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PROMOTING YOUR RACE TEAM WITH BILLBOARDS
By Stephanie Seacord

Billboards work. Ask Ted Turner, who put CNN on the air with the family fortune built on revenues from outdoor advertising. In fact, it’s a huge booming business, this billboard stuff or “out-of-home-advertising”, as those in the business prefer it to be called. Billboards work for some basic reasons which should be a lesson to anyone in the business of communication today.

The audience for a billboard is pretty much guaranteed. The ‘editorial environment’, if you will, is typically an urban expressway clogged with commuters who have nothing else to look at. The billboards that used to cover up scenic countryside, thus creating a negative impression of their sponsors, have mostly been beautified out of existence.

The copywriting rule of thumb for billboards is 7 words or less — which is also the recommended width for a column of newsprint. You get the message in one dose.

The best billboards are clever. They get your attention.

Like banners on websites, billboards are teasers to lead you into looking for more information. Perhaps the most dramatic example is the “watch this space” model. But in the world of the Internet, you can find an inexhaustible supply of information on virtually any company or product. More and more companies are discovering that a billboard-type message with the footnote of your website address is all you need.

Which brings us to the lesson for today: “Think billboard” when you’re crafting the marketing message for your team or motorsport business.  

Put that logo where the most people will see it — especially where you have a captive audience, such as on the pitwall, on all the vehicles in your entourage and on your guests in the stands. Think of your people as walking billboards at any event in which you participate.

When you’re writing, make your lead-in short, to the point, and entertaining, if you can. This applies to pitch letters for media coverage, sponsorship proposals, updates to fans, sponsors or customers, and  all of your print advertising.

Direct those interested in more information to where they can find more. Don’t inundate them without permission.

Have a website and put your web address on everything in order to direct those interested to more information. And while you’re at it, keep your marketing materials (especially your website) current! There’s nothing worse than a tattered billboard.
 

Article courtesy: Ernie Saxton’s Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News. The annual subscription rate (12 issues) for the newsletter is $69.95 and is available from 1448 Hollywood Avenue, Langhorne, PA 19047. Phone 215-752-7797 or see www.saxtonsponsormarket.com.
 

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