Billboard Feedback?

[Raycliff Manor]

One method of advertising we've never tried, other than a very large sign visible on the highway on the Raycliff property, is billboards. Does anyone have any feedback or insights regarding this? It's pretty much the only thing I don't think we've tried. Care to share your billboard advertising experiences?

Kel

[Terror Girl]

Not sure where you are, that will dictate the $ you are looking at spending. Billboard companies like to play the pricing game with you as I have learned over the years so be very careful when buying. There are several ways to work the billboards, are you looking at buying double or single sided signs, 1-5, 5-10 billboards? Digital or old school paper? After calling the billboard company and getting your quote contact an advertising agent (advertising agents get a 15% discount on most all media) see what they can get the boards for. I just started working with a local (national company) on the digital boards - those are more expensive if you purchase them for a month but what I found out is they need (usually always) filler spots those are 1/4 the price if you run it the entire month. (I just got a $1200 a week board for $345 and used it for 2 weeks) With the digial board there is no graphic charge and you can do fill in spots all over town for the month (if you are in a large enough market) Another great thing with digital fill in spots - if you have another local business you can get them to split the spot with you and you both save $$. Billboards work great for what my day job uses them for - but in this area (NC) they work well for the haunted house industry. Just be very cautious on getting a price and let them know you are shopping other companies as well. Hope this helps!

[supermatic]

We've had pretty good ROI to our billboard efforts.

Although I'd say we have had more success with posters (smaller billboards all over town). We did about a 30 mile radius.

This year we're adding more posters and dropping a few Highway boards.

[sanybell]

Do you post the smaller posters and banners yourself? and if so where do you stick them.
Thanks nfor the info
Mike

[supermatic]

The billboard company, in my case Lamar, does everything. The posters are just smaller billboards in a more targeted area.

Billboards = Large, super high traffic, like interstate

Poster = a bit smaller, side on buildings, state routes, down town

[Boni]

I have had great success with Billboards.

We market to a town of 20,000 people and a county of 75,000. Billboards allow us to hit lots of areas without needing to buy spots on 6 different radio stations or 3 different newspapers.

Most billboard companies now are using vinyl covers instead of the old paper pasted on the billboard. So if you don't put dates on your sign, you can use the same vinyl year after year. Probably 3 to 4 would be the effective life.

I also use our local billboard company for my vinyl signs. He gives me a break on the price since the design is very similar to the billboard.

The key is this, BIG BIG BIG. Don't try to put your dates, hours, and all this little stuff that makes the name of your Haunt smaller.

On our billboards we put the Names of our two haunts and our website. Our goal is name recognistion and getting them to visit our website.

If you think you must put dates on the vinyl, thus buying new vinyl each year, then make sure to keep the vinyl when the campaign is done. Then trim off the dates and you have a nice vinyl sign for your haunt next year.

If you have a nice budget, get really creative, on a busy night, have an actor in costume out on the ledge in front of the billboard, ask the local TV station to come out and do a piece on it. If you are a good salesperson, have the billboard company let you do that for free knowing their name will be on TV.

[Raycliff Manor]

Thanks for all the feedback and insights!

Kel

[N2SPOOKINU]

Kelly,
We use billboards. Give me a call and I will give you the lowdown on what I know about them in Missouri , who we use and what they charge. You got my number bro but just in case you lost it it's 573 881 7061. Tell Mom I said hi!
Greg
Fearfest

[Jim Warfield]

"Gentlemen, place your bets!"

"I bet $4000.oo on "Billboards!"
.....then the price of gas goes crazy-up, whose driving now?
then you could put a whole lot of small print for the health-walkers and bikes.
I expected a whole lot more from my billboard but by my figuring it just barely paid for itself and it was up a year, I'm open every night. I think it was $275.oo a month.
I thought having it up all year would inspire more fall tours.. but it sure didn't seem to.
Then the owner of the sign wanted to sell it to me.,... but he doesn't own the land it is on!
(And the land owner already doesn't like me, never has.)

[damon carson]

What did you ever do to him Jim!? Piss on his hush puppies? LOL!
Damon

[Jim Warfield]

Competition.

My Father was a business competitor of theirs all of his adult life, and I worked for my Dad for 15 years..and numerous past customers of theirs told us all the "Horror stories" about how they had been mistreated by the other people.
It's a small town, everybody pretty much knows "everything".

[Raycliff Manor]

Thanks Greg and Jim! Greg, I'll try and give you a call later today. We've gotten some pricing and now we're weighing the billboard against radio ads. We're looking at similar costs; however the billboard doesn't come and go like the radio ads. We had initially planned to increase our radio exposure. We'll have to make a decision soon.

Kel

[NateTheGreat]

we tried a billboard on the freeway in downtown sacramento and it did not work very well even though we were right off the exit on the freeway. We took a survey of how people heard of us and very few saw our billboard. Way too costly for its value, i recommend spending more on internet/radio advertisement.

[Jim Warfield]

If 50,000 an hour drive by....

..and there are 150 billboards a mile..maybe this has some influence?
I had a bench-billboard, it was the seatback of a bus stop bench, the owner of the business showed me a map of where I could place my message...he had So Many crap locations it was incredible! Signs facing the wrong way on a one-way street in purely residential neighborhoods!
I picked the bench at the foot of the Miss. River bridge on rt. 30, the last thing people see as they leave Iowa headed into Illinois(where my house is, 25 miles away)
It began as a $37 a month expense, later increased to $55.

[N2SPOOKINU]

Kelly,
What Company did you get the quote from. It makes a big difference. We may be using some of the same markets. Give me a call when you get time.
Greg
Fearfest