What It’s Really Like to Run a Billboard Campaign

June 17, 2025

Billboard advertising might look simple—throw up a sign, let traffic do the rest—but the actual process is far more layered.

Whether you’re a business owner considering your first out-of-home (OOH) placement or a marketer exploring new channels, here’s what the billboard advertising journey really looks like—based on real-world stories, mistakes, and advice from those who’ve been there.

Step 1: Why Are You Doing This? (Be Brutally Honest)

Before anything else, you need to get crystal clear on why you’re using a billboard. Based on experience, here are a few valid reasons:

✔️ Brand awareness in a defined local market
✔️ Reinforcement for existing digital or radio campaigns
✔️ Strategic location targeting (like a highway near your exit)
✔️ Executive ego stroking (yes, that happens)

But if you’re expecting billboards to generate measurable conversions or leads? Pump the brakes. One marketer shared that QR codes and custom URLs rarely drove results. This is a frequency play, not a direct response channel.

Step 2: Sourcing the Location

Your billboard’s location can make or break your campaign. According to media buyers, you should:

Ask for traffic and impression data from the vendor
Consider whether your audience even notices roadside ads
Physically drive the route to assess visibility and clutter
Stay hyper-local if possible (e.g., “Next Exit” signs for restaurants)

Pro tip: Many buyers use billboards to “surround” a location with visibility in nearby areas—great for hotels, event venues, and auto shops.

Step 3: Know Your Audience (and Their Attention Span)

A highway billboard gets about 2–3 seconds of attention. That’s it. So your design needs to:

Use 7 words or less
Have huge fonts, bold colors, high contrast
Include either your brand or a single strong call to action

According to multiple commenters, the #1 mistake in billboard design is trying to say too much. You’re not making a brochure. You’re flashing a branded thought at a moving car.

Step 4: Production and Installation

The production process usually looks like this:

You submit your design to the billboard company
They print it (usually on vinyl)
Their team installs it on schedule

Some billboard vendors have pre-approved printers who already know their specs and turnaround times. Use them. And always ask for a proof of placement photo when it’s live.

Bonus: if you’re working with a larger agency, they often have OOH specialists who coordinate everything—buying, printing, install, and teardown.

Step 5: How Long Should You Run It?

Most placements are sold in 4-week blocks, but experienced advertisers say:

Don’t run a single billboard for 1 month and expect results
Minimum effective duration is 3 months
Use multiple boards in one area if possible (visibility + repetition)

Billboards are best seen as a supporting tactic, not a primary growth engine. One user described them as “a surround sound add-on” to digital or radio campaigns.

Step 6: Measuring Performance (Loosely)

Billboards are notoriously hard to measure. Still, you can:

Use a vanity URL with UTM tracking
Ask customers directly how they heard about you
Pair your billboard drop with a digital campaign to see lift

Ultimately, billboard success often shows up months later as increased brand recall, higher search traffic, or a subtle shift in perception. It’s the long game.