Billboards....are they worth it?

I put my name on a waiting list for an “ophan”(a car that someone else ordered but decided not to buy) and only waited two and a half weeks till they had one for me. I reserved mine in september 2007, but won’t see it till november 2008. I am happy with this one while I wait for the one with all the options I wanted. If you really are interested in one check out the forums at www.smartcarofamerica.com which is independant of the manufacturer. You can get alot of info about your local dealer there.

I’m definitely going to get one but at those prices I don’t think they will be unique for long. Thanks for the website tip.

Billboards CAN be effective (or they wouldn’t exist). This works only in certain scenarios. In my desired location, a lot of people work in a town about 16 miles away. There’s one highway connecting the two. I figure a billboard about 10 miles from town with my phone number in huge numbers suggesting a hot pizza when they arrive, I’d bet my carry-out business would be very good. Naturally, most of those cars would ALSO have to pass right by my door AND be on the correct side of the street. I might even go down the path of “call us when you get here and we’ll bring it out”. Convenience is king. Pizza CAN be a great quality product, but Domino’s has forever made it a convenience food as well.

OK my experience with billboards is not in the pizza industry, but stems from a time long long ago when I was in a partnership in an Army Navy Surplus store in the late eighties. We started doing billboards (actually what are called paint boards the really big ones you see on major thorough fares and along highways.) The first six months we were open we did approximately $125,000 in sales over the next twelve months of using the paint boards our sales went to $490,000+. We kept it simple but with visual impact. The name of the store accross the top with a picture of an SR-71 Blackbird coming over the horizon at sunrise, address and phone number at the bottom. This board moved from place to place that we chose everymonth for a year. our cost at that time 1989 was nearly $22,000 a year including artwork so I’m not sure how you guys are getting yours so cheap nowadays. My point is that using the right graphics and good locations billboards can give you market recognition better than you’ll get anyother way.

Thanks for the input. I want one in the main drag of my town. Im in the “new” growing area. Almost 5 months in and im still getting new customers that were told they had to eat here after being given directions from my regulars. Now my problem is staff!!! Atl east summer is comming and there will be tons of kids needing money.