forward to speaking with you and will do whatever it takes to make you happy. Latte not included.

How effective is your advertising campaign?

By Selena McIntyre

Remember that old saying, "Money doesn't grow on trees?" Unfortunately with the current condition of the economy we are finding that money is harder and harder to acquire. Jobs are decreasing and the unemployment rates are increasing. This is why it is so important to make the most out of every dollar.

In order to cope with the falling economy, businesses have been decreasing their budgets. Several companies are even cutting their advertising budgets. However, most businesses can not survive without some kind of advertising. With all this in mind, you can see why it is important to spend your advertising budgets as wisely as possible.

Cost per Thousand (CPM)

Since every type of advertising has its own unique price range and reach, it's hard to effectively compare the prices of each media type. For this reason, advertisers compare the cost of each ad by how much it costs to reach 1,000 people (cost per thousand or CPM.) Here is the formula for CPM:

CPM = Cost of Ad * 1000 / circulation

Unfortunately the CPM for billboards is a little more complicated. Here is the easiest way I have found to figure the CPM for billboards:

Multiply the daily traffic by the number of days the billboard will be posted this month (usually 30.)
Divide the number you get by 1000. (Save this figure you will need it in a minute.)
Divide the cost of monthly rent by the number you got in Step 2.

Here's an example:
Daily traffic (DEC's) is 10,000, and monthly rent is $400.00.

10,000 * 30 = 300,000
300,000 / 1,000 = 300
400 / 300 = 1.33

$1.33 is the cost per thousand in this example.

Here is a chart of the average cost per thousand.

Media Types	CPM

Billboard - 30-Sheet Poster	$2.05
Radio Ad - During Prime Drive Time	$8.61
Magazine - One page with 4 colors	$9.35
Television Commercial - 30 Seconds on a Prime-Time Network	$17.78
Newspaper - 1/3 of a page in black and white	$22.95

The information on this chart is from OAAA.

To learn more about these media types and which types work best for your business, please visit http://www.bpsoutdoor.com/articles/adtypes.htm.

Let's see how effective your advertising campaign is

Let's start by making a list of all your current advertisements. You can do this on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. On this list be sure to include a brief description of the ad, the amount of time the ad will be run (exposure), how many people should see your ad (circulation), the price of the ad, Cost Per Thousand, and Profits.

Type of Ad	Exposure	Circulation	Price	CPM	Profits
Bilboard
Newspaper
Television Commercial
Radio Ad
Magazine

The number of subscribers for newspapers and magazines is their circulation. To find the circulation of television and radio ads, you must multiply the number of listeners or viewers by a percentage of the air-rating at the time your ad is aired. The circulation of billboards is 1.35 (average number of passengers in each vehicle) multiplied by the actual number of cars that pass your sign in 24 hours (DEC.)

The Bottom Line:

Look carefully at the CPM and Profit column of each ad. These areas will tell you which ads are effective, and which ads need improvement. Compare the ads that are not bringing in good profits to those ads that are. Make the poor performing ads similar to the good ads. Find out how to design effective ads.

You can also take a percentage of the advertising profits to invest in new ads. For example, let's say your advertising budget is $5,000.00 and your profits (after removing the advertising expenses) are $3,500.00. Let's also say you used $1,500.00 of your profits to rerun or place more of your best performing ads. All the money you receive from these extra ads is profits. You can keep using the money received from the extra ads to buy new ads and earn more profits.

Selena McIntyre has been a Creative Designer for BPS Outdoor Media since 1999. She has a Marketing Degree and several years of customer service experience. Selena has studied art most of her life and continues to do so now. She designs most of BPS’s billboards and has written several articles about the outdoor advertising industry. To see some of her work please visit http://www.bpsoutdoor.com/gallery/. Questions or comments? She’ll be glad to hear from you at info@bpsotudoor.com.