Price, product, promotion and place (4Ps): billboards.

The idea

Billboards are large outdoor advertisements, usually placed beside roads or in busy public areas, and they sit within the promotion element of the marketing mix. They give repeated local exposure to a wide passing audience, can build brand awareness and can support a national campaign when used across many sites. They are visual, so the message must be short and clear, often using an image, a slogan and a logo. Unlike the internet, they cannot be clicked or easily measured, and they offer limited detailed information. Costs vary with location, size and duration, and prime sites are expensive. A concrete method is to choose sites where the target market travels, run the poster for a set period, then compare sales or enquiries before and after to judge effectiveness.

What earns the marks

• Identifies billboards as outdoor advertising used to raise awareness among people passing a chosen location.
• Explains strengths such as wide local reach, repeated viewing and strong visual impact for building brand recognition.
• Explains weaknesses such as high cost of prime sites, limited information, difficulty measuring response and short viewing time.
• Applies billboards to a context, for example a local gym placing posters near a busy road to attract nearby residents.
• Compares billboards with another promotional method, such as the internet, in terms of cost, reach and measurability.
• Reaches a supported judgement about whether billboards suit a given business, product and target market.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Confusing billboards with other printed media such as newspapers or leaflets.

  Put it right: Describe them as large outdoor posters seen by passing traffic or pedestrians.

• Assuming billboards always give good value.

  Put it right: Consider site cost, audience fit and the difficulty of measuring results.

• Writing long messages onto a billboard in an answer.

  Put it right: Keep the message short, visual and easy to read quickly.

Exam tips

• State where the billboard is placed and who is likely to see it, linking this to the target market in the case.
• Balance advantages such as awareness with drawbacks such as cost and limited measurement before judging suitability.
• Use comparative language, for example cheaper than television but harder to measure than online adverts, to reach the top levels.