Brand, benefit, value: Play the Outdoor Game

Effective outdoor is harder to design than most think. If you drive I-80, here’s a fun game you can play. Rate the outdoor boards you see and note which are effective, and which are not. The Advertising Benchmark Index ranks best and worst outdoor based on how well the creative meets the criteria of “brand, benefit and value.” The brand must be the hero of the story.

So, if you can’t see the logo, or know who is talking to you, that’s a fail, right? And, what’s the benefit? Is it clear to see quickly? Keep in mind, most people are driving by at 70 mph. Nationally, out-of-home is a $2.8 billion business. Boards are fun to design, but they are strategically tricky and require a big logo and very few words that do the heavy lifting.