Building trust takes time, consistency, and investment. Maintaining trust takes authenticity and true purpose. Without trust you have no loyalty, and broken trust can be near impossible to mend.
If ‘building trust’ isn’t already one of your brands KPI’s, then you may want to relook those. No relationship can survive without trust, they may function for a while, but they will not survive. Brands are built on relationships whether it be with your consumer, distributer, supplier, or even other brands. You may think that the success of your brand lies with the consumer relationship, but it could be your supplier relationship that saves the day.
Trust is a big word, with great power and great responsibility. There are three main factors when building trust with someone: ability, reliability, and truth. These three factors need to be applied across the brand, from messaging, to processes, to strategy and even platforms. Every point of contact should have a lens of ability, reliability and truth cast over it to ensure the consistency required to build and maintain that essential belief in the brand.
Marketing a brand is in no way simpler or easier than before. With the adoption of digital, data driven targeting and the ability to market at a micro level, consumers are expecting more than ever from brands. This can be rather overwhelming, and at times, feel unsustainable. And then there is ‘creepy marketing’ when a brand takes personalisation too far. With all this pressure to speak to the individual why not look at a singular platform that, in itself, is a symbol of trust? Why not make one aspect of your marketing strategy simpler, yet equally effective?
Static billboards have been and will continue to be one of the most trusted media platforms, second only to TV, but at a fraction of the price. Let’s take a look at billboards through the lens of trust:
Ability
Static billboards have the ‘always on’ ability. Larger than life visibility that you cannot scroll past or fast-forward through. Nor do you have to share your flighting time with 10 other brands. The consistency of an ‘always on’ billboard drives that high frequency you need to increase brand recall and reach a consumer when they are eventually in the right frame of mind. Being present everyday makes it very difficult for consumers to ignore your brand.
Billboards also have the ability to be creative, clever and memorable. By combining augmented reality technology, projections or LED lighting with your static billboard, you have the ability to bring your brand to life in a simple and cost-effective way. Billboards connect with a consumer and are well known for increasing online engagement, which is why the biggest tech brands advertise on billboards.
The location of a billboard gives it the ability to talk to a very specific audience, alternatively, a high traffic location gives it the ability to hit maximum reach. As a result, billboards have the lowest CPT across all traditional media.
Reliability
There is nothing more reliable than a static billboard, not even Eskom can take that away. No power cut or damaged screen pixel can interrupt your 24/7 brand presence. Test prints and proof of flighting photos ensures creative accuracy and consistency across all sites, while monthly site audits ensure brand safety, proof of advertising, and fast rectification of any issues.
But it is the sheer size and physical structure of a billboard that gives it and your brand true credibility in a way that no online ad ever could. Consumers trust what they can see and touch.
Truth
Fake news is a term we frequently hear nowadays. The complexity, infinite resources, and speed that information travels on the internet provides a ‘cloak’ of anonymity which has given life to fake news and, to a degree, something to hide behind. A billboard, however, is as open and honest as they come, there is nothing to hide behind. The brand represented is the brand represented and is the brand that will be held accountable should there be any doubt or misleading information.
The barrier to entry with online advertising is low, just about anyone can advertise on social platforms these days at a minimal cost. Billboards on the other hand are considered a premium platform. The perception is that no brand is going to invest R1m into fake news.
In conclusion, static billboards have been around for a long time and show no sign of redundancy. In fact, they bring something to the table that we need now more than ever, trust! A brand that is trusted by its consumers, suppliers and distributers will always have loyalty, and loyalty is how you grow and maintain your market share.
