FUNNY billboard marketing campaign. Results?
After various meetings with marketing agencies, I decided to give "humor" a shot.
The Approach:
I had ten of these billboards spread throughout the Philadelphia / South Jersey region. Two of each.
I was curious about trying something other than the old-fashioned before and afters.
You're probably wondering what the results were.
Keep in mind there are THREE essential criteria into account when considering billboard campaigns (in fact, any billboard campaign):
Where is/are the billboards located? How many daily impressions?
Is it in an affluent neighborhood?
Is the creative good?
In this campaign, I mentioned I got great value. I got a steep and significant discount on the price and was offered highly impressionable billboards in great neighborhoods. Negotiate like crazy with your account rep.
So…
The Results:
These billboards got new customers wondering what SOZA's weight loss was.
A steady increase in web traffic was significant, getting people googling SOZA Weight Loss. Googling SOZA Weight loss is a good thing, but I prefer to get the phones ringing and booking consults immediately.
Having "leads" redirected to the website meant relying on our digital platforms and non-human interaction to convert web traffic into filled-out forms. I wasn't sure spending advertising dollars for potential leads to "Google" SOZA weight loss was very practical.
We didn't get immediate bookings since this was NOT a call-to-action campaign. After all, there was NO urgency in the ads.
What WAS interesting, though, was that we kept getting steady consults months AFTER the campaign ended. Those consults didn't need to lose weight immediately, but when they did need to lose weight, or rather, when they were prepared to lose weight, they remembered those funny billboards.
They remembered SOZA!
2. We had an increase in patient referrals
These billboards brought humor and awareness to SOZA Weight Loss. They were heavily promoted within our social media and internal marketing campaigns. Our existing patients shared the catchy phrases with their friends, and our staff hung up the phrases as posters in our centers.
Conclusion:
I wouldn't do this campaign again. The ROI (Return on investment) may have been slow and steady, but I don't like slow.
This particular billboard campaign had a fun tone that people liked to share, and share they did. Because of the FUNNY theme, we had more referrals sign up because of social chatter. We didn't expect this indirect correlation, but that happens when you try something new or experiment.
If you're willing to try this marketing, go for it. That being said, if you spend a good amount on ads, you have deep pockets and have the resources and metrics set to measure its performance.
Above all, be patient because this advertising campaign isn't set up like a call-to-action campaign.
Hey! I’m Gus and the Co-founder of SOZA Weightloss®. Ever since I picked up my first Men’s Fitness magazine in high school, I knew I would be in the wellness industry. Since 2011 when I co-founded my first weight loss company, I’ve worked hard to improve people’s lives and I try to do so every day. Sharing my weight loss business experience with amazing health care professionals has made SOZA Weightloss® an even better company. That is simply awesome.