Most billboards waste money because of this

Reuben Ch'ng

11 Jul 2025 • 2 min read

Most people think billboard ads are about location.

But after interviewing a guy who’s placed over 1,000 of them, I learned this:

It’s not where your billboard is. It’s what it says.

If the message isn’t clear enough to understand in 2 seconds at 100km/h (Yes, I know you drive that fast). You’ve wasted the spend.

Here are 3 things I've learned about billboards in a recent interview.

1. Billboards are not performance marketing

But it lifts performance marketing.

Brands like Apple spend millions of advertising dollars just to say one thing: Safari. A browser that is actually private.

That's not going to drive conversions for them. But it's surely a reliable way to build an impression, establish awareness, and help other marketing channels perform better.

2. Create a purple cow

I spotted a digital billboard the other day glitching like a broken screen. My first thought was: “Oh, another broken billboard.”

But just seconds later, the message returned - on purpose. It was engineered confusion to create a pause. Smart move. Got me looking.

Managed to capture it. (Looks different in real-life)

📕

The Purple Cow is a concept coined by Seth Godin in 2003, that is surprisingly still relevant today.

3. One CTA. Only one.

Phone numbers, website, QR code, big message, product shot... stop it!

Choose one thing. Make it stick.

Most people have the attention span of a goldfish. Trying to get them to remember 3 facts about your product is not only foolish. It's arrogant.

Will people driving at 100KM/h actually scan the QR code? Unless they're as crazy as me, I doubt it.

This week on Feature Fridays

I interviewed Alex Goh from BRANDLAH, a guy who lives and breathes outdoor advertising, to help me understand outdoor advertising.

We also talked about the agency business model, which I thought was an unsustainable one. However, Alex had a different take on it.

📹 Watch it now on YouTube