Why Billboard Advertising on the Highway is Not Effective?

Recently, marketers come unconscious impression of the ineffectiveness of billboard advertising. No, it’s not that marketing experts do not consider or can not calculate the effectiveness of advertising placed on billboards on the sides of transport highways. Why, even without having accurate statistics, sooner or later, experts come to this conclusion?

Rene Descartes French philosopher, mathematician, mechanic, physicist and physiologist, the creator of analytical geometry said:

Knowing the few principles frees one from knowing many facts.

Let us and you, in order not to strain the brain, other people and not engage in folding a lot of facts into the obvious, we learn simple principles.

Do you want to tell why the statistics of the effectiveness of outdoor advertising along the roads can not be collected, and if we collect it, the analysis will still lead you to this conclusion?

1. The zone of clear binocular vision of a person (with both eyes) is located in a horizontal plane within the boundaries of an angle of 40 degrees. Peripheral vision – about 120 degrees. This is a fairly wide angle, allowing you to cover a large area in front and into the distance. true
if you do not take into account myopia / far-sightedness.
embrace and see are different things.

Look at the billboard with advertising by the road. This is what the driver can really discern and understand if he will look ahead on the road.

With peripheral vision one can see a bright spot and, having already turned to the shield, he can quite consider advertising. However, in a dense stream the driver will not rotate his head and look away from the road – he has enough objects and subjects for careful observation just like in bespoke content management designing.

2. Things get even harder when the car and the driver in it start moving. This is how the angle of view changes depending on the speed of movement.

All that the driver sees is a “tunnel” with a narrow spot in front. Nothing, outside the designated area, at this speed, the driver practically and theoretically does not distinguish. So that a person at least interested in something at a speed of 120 km / h:
This is something that should fall into a narrow spot of clear binocular vision.
it should be a bright spot, visible at this distance on the surrounding background.
About fantasies that at such a distance he, having become interested in the spot, can at least distinguish something, you can forget.

But if he becomes interested in the spot, moves his eye, turns around and tracks the rapidly approaching advertisement, he will need to understand what is depicted there:
to divert attention from the traffic situation;
within 3-5-7 seconds, until the car reaches the shield, you need to have time to review, analyze what is shown in the advertisement.
you still need to remember something (two phones with a city code, a website – all this in seven seconds, are you sure?)
be ready to quickly return the look and attention to the road, when changing road conditions.

3. The situation with perception and memorability of advertising for a passenger of a car is no better – the same “tunnel” vision and the same seconds for perception of advertising, except that the passenger can look at advertising for those seconds without concentrating on the traffic situation.

What are the conclusions from all this?

Not effective – advertising is not readable.

Therefore, as little information as possible, as large and brighter as possible – in one mono color.

If you yourself cannot understand and learn in 4 seconds what is depicted on your banner layout for outdoor advertising – redo it.

Place shields in the speed limit zone (signs, traffic lights and trips to the main road are not an option, at this point the person has enough reasons and reasons for concentrating).

Localities, gas stations, recreation areas – this is not much where advertising on the highway should be placed.