Are Advertising Flags More Effective Than Billboards?

Out of home (OOH) advertising is integral to ad campaigns focused on expanding brand visibility and driving product/service sales. Traditional OOH advertising mediums like billboards are coming under pressure from digital platforms. Besides online marketing, nontraditional OOH advertising avenues like advertising flags are growing in terms of wresting the market share from billboards and other legacy avenues.

Understanding advertising flags, how they facilitate brand advertisement

Advertising flags are increasingly becoming a regular feature when companies run promotions. Further, motor vehicle companies use the flags at their yards to direct customers to the location of different models of cars. Usually, the flags come with pre-printed messages targeting an audience as selected by the company. Advertisers plant the flags at event grounds, in front of restaurants and bars, and at the roadside.

The flags come in different sizes and makes but there are two major standards, a 5’ x 3’ flagpole assembly and a 12’ feather-like banner. Oftentimes, the difference in standard determines the cost of obtaining and customizing the flags. Advertisers order the flags in bulk form but it is not impossible to get them individually. However, the beauty of bulk buying is that you get to walk away with nice discounts.

Once an advertiser has acquired the advertising flags, what remains is to deliver them to the target location. As earlier explained, the flags are ideal for advertisers that are holding an event; it could be a promotional event or a soccer tournament and so on. Nonetheless, the flags are a huge attraction, especially if the advertiser designs the message rich in graphics. As such, the flags generate thousands of impressions but this depends on the number of people attending the event.

How do the compare to billboards?

Billboard advertisement is expensive. According to this analysis, the average price of billboard ads in New York lies between $3,000 and $20,000 for single ad per month. Other cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco are equally expensive. As such, one must be ready to pay excessively before signing up for billboard ads.

Comparatively, advertising flags are cheap. A single feather flag together with ground spike and other relevant accessories will cost you just $49. Additionally, a standard 5’ x 3’ flagpole assembly flag costs not more than $200. Therefore, with the $20,000 used to pay for a billboard for one month, an advertiser can have 100 flagpole advertising flags.

Besides being cheap, the flags enable advertisers to reach the exact target audience. If you are an insurance firm and would want to inform car owners of a new product, all you need to do is to find out the location for the next motor show and erect the flags there. This way, you will grow brand visibility as well as earn customers with immediate direct actions.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes. Advertisers that use in-the-hand marketing techniques tend to score higher in terms of conversion. In-the-hand marketing involves putting the brand in the hands of the target audience, literally. Take the example of an advertiser that uses door hangers to market the brand. Usually, the doorknob is the first place one looks at when reaching for the door. As such, anything that is out of place will immediately catch the individual’s attention. This ability to startle the target audience is what makes door hangers effective. Particularly, you can be sure that the individual will read whatever message the door hanger contains.