Tag: marketing

Imagine if someone asked you to hire a moving company you’d never heard of before. Or, eat at a restaurant with a name unknown to you. Would you say yes if you couldn’t check reviews, ask any follow-up questions, or do any kind of research? For most people, the answer is probably no.

This response isn’t necessarily because the business is bad – there’s just not enough information to build trust or confidence. And when we’re faced with any level of uncertainty, many of us will often avoid the cause of that as much as possible. We choose the restaurant whose parking lot is full every time we drive past it, or the moving company whose trucks are always parked in someone’s driveway.

In today’s world, where information is available in seconds and consumers have countless options at their fingertips, unfamiliarity creates hesitation. Before prices are compared, quotes are requested, or reviews are read, it’s essential that your audience and the public know your business exists.

Brand Awareness isn’t about convincing consumers to make a purchase in the moment.  Most often, consumers aren’t ready to make any form of commitment to a business they’ve just been introduced to. However, once that initial introduction has been made, a business can begin building a foundation of trust that will likely lead to a purchase.

While the end goal of the process is for a purchase to be made, consumers must be made aware of the brand and what to associate with it. These points of exposure, often referred to as “touchpoints,” could consist of social media posts, billboards, radio ads – basically anything that publicizes that company, its brand, and what they sell in some capacity. Without these touchpoints, consumers would have little exposure to most products and services and would limit their purchases to only what they’re familiar with. In short, these touchpoints are essential to build trust – whether directly or indirectly – and influence the growth of a business.

There is much argument about which medium provides the most effective form of awareness – however, it is considerably difficult to accurately measure the effectiveness of most formats. While social media ads can provide analytics and insights, how many consumers that were listed as impressions absorbed the post, and didn’t simply scroll past it? Or, how many people listened to the radio ad, instead of muting the volume or changing stations? And that’s without considering the number of consumers utilizing streaming services instead of radio – which arguably has a similar problem, with consumers paying for ad-free streaming on those platforms.

While there is a perception that billboards don’t offer quantifiable analytics, that isn’t necessarily the case. Each billboard location has an estimated impression count based on a formula that incorporates traffic data provided by the Department of Transportation and a defined period of time, typically one week. A knowledgeable billboard representative should be able to provide the daily traffic count for a particular location, as well as its estimated weekly impression count, giving advertisers a clearer picture of the potential audience their billboard can reach.

With consumers desiring more to interact with technology less, billboards provide a great opportunity for advertisers to continue to reach their audiences. In fact, the tangibility they provide greatly increases consumer trust, consumer recognition and consumer engagement. In an age where scammers are running rampant online, viewers appreciate that the ads and images seen on a billboard are more likely to be from a real business than any ad online. Moreover, research from the Out of Home Advertising Association of America suggests that billboards have become the “human medium” through offering a shared, in-person experience to the audiences that are exposed to an ad on a billboard structure. This prioritization of the viewer over the algorithm continues to expand billboard advertising’s popularity among consumers.

It’s understandable why so many businesses have hesitation in utilizing brand awareness as a strategy for their marketing. Businesses, like consumers, have hesitation towards what they consider “the unknown.” Without being able to consistently and acutely track a campaign, it can be harder to quantify your results and determine whether the tactic is working.

Rather than the challenge being to find an advertising medium that can accurately pinpoint consumer intent, it’s accepting that consumers don’t make purchasing decisions in a straight line. It would be considered uncommon for someone to see a business for the first time and immediately become a paying customer. Instead, decisions are formed over the course of days, weeks, or even months via repeated exposure to that business. A person may drive past the same billboard every morning on their commute, notice a company’s logo in their social media feed later that week, hear someone mention that business in conversation, and only then decide to visit its website when the need finally arises.

After a purchase has been made, it’s often impossible to identify which singular touchpoint or advertising medium ultimately made the difference. However, focusing too heavily on finding that one defining moment overlooks how consumers make decisions. Every interaction, whether a billboard, social post, or verbal recommendation plays a key role in building familiarity, confidence, and trust over time.

Brand awareness isn’t about producing an immediate sale or providing a traceable path to conversion. It’s about ensuring that when the need eventually arises, your business is already familiar and trusted by the consumer. The businesses that consistently invest in brand awareness aren’t placing blind faith in an unmeasurable strategy; they’re investing in a form of marketing that will result in recognition that benefits their business long-term.

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If you look up “marketing news” today, you’ll most likely find an entire list of articles discussing Artificial Intelligence – how it’s changing SEO, reshaping search behavior, and dissolving the analytics that many marketers considered to be key in determining success. Despite AI having completely reshaped many standard digital marketing tactics, it is merely the newest piece of a much larger framework that has been changing the industry over time.

Objectively, modern-day marketing has become increasingly complex. Businesses and marketers are expected to understand and navigate SEO, AEO, webpage crawling, AI citations, algorithm updates, trend cycles, conversion tracking, engagement metrics, keywords, and more. If marketing is fundamentally the process of understanding people and delivering something of value to them, then today’s marketing landscape is beginning to resemble a conspiracy theory board riddled with red string. And if the system has become overly “engineered” to the point of obscurity, it raises an important question: has modern marketing become too complicated for its own good?

A common theory in marketing is that the most effective campaigns are often the ones consumers don’t immediately recognize as marketing. The goal was to create something entertaining, useful, informative, or emotionally resonant enough that consumers would willingly engage with it. The product or service would become associated with the experience, and when people connected with it, the brand naturally followed.

Today, many businesses find themselves marketing to something entirely different. Search engines, AI chatbots, recommendation algorithms, and web crawlers are fed information that may – or may not – eventually be presented to a potential customer. However, success often depends upon satisfying a growing list of technical requirements: authority scores, relevant keywords, question-and-answer formatting, schema markup, alt text, and countless other ranking factors. The result is often bland content that feels more focused on algorithmic approval than earning consumer attention.

At the same time, consumers are becoming increasingly vocal about ad fatigue. They’re either skipping ads, scrolling past sponsored content, or tuning out any promotional messaging as a whole. The introduction of AI has only added another layer of hesitation and skepticism, as consumers now become wary of perceiving fake content as genuine.

If consumers are already frustrated by increasingly complex and impersonal marketing tactics, should the solution really be to add even more layers of technology and automation to the mix? Or is it something else completely?

When marketing was at its peak, it was simple, direct, and prioritized the consumer. Now, the main focus is on the number of mediums used to hyper-target one individual, with no tactics involved to build trust. This is where consumers started to feel their privacy was being breached.

To remedy the amount of distrust being felt by consumers online, why not revert to an advertising medium that remains both simple and direct?

Billboards play a pivotal role in building brand awareness without invasive tracking, hyper-targeting, or complex optimization strategies – and that’s what makes them so effective in the modern marketing landscape. Not only do they offer a simplified and direct way to advertise to consumers, but they also allow for ample opportunity to make the ad specifically for consumer experience – not chatbots, search engine crawlers, or any form of optimization technology. Just effective ads being presented directly to a mass audience during their daily commute.

And despite their simplicity, billboards are known to be a strong contender in terms of effectiveness – boasting an impressive 86% ad recall rate and a 78% engagement rate among consumers (Out of Home Advertising Association of America)! Those numbers serve as a reminder that effective marketing doesn’t always require more complexity.

As businesses and marketers alike continue adapting to new technologies, platforms, and consumer behaviors, it’s worth remembering that the goal of marketing has never fundamentally changed. Consumers still want to discover businesses they can trust, products and services that solve problems, and brands that feel familiar. The methods may evolve, but the object remains the same: to connect with people. Billboards continue to excel at that simple objective, helping businesses stay top-of-mind through clear messaging and repeated exposure.

In conclusion, as marketing continues to become increasingly focused on systems, algorithms, and automation, the brands that stand out will be the ones that never lose sight of the people they’re trying to reach.

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Artificial intelligence has surged into nearly every corner of marketing – and as of early 2026, that momentum has only intensified. Content is faster and easier to produce, campaigns are easier to scale, and brands are communicating more than ever before. For some businesses, these developments have been a game-changer. But at what cost?

Despite this newfound scalability and efficiency, the disconnect between businesses and consumers has become exceedingly apparent. In the pursuit of looking polished and producing high volumes of content, brands risk losing sight of what actually matters: creating meaningful points of connection, not just contact.

When efficiency begins to be the primary goal of a business – especially the sectors that work closely with the public – it often comes at the expense of consumer experience. AI excels at speed and scale, but when widely adopted in the same ways across industries, the result can feel indistinguishable. Messaging begins to blur together, regardless of the brand behind it.

At the same time, success is increasingly measured through metrics and performance data. While these insights are valuable, they can also create distance. Behind every data point is a real person, and when interactions feel reduced to numbers, audiences are less likely to feel seen, valued, or motivated to engage.

Reclaiming the brand experience starts with a shift in priorities. Instead of focusing solely on output, brands must re-center their strategies around connection, presence, and intention. When so much communication is filtered, optimized, and automated, authenticity becomes a major differentiator. Brands that show up in ways that feel tangible, thoughtful, and more “human” will be the only ones to stand apart from the noise.

This is where traditional media – specifically billboards – resolve the mass brand experience problem in a meaningful way. Unlike digital mediums, like social media and AI chatbots, billboards deliver messages without being personalized or reshaped by algorithms. In fact, billboards create a sense of mass connectivity through everyone having the same direct interaction with it.

Billboards don’t depend on user data, platform changes, or shifting visibility rules. Instead, they rely on being rooted in the real world and being seen by real people. You never have to question whether a billboard advertisement is real or not, and nowadays, that matters.

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If you’re considering billboard advertising, you’ve probably asked yourself whether it’s worth it for your business.

The short answer is yes – but, it’s most effective when it’s approached with the right strategy and a clear set of expectations. Billboards don’t behave like digital ads that generate immediate clicks or conversions. Instead, they build visibility, familiarity, and trust over time. For businesses focused on long-term growth at the local or regional level, that kind of consistent exposure is incredibly valuable.

At its core, billboard advertising works because of repetition. Audiences encounter your message regularly during their commutes, daily routines, and travels. That repeated exposure builds recognition, and over time, recognition turns into trust. When a consumer is ready to make a decision, they’re far more likely to choose a name they already know.

The value of billboard advertising isn’t always immediate, but it is measurable in meaningful ways. Businesses that invest in consistent outdoor advertising often see increases in branded search activity, website traffic, and increased foot traffic!

Just as importantly, billboards reinforce brand legitimacy by placing your business in a highly visible, public space. That visibility signals credibility and strengthens how your audience perceives your brand across every touchpoint. In today’s competitive landscape, that perception alone can influence how customers evaluate and choose between businesses.

In fact, client Legacy Marble & Granite shared:
“Since launching our billboard campaign with Lind Media, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in showroom traffic, including from markets outside our usual reach. It’s been an effective way to expand our visibility!”

It’s also worth noting that billboard advertising is one of the oldest forms of marketing still in use today. And, it hasn’t just survived – it’s remained highly relevant. While many traditional advertising channels have declined with the rise of digital – such as print, television, and radio – out-of-home advertising continues to grow. According to the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA), the industry surpassed $9 billion in annual revenue in 2024 and has recorded 18 consecutive quarters of growth. That kind of sustained momentum reflects one simple truth: real-world visibility still works.

When billboard advertising doesn’t feel “worth it,” it’s usually not because the medium failed—it’s because expectations or strategy were misaligned.

One of the most common misalignments is expecting immediate, trackable results that are associated with digital advertising. While immediate results can happen, billboards are not designed to function as short-term lead generation tools. Their effectiveness builds over time through consistent exposure and audience familiarity. Campaigns that run for shorter durations often don’t reach the level of impact associated with long-term placements.

Creative also plays a critical role in performance. Messaging that is too complex, wordy, or difficult to read at a glance will struggle to make an impression. With billboard advertising, clarity isn’t just important, it’s imperative.

Billboard advertising delivers the most value when it’s supported by a clear strategy and realistic expectations. The strongest campaigns aren’t rushed; they prioritize simplicity, consistency, and audience alignment.

Working with industry professionals can significantly improve campaign performance. An experienced Account Executive can help ensure your campaign runs for the right duration and reaches the right audience, while a Creative Production Team can guide you in designing messaging that is optimized for real-world viewing conditions.

With the right guidance and a well-executed strategy, billboard advertising becomes a long-term driver of visibility, credibility, and growth – making it a worthwhile investment for businesses looking to establish a strong and lasting presence.

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If you’ve spent time on LinkedIn recently, you’ve likely noticed the growing conversation around “Brand POV.” In a marketing environment shaped by AI-generated content and algorithm-driven distribution, differentiation no longer comes from producing more content – it comes from having a clearer perspective.

A brand’s Point of View (POV) is a distinct – often opinionated – stance on industry or cultural topics, rather than simply a promotion of products or services. It defines a brand’s worldview. At its best, it builds deeper, value-driven connections by establishing shared beliefs. It’s sometimes called brand stance, brand voice, or thought leadership. Regardless of the label, the idea is the same: strong brands don’t just sell – they stand for something.

The brands gaining traction today aren’t simply posting more often. They are expressing conviction. They have a defined way of seeing their industry, their customers, and their role in the market.

What is often overlooked, however, is that brand perspective is expressed not only through messaging – but through media choice.

The platforms a company invests in communicate just as much as the creative itself. A brand that prioritizes performance-driven online campaigns signals a focus on optimization and efficiency. One built primarily on influencer partnerships communicates social proof and cultural alignment. An organization that leans heavily into owned email channels signals control – and direct access to its audience.

Choosing billboards communicates something different.

In a marketing ecosystem dominated by personalization, micro-targeting, and constantly shifting algorithms, billboards operate outside that system. They are public, shared, and unfiltered. They are not dependent on feeds, engagement rates, or platform volatility. They cannot be skipped, blocked, muted, or scrolled past. A billboard exists in the real world, visible to an entire community at once. That choice alone reflects a belief in presence over personalization and visibility over volatility.

There is also a deeper psychological signal embedded in physical media. Online campaigns can be paused in seconds. Creative can be revised instantly. Budgets can be reallocated overnight. Billboards, by contrast, require commitment. They are planned, produced, and installed. They remain visible day after day. That permanence communicates stability and confidence – particularly meaningful in industries built on trust, such as healthcare, legal services, finance, and public leadership.

In an increasingly fragmented online landscape, where every consumer sees a different feed, billboards create a shared experience. The same message, in the same place, for the same market. Shared visibility builds cultural presence in a way hyper-targeted ads cannot replicate. It positions a brand not just as a participant in platform conversations, but as a visible fixture within the community itself.

This is where billboards as Brand POV become especially compelling. In an era where efficiency and optimization dominate marketing discussions, choosing broad, physical visibility is a strategic declaration. It signals that a brand values market presence, long-term memory, and public legitimacy. It suggests a willingness to be seen – not just clicked, skipped, or silenced.

Your media mix is never neutral. It reflects how you believe brands grow, how markets are won, and how trust is built. Billboards, when used intentionally, communicate seriousness, confidence, and commitment to a market.

And in a time when differentiation is increasingly difficult to manufacture, that may be the strongest point of view a brand can have.

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