Introduction
Mobile billboards are a marketing technique where an advertisement is placed on the side of a truck, trailer or any other kind of vehicle. Falling under the digital out-of-home (DOOH) category, this type of marketing assures great results with correct implementation. As one of the newest forms of advertising, it is unique and largely noticeable.
Digital mobile billboards have greater recall rates – as much as 97% – and are more effective and flexible than traditional billboard advertising.
Types of Mobile Billboards
What sets mobile billboard effectiveness apart from other forms of advertising is that these can deliver messages in places that static and other digital billboards are unable to reach. Moreover, this method offers a means of advertising to be seen near competitors and makes sure that it is not cluttered by other advertisements. There is also the advantage that the content is seen by drivers and people on foot in the city and in urban areas and within a few minutes this message can move to high traffic areas in suburban inner and outer rings.
Mobile billboard trucks are often used in parades, product launches, furniture displays as well as general rapid-awareness creation. Let us discuss a few types of mobile billboards commonly in use:
- Truck advertising is where a mobile billboard is placed on two or three sides of trucks that are most often used for transporting goods for companies to and from various destinations. Advertisements created in vinyl material and plastered on the truck provides a means of affordable advertising with more real estate and a very high reach.
- Vehicle wraps are used with smaller vehicles to market products and services. The advertisement is either painted directly onto the vehicle or printed on vinyl sheets and then pasted. Vehicle wraps are beneficial in your marketing campaign because of its attention-grabbing visuals and the ability to target specific audiences.
- Trailer billboards are thin billboards that are usually hauled behind pickups and trucks. Because these are accompanied with LED lighting, trailer billboards are more effective for targeting night time audiences. The advantaged of these include ample space for advertising and can include multiple ads on each billboard. Furthermore, trailer billboards are highly versatile as they can be removed and mounted as and when necessary, and because they have two sides, different ads can be displayed on each side.
- Digital mobile billboard advertising includes using LED screens to display ads on moving vehicles. This modern and highly versatile technique of advertising allows numerous advertisements to be displayed throughout the day, so you can target different audiences and reach a wider customer base. High visibility and affordability (by sharing the vehicle with other companies) are the biggest benefits of digital mobile billboards.
How effective are Mobile Billboards?
- In America (according to the Trucking Association), mobile billboard trucks are noticed by 98% of people traveling in cars.
- The American Trucking Association also reported that 91% of the targeted audience notice a truck advertisement, and a large percentage recall the specific advertisement.
- Also in America, (according to the Outdoor Advertising Association), each truck can generate about 30,000-70,000 impressions in each day!
- The Transport Advertising Council reports 97% recall rates with mobile billboards.
- Product Acceptance and Research Inc reports 80% recall rates for specific ads.
- According to the Nielsen OOH Advertising Study (2019), mobile billboards have very high recall rates amongst specific segments such as Hispanic, Asian and black, audience demographic ranging 16-49.
- APN uses brain scanning technology to prove that moving ads provide 45% more peak exposure as compared to static billboard advertisements.
- In Europe (according to the Outdoor Advertising Association), truck advertising boosts name recognition 15 times more than other advertising methods.
In addition to these convincing statistics, we also have a few strong reasons why mobile billboards are extremely effective:
- Quick and memorable: According to the above APN study, once the audience engages with the brand, the level of memory encoding is higher. This increases the recalling of a brand.
- Size matters: when it comes to advertising, bigger really is better. And what’s better? If the huge ad is at eye level and it is moving, it certainly won’t be missed!
- Strategic targeting: Correctly target your advertisement to the right people at the right time to result in high quality impressions. The move-ability factor means mobile billboard can reach those places where your audience lives, works and plays. Hence make sure your content speaks precisely to your target audience.
- Integration with digital: By pairing your OOH advertising campaign to a smartphone campaign, your reach can be amplified by up to 316%. This allows your campaign to be noticed by all the right people in the right place at the right time. Further personalized reach is possible by sending proximity-based messages directly to one’s smartphone.
- Everyday checks: Mobile billboards are driven by experienced professional drivers who look at the advertisement every day, to make sure brand awareness stays intact.
- Nontraditional, yet exciting: People don’t come across mobile billboards every day; which is why, when they do, they get excited. It’s a great technique to cut through the clutter, grab attention and create excitement.
- Works as an effective geo-conquesting strategy: Steal market share from your competitors by driving your larger-than-life advertisement near their store locations, and attracting their customer base to your store! This is a great strategy to achieve competitive advantage.
Why invest in mobile billboards?
Mobile billboards are highly valuable for any advertiser, particularly because these can reach anywhere, at any time, to engage with specific audiences. Some of the most important reasons why businesses/advertisers should invest in mobile billboards are as follows:
- Routes can be highly targeted, strategic and customized based on certain audiences and marketing goals.
- Large visibility at eye level and real estate on busy streets that gets noticed and recalled.
- Countrywide marketing campaigns can be implemented, targeting more than one market.
- Fully dedicated, creative, double-sided advertisements with 100% share of voice, spotlighting only your brand.
- Location based integrative advertising opportunities to deliver messages across two channels.
- Due to more effective targeting, quality conversion rates are seen.
- Compatibility with digital media makes mobile billboards highly attractive and successful.
- A very cost-effective solution, especially because of the ability to generate a large number of impressions each day.
Importance of location
When considering a mobile billboard investment, it is important to do your own research. There are several factors to be taken into consideration but you need to find one that will ensure your advertisement will be viewed by a maximum number of people. Mobile billboards are invariably most effective when placed in large cities and routed through busy highways and other high traffic areas. If your location is not thought out strategically, it may not be worth it because not enough potential customers will view your ad. Also, when you find a routing where you think your mobile billboard will work best, find out if other businesses have previously succeeded doing the same in that area.
Conclusion
While there are many different social media formats and other marketing techniques out there that can help you reach your business goals, mobile billboard marketing is certainly making a growing impact. With proper research, strategic content and location planning and a creatively designed mobile billboard advertisement, you can reach a wide target market, experience high recall rates and see quality conversions, all in an extremely cost-effective solution.
