Planning Your First Billboard Campaign – Steps for Success!

Utilizing billboards is an effective way to get your brand in front of thousands of viewers fast - not only that, but setting up your campaign is pretty easy, too!
Utilizing billboards is an effective way to get your brand in front of thousands of viewers fast – not only that, but setting up your campaign is pretty easy, too!

An Introduction To Billboard Advertising

Ready to make your brand stand out with billboard advertising? Great choice! Billboards are one of the most effective forms of advertising available, giving you the power to reach thousands of people every day, strengthen brand recognition, and make a bold impact in your community. If you’re new to billboard campaigns, the process may seem overwhelming at first—but with the right strategy, it’s simple and rewarding.

At Lind Media Company, we specialize in helping businesses of all sizes plan successful billboard campaigns. Here’s a step-by-step guide to get you started!

Step 1: Set Your Budget

Every strong advertising campaign begins with a clear budget. A good rule of thumb is to dedicate about one-third of your overall marketing spend to outdoor advertising. This ensures your brand gets meaningful visibility while leaving room for other marketing channels.

But Billboard advertising is flexible, and we’ve worked with businesses both large and small to craft impactful billboard strategies with a variety of budget allocations. Whether you’re starting with a single digital billboard or running a multi-location campaign, setting your budget upfront just helps ensure the right plan for your needs.

Step 2: Define Your Goals

Ask yourself: What do I want to achieve with this campaign?

  • Do you want to increase local brand awareness and stay top-of-mind in your community?
  • Or are you aiming to expand into new markets and attract new customers?

Your goals not only shape your message and design, they also help our experienced account executives create a smart billboard location plan. With our rotational billboards, your ad can move across multiple high-traffic boards in your local market for maximum visibility, or rotate between markets to help you break into new territories. This flexibility ensures your campaign works exactly where it will make the biggest impact!

Step 3: Craft Your Message

Once your goals are clear, it’s time to create your message. Remember, drivers only have a few seconds to notice and understand your billboard, so your wording needs to be simple, powerful, and memorable.

Best practices for billboard messaging:

  • Focus on a single idea (a product, promotion, or brand awareness).
  • Keep it short—seven words or fewer is ideal.
  • Use bold, memorable language people can recall after driving by.
  • Humor can be effective, as long as it fits your brand.

Think of your billboard as the headline of your marketing campaign—it grabs attention and sparks curiosity, while your website, store, or social channels provide the full story.

Step 4: Design for Impact!

Your billboard design is just as important as your message. Clean, bold designs always outperform cluttered ones.

These are great examples of what to do and what not to do when designing your billboard - simplicity is key!
These are great examples of what to do and what not to do when designing your billboard – simplicity is key!

Tips for effective outdoor advertising design:

  • Stick with one striking image or graphic that reinforces your message.
  • Use high-contrast colors so your text is easy to read.
  • Incorporate brand colors, logos, or taglines for instant recognition.
  • Choose large, legible fonts designed to be read from a distance.

Ready to Launch?

Your first billboard campaign doesn’t have to be stressful. By setting a budget, defining clear goals, crafting a strong message, and keeping your design simple, you’ll be on your way to creating a campaign that drives real results.

And you don’t have to do it alone. Our account executives bring extensive experience in billboard advertising strategy and will be there every step of the way—from planning your campaign to selecting the best billboard locations and answering any questions along the journey. With our expertise and reliable support, you can launch your campaign with confidence knowing your brand is in good hands.

Ready to plan your first campaign? Contact us today to start!

Ready To Advertise?