Chicago Billboards - Reaching the Local Market

July 2, 2010 – 11:07 am

Many good billboard buys are overlooked, forgotten or even not researched by large advertising agencies and buying services. The question is why? The answer is simple and most unfortunate. These services in the majority of cases just don’t do their work. It’s much easier to call your current representative who works for a large national company and let them do the work. The problem is they only represent their company’s inventory; and why shouldn’t they? The client is the one who gets cheated on the best billboard coverage when a thorough search of all local outdoor companies is not performed.

Most local billboard operators concentrate on local business because regional and national businesses generally use large buying agencies and services for convenience, time savings and history of purchases. What if large companies cannot deliver the best coverage because they were not first in the market and desired coverage is dominated by local billboard businesses due to the fact they were first in the market place. They own the zoning/building permits necessary to develop this sought after local billboard coverage? After all, outdoor advertising mirrors itself with the real estate business; location, location, location. Strict zoning laws dictate where and how billboard permits are issued. It’s not that large outdoor companies don’t want to build sites in demand; they simply can’t in a lot of cases. Again, this is why it is of utmost importance for services to do thorough research in local markets. It does take time and effort. You even might have to accept a sales call from these small local billboard owners.

General ADI or SMSA coverage in top markets in the country most of the time cannot deliver quality; especially in sprawling suburbs. Using quantitative numbers with smoke and mirrors won’t cut it. Case in point: Chicago is the 3rd largest market in the US. McHenry County is one of the 6 major counties in Chicagoland. Forget freeway billboards. It has no freeways at all. However they have sign codes allowing different sizes of outdoor advertising in certain areas due to spacing requirements. Many times, a Chicago billboard buying decision needs to consider a mix of outdoor products to achieve a goal. Maybe in McHenry County, coverage is needed in only certain cities such as Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Cary, Woodstock or Lake in the Hills dues to franchise restrictions or congressional district advertising. Maybe Richmond, Marengo, Spring Grove, McHenry and Johnsburg do not fit into the overall plan. How can buyers obtain what they need? Again it’s simple. Consider what small billboard companies have to offer. The beauty of outdoor advertising is you can cover a total market in most cases or you can merely target your audience.

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Chicago Billboard Advertising - Vinyl vs Paper

April 2, 2010 – 8:26 am

In making an advertising decision one has 3 elements to consider. They are the medium, the market to be reached and the message. No matter what your medium choice is, the message must be right on. In billboard advertising it’s very important one uses the best substrate as well. If you’re a local business, you really only have one good choice and that is to use vinyl to decorate your message upon.

Vinyl unlike paper is much more durable and will, most of the time, last longer than the life of its message. It will not rip or as we say in the business “flag”. Wind, rain, and the elements in general are very hard on paper. You will have to produce many “stands” of the same copy with paper posters on a normal term of advertising whereas vinyl will last the whole term.

Also the quality of vinyl vs. paper on Chicago billboard advertising is incomparable. It’s like comparing 4 color images in magazine ads with 4 color images in newspaper ads. Vinyl delivers superior impact over paper. Laser jet printing technology of vinyl uses higher quality inks in a higher resolution. Unlike the old type of screen printing where all displays are usually the same, it’s easy to change individual images allowing a multi-panel, multi-message buy for no additional production charge at Mixed Media. Mixed Media Group Inc. prints resolution as high as 560 dpi in the Chicago area, Detroit and Eastern Iowa. This is somewhat higher than the norm, but Mixed Media has a back lighted product “AdLites” in addition to static billboards which really show off the higher resolution.

The bottom line is when your message on billboards is decorated on vinyl at high resolution, your business image is greatly enhanced and you deliver much higher impact to your prospects.

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Chicago Billboards

June 19, 2009 – 1:57 pm

Outdoor advertising is very unique in delivering its message 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It’s your silent salesman stating who you are, what you do and where you’re located. With other media you buy one spot announcement or one display advertisement at a time. You have to buy many spots or ads to come close to the reach and frequency that Chicago billboards deliver each month. Many business owners are pleasantly awakening to this reality. Outdoor delivers a lot more bang for the buck. It’s the perfect medium to increase your advertising frequency as well as supporting aided recall. Most people spend at least 1/3 of their time away from home and work. This is the perfect opportunity to zero in on your prospects. When we are away from home, capitalize on the opportunity to make a sale on impulse since we simply are in a buying mode as we travel to and from work in our daily traditions. When you’re in your vehicle watching for informational and directional signs, you automatically see billboards. We’re simply conditioned to this behavior.

Another fact about outdoor is that you know you audience is older due to the age requirements of having a drivers license. In many incidences, more than one person is in the vehicle. We’re all creatures of habit; therefore we develop patterns where billboards confront us on a regular basis. A mobile population has much more disposable income than people sitting in a dwelling. If you think about it for a moment, it’s common sense. If we have money to spend, we’re going somewhere. We spend much more while mobile than when we are isolated. To sum it up, why spend all your advertising dollars directed to indoors. Shouldn’t you spend at least 1/3 of your budget out of home?

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McHenry County Advertising

June 1, 2009 – 10:39 am

I moved to McHenry County in 2006. However, I have been visiting the area frequently for the past 15 years. My parents retired to Algonquin in the early 90’s and my siblings soon followed. I had no idea how far the County expanded or how much it had grown until I started selling billboard advertising for a local outdoor advertising company by the name of Mixed Media Group, Inc. Prior to selling McHenry County Advertising for Mixed Media Group, I worked for another major outdoor advertising firm in Chicago and acted as a liaison between the two companies. Living and working with local advertisers in McHenry County compared to just proposing a computer sheet of billboards with spotted locations on a map is quite different.

Most people do not realize that McHenry County is the largest county in the United States without an accessible expressway or interstate. The County is made up of only arterial and side streets. This factor along with local sign codes, allow our proprietary product AdLites to be viewed closer and lower on key roads. As McHenry County grows one finds themselves commuting many hours within the week driving to work and dealing with family chores and needs. After living here just a few weeks I remarked to my Mom on how much traffic there was; she just shrugged her shoulders and said “we deal with it to enjoy our country lifestyle”.

Approximately ten years ago, the owner of Mixed Media Group recognized the sprawling of McHenry Country and brought his proprietary back-lighted spectacular billboards to this area. He started the same program in Denver years previously, and recognized the geographic similarities.

The AdLites program is a spectacular back lighted rotary billboard program which is unmatched in “Chicago’s Northwest Territory”. AdLites are positioned close to the road and are illuminated 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They are a full bleed 6’ X 12’ translucent vinyl printed at 360 dpi and erected on a unique cantilevered structure lending to ultimate aesthetics and readership. As well, all electrical feeds are buried underground which also helps in un-obstructed readership. Mixed Media’s 60 + face AdLite program may be rotated at 30/60/90 day intervals. This is also unique in the industry. The most important factor of an outdoor advertising program is effective sales copy. It must catch the attention of the viewer which will cause “top of the mind awareness” and “aided recall” developing market share and ultimately sales. This is why I always get an amazed look on my client’s face when I inform them size doesn’t determine readership, layout does! Check out your trade publications. You’ll notice the ads that attract your attention are not always the biggest.

AdLites are perfect for the arterial streets in McHenry County and along with dynamic layout, are the most cost efficient media for your dollar. The best advertising campaign for most retailers should include outdoor advertising. Mixed Media should be part of your advertising mix. Let us prove this on an individual basis to you. Email us or give us a call.

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McHenry County Billboards

May 22, 2009 – 12:28 pm

I work for Mixed Media Group, a Billboard Company. Prior to working for Mixed Media Group, I had experience on the Real Estate side of an International billboard company working in their Chicago regional offices. I now live in McHenry County and am selling McHenry County Billboards. It is educational and refreshing to be on the other side of the business. It allows you to work directly with the user of your product and see the benefits of their advertising.

I am working with a unique outdoor media product, Mixed Media Group’s proprietary billboard known as AdLites. One reason I love selling the AdLites is I believe them to be an excellent media for all types and sizes of businesses. They are more affordable for the small business proprietor, who is working hard to increase their “Awareness” throughout their community and looking to expand.

I recently had a sales appointment with a small restaurant tucked away in the corner of a strip mall. The owner purchased the existing business from a prior owner based on the equipment that currently existed on premise. The owner realized she needed “Awareness” due to her hidden location. Based on the current income the restaurant was generating, she clearly had little to spend on advertising however; she budgeted a decent sum for advertising in her buying cost. She purchased the business with her “eyes wide open” knowing she would have to advertise heavily on a small budget. I acknowledged her “ethnic uniqueness” and went to the experts in my office for her advertising copy. Jointly, through our office, we discussed a number of “IDEAS” for her copy and then “WOW” someone came up with the winning punch! Along with great copy, we advertised heavily in the areas where her “ethnic food” did not exist. We made decisions on rotary locations based on how far a customer would drive to enjoy it. How were we able to cover a large geographic area and keep “top of the mind awareness” for our client on a daily basis? We did it with outdoor advertising through our AdLite program. As mentioned, AdLites are Mixed Media Groups proprietary billboard which are unique, affordable, and located throughout McHenry County and its outlying areas.

The best part about selling outdoor advertising is working directly with the proprietor. It is very gratifying when a client informs you that their customers are all remarking on your “Great Billboard” and most of all on how well it is working. Plus, as a previous proprietor of a business myself, it’s great to have your business in “LIGHTS” and on a pedestal for everyone to see!

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Chicago Billboard Advertising

May 19, 2009 – 4:18 pm

When making an advertising decision for your business there are 3 factors you must review. They are the message, market and medium. These factors are crucial to making prudent decisions with your advertising dollars. We will discuss the medium of billboards in this blog.

You first have to consider that people spend approximately half of their waking hours out of their home. You must gear your advertising plans accordingly. Mobility lends itself to affluence. Generally, the more one drives, the more discretionary dollars they have to spend. We are all “creatures of habit”, therefore we tend to do the same things throughout each day such as driving to work, driving to stores, driving to social events, driving the children while we commute on the roads for our daily wants and needs. In learning to drive, we are indoctrinated to read signs in order to obtain our driver license. This is a subliminal reality of our daily routines.

Billboards tend to be the least expensive media based on the number of people reached. It’s the 24/7 media. Mixed Media billboards are billed once each month. Print and electronic media are billed for each spot or insertion. To have the same frequency that billboards deliver, you would have to advertise in these mediums at least once a day for every day of the month.

With our billboards you can specifically target your audience which in turn gives you less waste of your advertising dollars. Repetition in advertising is imperative to develop the impressions necessary for any learning curve. (That’s what advertising is!) Billboards are the most efficient media at achieving this goal. They also double as aided recall for other advertising messages. Combining billboards with your other media will drastically reduce your cost per thousand. The larger than life graphics from billboards deliver stopping power for your product and services. You’ll get noticed! Your message is also believable due our desire to “PUT IT IN WRITING”.

The correct medium aligned with a good message placed in the right market will generate sales dollars for your business. Let Mixed Media Group, Inc help you with the right mix for your Chicago billboard advertising budget.

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Chicago Billboards - Readership

May 5, 2009 – 3:52 pm

A lot of people seem to think only the size of an ad, or billboard in the case of outdoor advertising, determines readership of the advertising. This is not necessarily true. What does determine readership is the layout and how the design works within the environment it is competing in. For instance, color ads work best placed within black and white ads. However, if the immediate ad environment is mostly color, black and white will stand out more boldly. Reversed black and white ads will stand out among a black on white environment. Full page ads, a lot of the time, do not deliver as much traffic as an ad leaving 1 column open for readers following news stories. In the case of outdoor advertising, mother nature and clutter has a large effect in laying out good chicago billboards.

The Daniel Starch Company many years ago measured advertising effectiveness for display ads which also kept copy writers in check. Mr. Starch came up with a system where an ad was measured as “seen”, “noted” and “associated”. Size, headlines, focal points, copy content and other techniques were taken into consideration. In many cases larger ads were not as effective as smaller ads. This was due to the mere layout of the advertising. Placement can also have a lot to do with readership. One cannot ascertain that certain techniques work in all scenarios. There is no one way to design a good layout that will work in all schemes. The real answer is, IT DEPENDS. Many variables can contribute in successfully communicating your message. Understanding that size does not necessarily determine readership can save an advertiser a lot of money. In fact, downsizing ads and creating better readership through good layouts will accrue advertising dollars. This in turn will enable advertisers to buy a larger and better media mix for what they previously spent on one media alone. More GRP’s and decreases in cost per thousand will be realized. Focusing on design causes more readership and allows budgets to be better spent. Good layouts more than any other thing cause greater readership, not size.

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Fox River Grove Advertising

April 15, 2009 – 9:25 am

Fox River Grove is a town that is 40 miles northwest of the city of Chicago in Illinois. According to the 2000 Census, the population of Fox River Grove was 4,862. That number increases during the winter months due to the Norge Ski Club which has a 120-foot Olympic regulation ski jump, and during the summer months due to the Windy City Balloon Port which is the only hot air balloon port in the northwest suburbs. Fox River Grove has a central business district and during these busy seasons Fox River Grove advertising should be at its peak.

The central business district (CBD) of Fox River Grove is centered on the Lincoln and Illinois streets. This area contains many businesses including: restaurants, retail shops, upholstery shops, offices, gas stations, and more.  During busy seasons these businesses have the opportunity to double if not triple their business but in a short period of time. Therefore, Fox River Grove advertising should be focused on those particular seasons and time frames.

Advertising is a way to communicate to a wide number of potential customers to try and persuade them to purchase or consume a particular brand or service. Fox River Grove advertising would be most effective if it was focused on potential customers coming to the town during the busy seasons as well on year round residents who know the town. During the snowy months, Fox River Grove attracts up to 10,000 visitors because of their ski club. The number of visitors is double the amount of people who live there, and this is a perfect time for Fox River Grove advertising to be at its peak.

Fox River Grove has approximately 100+ acres of public parks, 40 of these acres is along the Fox River and wooded areas. Fishing, boating, swimming, picnicking and multiple sports activities are some of the recreational choices to choose from along the Fox River.  Due to this village’s natural beauty and activities, the Metra trains bring people into Fox River Grove from the city of Chicago with a breeze and in the summer months the little town is full of people. Fox River Grove advertising communicates to these visitors the variety of shops and restaurants available in the village.

The village is developing a walking/bicycling path from the Fox River to the commercial district and this path would be a great place to put some outdoor advertisements to add to Fox River Grove advertising. Since the village’s incorporation in 1919, the population and beauty has increased. Although keeping an ideal blend of business opportunity and hometown feeling is important, this little village is becoming popular and growing fast. Fox River Grove advertising should be aimed at keeping the hometown feel while showing off the town’s many attractions.

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Algonquin Advertising

April 13, 2009 – 9:21 am

Algonquin, Illinois is a village outside the city of Chicago. The village is known as “The Gem of the Fox River Valley”, since its downtown is cuddled up with the heart of Illinois’ Fox River Valley. A 2007 special census said Algonquin’s population was at 30,548 and rising considerably. This village has been known as a river community since 1890, and is currently making the change into a major regional town. Due to the village’s increase of businesses, Algonquin advertising is in full force.

Algonquin has become a major center of retail activity and growing businesses. The village is known for its chic lifestyle centers, grocers, specialty shops and restaurants. Both regionally and locally, Algonquin has become a hub for shoppers and Algonquin advertising is running parallel with this increase. Algonquin advertising focuses on keeping the historic feeling of the village while communicating with potential customers the opportunities of Algonquin’s services.

Algonquin offers many natural resources, developed parks and open spaces for recreational activities. The village provides quick and easy toll way access to many business opportunities and commercial development with a wide variety of shopping and dining experiences. The village supplies all of this while maintaining a rich history and that is what Algonquin advertising is trying to communicate. Preserving small town roots while allowing suburban growth.

Advertising is a way to communicate to a wide number of potential customers to try and persuade them to purchase or consume a particular brand or service. Algonquin is a unique village because it is very historic that has pockets of neighborhoods from many different eras. The central area of Algonquin is the Old Town District. Included in this area are old Victorian homes, small shops and fine dining. Old Town District has churches and religious schools with many picturesque parks. Algonquin advertising for the Old Town District would be more classic and aimed towards upper class citizens.

The East side and West side of Algonquin are similar in that each holds many multi-family homes and town homes. There are multiple schools in these neighborhoods along with parks, a library, pools, and police departments. Algonquin advertising for these areas would be more aimed at families with children who are looking for family activities and shopping. Also, there is a 55+ age-restricted community on the East side. Algonquin advertising in this area would most definitely be geared towards those who are retired and who do not indulge in the hustle and bustle.

Algonquin has something for everyone. Whether you are part of a family of 5, or an older couple on a relaxing getaway, or an adventurer looking for some outdoors fun. Algonquin is growing fast and the variety of activities and services is incredible. Algonquin advertising communicates to everyone so they can find what works for them.

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McHenry Billboard Advertising

April 11, 2009 – 7:59 am

If you own a business in McHenry County you have probably tried a number of different advertising techniques in order to increase your sales. The proper advertising for your business needs to be as personalized as the products and services that you provide. You have to take a customized approach to advertising in order to clearly communicate to your future customers. Purchasing an ad in a telephone book will not give you a competitive edge, it will get lost amongst ten other similar listings that are located on the same page of the phone book.

There are a variety of custom advertising opportunities that exist. Print ads and signage are two of the most popular selections. Printed advertisements can be designed to include all of the information that you choose which will showcase your business. You can come up with a good motto or slogan and include it in the ad. The drawback of this type of advertisement is that print ads do not command the attention of a large amount of people. Many people simply overlook them without stopping to read their content. Signs can also serve a similar purpose but you will be limited in the amount of space that you have to provide your information. And the more information that you include on a sign, the smaller the typeface will be which will reduce its visibility.

A great way to advertise your business is McHenry Billboard advertising. There are numerous locations within the county that are highly traversed and will expose your business to a number of local residents. If you select a great location you could potentially be reaching thousands of possible customers each day that will be driving past your billboard. McHenry billboard advertising is the best way to find customers that reside in your target customer area base.

There are many benefits to using McHenry billboard advertising. You can choose what information to display on your billboard in order to attract the attention of those passing by. You can have pictures of delicious looking food to entice people to come and try your restaurant or you can have an image of the products that you sell. You can provide information directing people to turn off at the next highway exit in order to reach your business. The possibilities are endless and the more creative you can be, the more attention your ad will draw.

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