How to Create a Billboard That Grabs Attention

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Attention is the currency of the 21st century.

Countless social media platforms, phone apps, games, ads, and more are all vying for attention. Where that attention is placed determines who wins.

Billboards are another platform that requires attention to be successful. Luckily, we know a lot about billboards and what it takes to make yours stand out among the plain Janes scattered across the streets.

By understanding three vital elements, any billboard is destined to win the attention of all:

The seven-word rule

High contrast design

Humor

1

The Seven-Word Rule

It’s all in the name: keep wording on billboards short and sweet, ideally seven words or less, to ensure readability.

Pedestrians and drivers may only have a glance or a moment to absorb a message, so keeping it concise but impactful is important. Longer messages are more likely to get half-read or not read at all. Who wants to read an essay while out and about?

Use strong verbs and nouns. Think “Just Do It” by Nike: straight to the point and extremely memorable, aided by its three-word structure.
2

High Contrast Design

Still on the theme of readability, high-contrast design ensures your message gets across effortlessly. For example, never mix yellow text with a white background. If it takes more than a second for a message’s words to be understood, you may be struggling with low contrast. Use light and dark colors or shades to keep your message readable.

38%High contrast doesn’t just grab attention; it has been shown to improve recall by up to 38%.
3

Incorporating Humor

Everyone loves to laugh! Humor is an underused ad tool due to many advertisers’ fear of saying the wrong thing. Though humor can be unintentionally misused, keeping it simple and universally well-liked should keep you in the clear.

Humor builds a positive connection with a message and brand, greatly increasing long-term recall—and younger audiences like Gen Z show strong favor toward brands that use it.

It also opens up the possibility of virality, as a humorous quip can be instantly shared online and go nationwide or worldwide in moments.

Humor is more than making someone laugh; it’s about developing and maintaining a powerful connection through joy.

Ready to Grab Attention?

Keep it short, keep it high contrast, and don’t be afraid to make people smile. Your billboard will stand out from the rest.

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