Article written by Graham Fitzpatrick, Business Advisor, Western Sydney Business Centre.
Bus advertising is huge at the moment. You can have the whole bus branded or it can simply be a panel on the back. It is very, very effective. But like any form of advertising, it needs to be done right.
The other day on my way to do some essential grocery shopping, I was stopped behind a bus that had an ad on the back of it for a what I think was a Garden Service Business. The ad contained an amazing looking photo of a landscaped garden. The rest of the ad featured the businesses logo, which was positioned at the bottom of the ad, along with their website.
Now there is that old saying “that a picture paints a thousand words” but in this case, what was the picture trying to tell me? What was the message? As I looked at the bus ad, I asked myself what was the ad’s purpose? What are they actually selling? Was it about the plants or the manicured lawn? Was it about design or construction? There were just too many unanswered questions here. Yes, I could go to their website to find out more, but advertising needs to be instant. You need to make an instant impression.
So make sure you have a simple yet effective Value Proposition Statement or Slogan that goes on all your advertising that identifies your brand and your business instantly. Your Value Proposition Statement should pitch the promise your business will deliver to customers.
Effective advertising is all about identifying a problem, evoking an emotion and offering a solution. This is why big companies spend bucket loads of money to develop their brand, their slogan/catch phase, and their messaging. They want something that as soon as you see or hear it, you know what they are about.
