Seth Godin's Blog




Search

RSS Feeds






  • Subscribe with Viigo - for mobile
    [-for mobile]

SETH'S BOOKS

THE DIP BLOG by Seth Godin




All Marketers Are Liars Blog




Blog powered by TypePad
Member since 08/2003

« Would you buy life insurance at a rock concert? | Main | What do you think? »

Do billboards work?

000_0277Red Maxwell sends in this great photo. He reports that for the first week, all six muffins were in place.

My colleague Jay Levinson taught me that the two best words to have on a billboard are, "next exit." I have serious doubts that you can cost-effectively sell an item that isn't a "right now" purchase from a billboard, though. I'm have no doubts at all that hospitals have no business whatsoever running ads on billboards. "Oh, George, you've been thinking of having heart surgery--look at this great ad from Memorial Hospital!"

So, yes, it's funny and even memorable. But is it selling muffins or a particular brand of muffins? If I got a muffin craving from this ad, would I pay extra for these particular muffins?

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2123/3221408

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Do billboards work?:

» Giant Muffin Crushes Car from AdPulp
Thanks to Seth Godin for seeding this image of a unique outdoor board from Bloom, a Food Lion concept store aimed at providing a "simple, uncomplicated and hassle-free shopping experience."... [Read More]

» http://www.spy-tools.info from Spy Tools
Read your article, "Do Billboards Work", I agree for the most part that the "Next Exit" ads sell better, however do not over look the branding power of billboards too! Interesting story! [Read More]

» How To Waste An Ad Budget from Jim & Travis' Marketing Observation Journal
This billboard is essentially a joke - and a perfect reason why so many companies are frustrated with their advertising (and the associated lack of ROI). [Read More]

» Seth Godin on Billboards from Designs by Devin
Living in Northern Virginia we don't see many billboards. I'm glad because I don't believe in visual pollution any more than I think noise or any other sort of pollution is acceptable. I had grown so used to seeing trees, Virginia landscape and archite [Read More]

» Reworking How Billboards Work from The Lefthanded Writer
I have found another very effective use for billboards though. By combining the memorable message of the Branding board and the urgent "don't miss this" message of the Urgent Sell, I've found that billboards can be extremely effective at driving traf... [Read More]