They lost favor in the 1960's, but everyone remembers their outdoor ads!

 Outdoor advertising today is pretty much a vast wasteland.  

Occasionally you'll find a laugh..though they likely weren't meant to be funny...

Some were useful...and funny...

And the one you're really looking for...

Seriously, Outdoor advertising has to be simple.  No more than a DOZEN words.  Billboard readers are going from 60 to 90 miles an our.  Keep it simple.  The Buc-es billboard is a prime example of doing it right.  And this one. 

You know this station plays country music.  If you're hungry...

But the best ever advertising that drove public brand awareness was...

It didn't matter if you shaved or not, you looked FORWARD to seeing the Burma-Shave signs.  Click on that graphic above for more information

But I Digress.   Billboards are for short messages.  No more than 12 words.  

Radio advertising is for more information and selling.  But no more than (depending on your budget) 60 to 110 words.  60 words in a 30 second announcement, 110 in a 60 second announcement.  

But wait, what if we talk faster.  No, that doesn't work.  Like the wordy billboards above, if you cram more words into your radio advertisement, the impact gets lost.  Radio advertising imparts a singular sales message and a singular call to action.  Example:

Fred's widget shop sells grade a widgets, designed to last for 3600 cycles or you get your money back.  Visit our Widget shop at the corner of 9th and Bell street and look over our array of widgets.  

OR

Widgets made to order online and shipped to your business direct today.  Go online at yourwidgetshop.dom or call 775-MY-WIDGET today.  That's  yourwidgetshop.dom or call 775-MY-WIDGET today.

Simple.  Direct.  Designed to get action.  That's what Radio Advertising does best. 

But what if you want to impart more information?  That's where PRINT comes into play.  More expensive?  Probably.  But you lay out more information in your PRINT advertising, then incorporated your RADIO advertising to point to your in-depth PRINT ads.  

Remember, not EVERYONE is internet-connected.  Even in the mid-2020's.

The bottom line: Too many words on a billboard or in a radio ad are counter-productive.  Use them to push your immediate CALL TO ACTION.  Then either use PRINT or a WEB PAGE to get into detail, OR get them into your place of business to SELL them your product.  

How do you ensure you will go out of business? 

By doing nothing.  Call me at the radio station - 775-293-7220. Otherwise, that bad billboard you spent too much money on will soon say...

(Thanks to our radio friend Larry Fuss and others for making and taking these pictures)