Sizes of Billboards

Research

Outside Billboards

Billboard regulations are controlled on a local level, by states and various municipalities. The 1965 Highway Beautification Act specified some vague sign restrictions within 660 feet of a highway. However, the zoning regulations of a given location specify the actual requirements of billboards. Hence, there are no universal billboard requirements. Instead, billboards are often regulated based on their size, content and location.

http://www.ehow.com/list_5985410_outdoor-billboard-requirements.html#ixzz2lBLRkR7h


 Billboard sizing

The zoning ordinances of an area often specify a maximum billboard size. Along most American highways, the average billboard size is 14 feet by 48 feet. Certain areas, however, regulate this size with slightly more specificity. For example, a 1998 ordinance in Springdale, Arkansas, specified a maximum area of 600 square feet. This regulation, like many other similar local regulations, further restricts the loose standards established by the Highway Beautification Act.
http://www.ehow.com/list_5985410_outdoor-billboard-requirements.html#ixzz2lBM1PYml

Limitations of billboards

Limitations:

When producing my billboard i will need to research into the limitations in which i may come across during the process. I found a limitation when creating my billboard and this is the The Highway Beautification Act. The Highway Beautification Act established regulations for areas within 660 feet of a highway; areas outside of this are regulated by state and local ordinances. I will need to consider this if i wish to place my billboard on a highway as i will need to consider the size of which i produce my billboard otherwise i will be breaking the highway beautification Act. By breaking these i will be going against the law and my billboard would not be put up which defeats the point of advertisement as it needs to be put up so i can advertise my newspaper. This is why this is very important and won't be ignored.

Outdoor billboard advertisment can increase obesity

Another limitation when considering outdoor billboard is there i have discovered that statistics have shown that the higher the percentage of outdoor advertisements promoting food or non-alcoholic beverages within a census tract, the greater the odds of obesity among its residents, controlling for age, race and educational status.

Every 10% increase in food advertising, there was a 1.05  greater odds of being overweight or obese, controlling for other factors. Given these predictions, compared to an individual living in an area with no food ads, those living in areas in which 30% of ads were for food would have a 2.6% increase in the probability of being obese.
The report states that food marketing predominantly promotes foods that discouraged by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. We have long known that outdoor advertising causes negative mental and physical health effects, and now we can add increased obesity to the list.

Health and Safety 

Morover, health and safety is also another limitation I will need to consider If i was to produce an outside billboard. It has been said that digital billboards have become so good that they are too striking along the highway and definitely get peoples notice. However, considering people's safety they have become too eye catching and has been said that they are becoming dangerous.

Why is this dangerous?

Digital billboards can be very bright and catch peoples eye, yes this is exactly what they are there to do to catch peoples attention into looking at their advertisments however it is becoming a problem for people driving along the high way as they are taking their eyes off the road, this is not what we want.

 

http://www.scenic.org/storage/PDFs/urban%20transportation%20monitor%20feb%2015%202013.pdf

As you can see above is a newspaper about the digital billboards becoming dangerous. For them to write a whole article about it is substantial as it means that it is becoming a real safety hazard.  It is hard to see in the image I have provided of the article so i have put the link underneith it so you can read into further detail.

After researching into the limitations of billboards i have come to a conclution that i will not be putting my billboard a long a high way due to the many disadvantages and limitations when producing it. I would not only have to consider the size of the billboard but i wouldnt want to cause a safety hazard by putting a digital billboard to attract attention off the roads.

More Locations

Billboards on buildings

Billboards can be placed up in eye level but they can also be placed above eye level which draws individuals to look up. Here these billboards are connected to the large buildings. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/12/business/media/12adco.html?_r=0

This is not only advertising the brands but also the buildings as they can become popular tourist locations. For example in New York is very famous for all their electronic billboards connected to their very large buildings.

These billboards attract people passing by, also cars that can stuck in traffic can look at them or even driving past. Electronic billboards are very effective because they are very bright which grabs your attention. 

I personally think that billboards that are connected to buildings is a very strong key advertisement however when i produce my billboard it needs to be in my local area and unfortunately this does not suit my local environment as i feel this only work really well with really tall buildings.

Location

Billboard Locations

There are thousands of billboards dotted all over the world advertising their brand. In order to get your billboard noticed, it needs to be in a prime location so as many people as possible are viewing this billboard. I have done my market research and have looked into where billboard are usually placed.

Bus Stops

 The type of bus stop that usually have billboards near by them are the ones that cater seats as well. That way when people are waiting for the bus, they are able to look at the billboard(s) around them. This is a great way to advertise as a wide population get the bus. There are many different billboards around bus stations. Some are posters that have been put up but typically they are usually electronic billboards. Electronic billboards can have more than one advertisement on it and flick through them. Usually they have a timer on them so for example every 5 seconds it will switch over to another advertisement on the billboard. Electronic billboards are useful for people waiting for the bus as they may get uninterested looking at just the one advertisement, it keeps people occupied if it goes through a variety of advertisements to keep individuals engrossed on the billboard.

Is it just bus stops that advertise billboards? No.....

Even Buses have billboards all over them. This will not only attract the wide audience that does get the bus but it will also attract people that do not. Thousands of people walk past buses and look at the advertisements that have been spread across buses. A popular billboard across the bus is whats coming out at the cinema. Cinema's use this as a good way in advertising films coming out as the buses go past their cinema's local target market.

How popular is getting the bus in the UK?

'Go-Ahead is one of the UK's largest bus operators. We operate 4,400 buses and around 1.7 million people travel on our buses every day.'



The location in which i live in use stagecoach buses as they travel around Kent, above i wrote a quote from the go-ahead website which said that they have 7% of the population in the UK and have aroun 1.7 million people travel on their buses everyday. If Go ahead buses get 1.7 million and stagecoach are on 22% that means they are just over triple of that amount of people getting their buses everyday. This is an extraordinary amount. This is why billboards work so well at bus stops as millions of people use buses and it gives individuals to look at something whilst waiting for the bus.

http://www.go-ahead.com/aboutus/our_markets/uk_bus_market.aspx

Image Research

Billboard research on images

When researching different types of billboards I discovered the way in which most had included one large image just covers the entire billboard. This way you can engage with the audience by having a close up image to connect with the audience; whereas if you had loads of images on the billboard it may be hard to discover the eye line in which is most important. From analysing Billboard's front covers I have noticed a certain on-going theme and also characteristics which are included on each cover. These being the Photography of feature artist are often placed over the top of the masthead in order to create perspective. The main attraction to the issue is always the largest feature font. Colour palettes are often picked from the masthead or the image used on the cover and also the Sans-serif fonts leaving connotations of fresh, modern and youthfulness.


In order for the image to be successful and connect with the audience that is on the billboard I will need to make sure that the picture has a high definition pixel. To do this I will be using my photography camera so I can use the different techniques to make certain parts of the image stand out. The zoom and focus will be a lot better on a photography camera than my phone as it has better pixelation which will give a more striking image. It is also important to have a good definition photo because when it is uploaded to the computer it will be a standard size image however billboards are a lot larger and will be stretched into the size that I have chosen. In order for billboards to stand out they need to be BIG. The affects when enlarging an image is when the pixelation turns drastic and does no longer give a clear image. From a secondary resource I found this image:

As you can see the larger the image is stretched the worse the pixilation’s becomes.

I have found a useful website that explains how to use techniques on Photoshop in order for me to stop this from happening. This will make my billboard stand out as it will have a clear, striking image that will attract my target audience.

This website is: http://ssheltonimages.com/Advertising-5.html

If I chose not to use one image for my billboard I could also use a different skill of using design elements to create the billboard; this will be evolving a picture path of images. This is a good skill to have however if you randomly place images n a billboard it will not connect and will just simply look messy. It needs to have a sense of order to create a sense of emotion. When connecting images together I would need to consider a number of things. The way in which the images are places is due to their sizing and colour tones. When linking the images you would take into consideration the tones of the images and connect them as if it is a story.

Different Target Audiences within one Institution

Deeper research into Billboards

Dairy milk advertisement billboard

Who is the Institution for this product?

This billboard was produced by the company called Cadbury.

Who is their target Audience?

Cadbury Chocolate has a range of target audience due to their variety of products catering for different ages. This billboard advertises the companies famous chocolate bar, although they are only advertising one chocolate bar, it is the original, well known bar that customers instantly recognise which advertises the company as a whole.

Cadbury's different target audiences:

FREDDO BAR

Dairy milk have catered for everyone when producing their products as they make sure they do their market research before producing their product so they know exactly what their customers want. Freddo bars are targeted at young children as it is a small, cheap product that is designed in a young style. The packaging on the outside is very young as the main image is a frog that wears clothes. The chocolate bar itself is also the frog which children love as the chocolate has been calved, making the chocolate more appealing. I would say they originally targeted Freddo bars at ages 5-10.

Cadbury Roses are one of dairy milks most famous products. They have a variety of small chocolates in the box all wrapped into wrappers. They are catered for more an older generation as these are normally given as a present as they are boxed up and are a bit more expensive. The design of the box appeals to adults more and the flavours of the chocolates inside are more daring whereas children like to have the simple dairy milk as they might not yet have discovered the different flavorings you can get. I would say that Cadbury's targeted Roses at ages of between 30-40; this is partly because it is more expensive and this generation is more likely to afford this.

DAIRY MILK BAR

Dairy milk bars may be that they are plain and simple however this is cadbury's most popular product as is eaten by an extraordinary amount of people. The thing that works well about the chocolate bar is that it caters for all ages. It has such a wide range target audience for this product which is why it is so popular. The packaging is a purple packaging with the Cadbury logo on the front with the brand above. I would say that Cadburys dairy milks target audience is between 15-30. Obviously lots of people eat dairy milk chocolate bars that doesn't fall into this category however i feel this would be their most popular customers.

Forever 21 Billboard

It is important when I am making my own billboard that I need to make mine stand out so people will actually want to look at it. If it is put on the electronic billboard then I will have to consider if I will only give a 5 second glance before the other adverts take over as you only have a set time before they swap over then I will need to make a fast eye catching appearance. This is extremely hard to do as you do not have long to give an impression so people find it more effective using larger images and less text otherwise they may not have time to read it all.

Forever 21 billboard

Here forever21 (Clothes brand) has made it clear what they are advertising focusing on the girls clothes as she is covering her face with sunglasses draws more attraction to her clothes rather than her face. They have put their own touch into the billboard as they have put double as a mirror effect. The text is very bold and stands out against the white background and says clearly what they need to type onto Google when looking at their clothes store as they have only their name and website on the billboard. This indicates that they have targeted their audience for people who use online shopping by giving them the website will give them more page views and sales.