Ravi is the owner of VC Print in London, UK. He likes to share his vast experience in print and design by writing informative blog articles on various blogging sites, to help companies get more value from their marketing campaigns.
Posters are a simple and cost effective way to share information, raise awareness and generate enquiries. Even in today’s digital age, outdoor posters (be they printed or digital) are used by many well- and lesser known brands, businesses and agencies to help them raise awareness, communicate key messages (think public awareness campaigns) and draw attention to special issues, events or promotions. An aesthetic poster design that displays your products, services or promotions can help you reach and attract new prospects.
Extra large posters often form part of nationwide advertising campaigns for BIG brands (with big budgets), but don’t let that put you off. Outdoor posters can be an economical and effective way to promote your business, whether you are looking to raise awareness with potential customers in a targeted geographical area, promote a special offer or event, or drive footfall to your physical store or website. Great news, especially for small businesses which are always looking to reduce their marketing costs.
To make your poster and business stand out, you need to make sure you don’t overload it with unnecessary information. Too many colours with lots of text will overwhelm and put potential customers off – you need a clear focus and message to make your poster campaign a success.
Follow our top tips to create a successful poster campaign…
It must be legible from a distance
The first motive of a great outdoor poster is usually to expose the audience to your company information. Vital information regarding your brand’s offering must be clear and easy to read from far away and bring the audience in to know more.
Firstly, focus on the largest text on the poster – the Headline. Go for a legible font which is clear and grabs attention.
Secondly, you need to include the most important details about your business/offer and how people can avail it. Be sure to include complete contact information such as business name, contact number, email and social media handles , so potential customers can contact you.
Lastly, the design print of the poster must be in line with your brand and your industry. Don’t be afraid to use bold colours, as it can help grab the viewers’ attention.
Colour Contrast
More often than not, you have one chance to get someone’s attention with a poster, or any other marketing material for that matter. Perfect colour contrasts between various design elements can help with that. Bold colours and font options work well on outdoor posters, provided they fit with your branding and industry. Experiment to find the right balance. Also consider the background colour. Rather than designing with a white background, go with a bolder background if your design allows and let it shine to create a perfect harmony of contrasting colours.
Size and Location
The location of your poster is going to be the most important decision and it can make or break your chance to create a strong first impression. There are many factors which can be considered, like the size of the poster, the colour contrast, the text font and size and an appropriate call to action on the poster. There are various sizes of posters available. The most frequently used are A0 digital posters, A1 digital posters, A2 digital posters and A3 digital posters.
Based on the location and the size of your poster, you can create a better design that looks great from different angles. For instance, if you are going to hang the poster on a blue wall, you would want a contrasting colour combination so that it doesn’t fuse into the environment.
Try a mini version
Poster printing is usually a small project, you can create miniature print versions that can be used in multiple places to display the same information. This helps you create better exposure by displaying the same information to the target audience at different places in a different manner. It can also help you to:
- Scale an image that can be easily shared on your social handles
- Make a postcard/flyer to hand out or drop through letter boxes
- Think of making a ‘poster-version’ landing page for your website
- Design a variant that can be shared via email too
Call-to-Action
The aim of every poster is to display vital information to your target audience. More often than not, these instances include inviting people to do something or to buy a product or service. And to do that, a call to action is extremely important. You must think of the call-to-action in the same manner as if you are designing a call to action for your website or a mobile application.
Wrapping Up
We are in a digital age where everyone is focused on building the best website or app with an immaculate design, but don’t ignore or underestimate simple marketing materials, such as posters, which if well designed can be a first step for people to remember you. It’s definitely worth seeking professional help from a print & design company to help you create stand out posters and supporting marketing materials.
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