Outdoor advertising is about catching your audience’s attention through brilliant and stimulating outdoor art and copy. As the biggest and most prominent form of outdoor advertising, billboards are the best examples of doing outdoor advertising right. As an advertising strategy, billboards can play an important role in your brand’s presence outside of the digital realm.
Focus on a single message with a specific goal.
Each billboard must focus on communicating a single message. Since billboards are often found near roads and public areas, brands compete for the audience’s split-second attention. Having multiple messages adds complexity to your ad. Remember: Your audience won’t stop in the middle of the road to ponder your ad.
Use short copy
The best practice in billboard copy is: Use seven words or less in your copy. While renting an entire billboard to communicate a short copy might not seem economical, your advertising agency will make it worth it. More often than not, billboard copy is purposively short but designed to be effective (because your audience won’t have much time to read a longer message).
The simpler, the better.
In terms of design, keep your billboard simple. Using unnecessary elements in your billboard distracts from your message. Don’t add to the visual noise that other billboards are already emitting. Also, use a minimal number of attention-grabbing images.
Choose the right colors.
Remember to choose hues that reflect your company’s branding when it comes to using colors in your billboard. Consistent branding on every platform creates a strong, unified image in your audience’s mind. If the design calls for different colors, try eye-catching colors and color combinations to draw in attention.
Put a premium on typography.
Billboards are meant to be viewed in a few seconds. Therefore, the fonts, kerning, spacing and visual flow of your content affect your audience’s perception significantly. Make your content easily readable for your audience.
Billboards allow your brand to show how different you are from others. Don’t fade into obscurity by flooding your audience with multiple messages, complex copy, and boring design. Create a tight, direct, and unique billboard that will make your brand memorable for your audience.
Billboard Examples:
An interesting design that promotes the brand and informs the viewer.
A standard billboard.
An unconventional approach to billboard design.
An empty canvas.
Magazine Ad Examples
An Ad promoting Aluminum in a trade magazine.
An Ad for a Design Company. Illustrating the companies’ skills while promoting themselves in a practical way.
The following is on d2l:
ASSIGNMENT
Complete the Following:
- Three Billboards (Primary, Secondary, tertiary) (Use “Standard” Sizes)
- One “Standard” (highway version)
- One Experimental: See Experimental Billboard Description. The dropbox is located on d2l)
- One at eye level. (bus station etc…)
- There are five billboards and one that is highly experimental. I am expecting storyboards, planning, what technology you will use, etc. You are required to get approval for the experimental billboard before you begin production.
- Total of Six.
When completed, incorporate your designs into billboard templates available on the Web. (Creative Commons, Please) https://unblast.com/mockups/
STUDENT EXAMPLES:
Some of the above content was retrieved from: https://www.amba.agency/blog/billboard-design-best-practicesbillboard-design-best-practices
Experimental Billboards
Experimental Ads - IBM’s People for Smart Cities Ad campaign - Billboards are often overlooked and ineffective. That is, until now. Ogilvy & Mather France took billboard advertising to the next level. .
Billboard powered by oranges
Agency: DDB
This billboard harnesses the energy from oranges to illuminate a neon sign that reads “Natural Energy” & the Tropicana logo. Through several thousand spikes of copper and zink, wiring, and 3 months of testing, DDB made a giant multi-cell battery powerful enough to light up a billboard. Unit9 produced the custom build in collaboration with director Johnny Hardstaff who created the accompanying 90second film.
This professional campaign titled ‘Billboard powered by oranges’ was published in France in April, 2011. It was created for the brand: Tropicana, by ad agency: DDB. This Outdoor medium campaign is related to the Soft Drinks industry and contains 1 media asset. It was submitted about 12 years ago.
| 3M: Don’t Forget Your Friends, Pink, Don’t Forget Your Friend… • Ads of the World™ | Part of The Clio Network |
2005 ONE SHOW - ADVERTISING
LIGHT BULB
AGENCY Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO / London
CLIENT The Economist
Creative Vacuum Cleaner Ad
ASSIGNMENT: EXPERIMENTAL BILLBOARD
- Include implied or actual animation or billboard.
- The billboard should include a primary message that is seven words or less.
- Secondary messages or information should be minimal yet still noticeable.
- Any graphics used should be open source / creative commons. Please verify the images copyright status.
- Does the message communicate your main idea?
- Does your message connect to your brand (creative brief and style guide)?
- Make connections between elements in your billboard and elements that be or appear outside of its boundaries.
- Please design your billboard using basic aesthetic principles, fonts, composition etc…
- Present your billboard to me. You will present this particular billboard to the class.
A Dropbox has been made for the Experimental Billboard. This is separate from the other five billboards.
Size: Variable. You will need to pick a real place where your billboard will be placed. (Hypothetically)
Creating effective billboard advertisements requires more than just great design and catchy copy—understanding the specifics of billboard sizing and the technical requirements of your artwork is crucial.
Whether you’re working with print, vinyl, or digital billboards, each type has its specifications that can make or break the success of your campaign. This guide will delve deep into the importance of knowing billboard sizes and provide detailed guidelines for preparing artwork to ensure your billboard looks spectacular and communicates your message effectively to passersby.
Print Billboards: Artwork Specifications
Understanding Scale and Resolution
The artwork needs to be prepared in CMYK color mode for print billboards at 300 dpi. However, because of the large size of billboards, the designs are often created at a scaled-down size:
- Scale Conversion: Typically, the scale is set so that 1 foot of the billboard translates to 0.5 inches on the scaled artwork. This helps manage the file size and makes the design process manageable.
Common Billboard Sizes and Artwork Dimensions
Here’s a breakdown of standard billboard sizes and their corresponding scaled artwork dimensions:
- 25′ x 48′ Billboard: The artwork needs to be 12.5″ x 24″.
- 25′ x 40′ Billboard: Prepare your design at 12.5″ x 20″.
- 24′ x 36′ Billboard: The artwork should be 12″ x 18″.
- 14′ x 48′ Billboard: Design at 7″ x 24″.
- 10′ x 32′ Billboard: The scaled size will be 5″ x 16″.
- 12′ x 40′ Billboard: Create the design at 6″ x 20″.
- 12′ x 24′ Billboard: The artwork needs to be 6″ x 12″.
- 12′ x 15′ Billboard: Prepare the artwork at 6″ x 7.5″.
Bartlett, B. (2025). Mastering Billboard Sizing for Your Next Campaign. Retrieved from https://www.whistlerbillboards.com/billboard-mastery/mastering-billboard-sizing-for-your-next-campaign/