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When you were a kid, did you ever make up games while riding in the backseat on long road trips?

 

Maybe you looked for license plates from as many states as possible ... searched for a name on an object that began with each letter of the alphabet ... or slugged your sibling every time you saw a Volkswagen Beetle.

 

The last two weeks or so I've racked up many highway miles during our family's mega Midwest vacation. All this time on the road has given me a chance to create new games -- this time from the driver's seat.

 

The latest one involves billboards.

 

What I do is read billboards and then try to determine what's being promoted. When I find one that gets my attention, I take note because you can almost always adapt the content for a powerful, eyeball-grabbing headline.

 

It amazes me, however, how many times you can't figure out a company's product or service from the words used on its billboard. After all, like any advertising or marketing piece, you only have a split second to seize a prospect's attention on a billboard.

 

Below are four billboard headlines that left me confused. Can you match each headline to the appropriate company (the answers are at the end of this article)?

 

1. Put Your Ducks in a Row

2. The Place to Go for Answers

3. Join Us Out Here

4. Screwed or Just Celebrating

 

A. Leinenkugel Brewing Company

B. Link Billboards

C. SeniorBrigade.com

D. DivorceNetwork.com

 

The importance of a headline in any marketing or advertising piece can't be ignored because it's the only information read by most of your audience. If you don't communicate the biggest benefits of your product or service in your headlines, then there's little chance they will see anything else in your promotional materials.

 

Sincerely,

Tom

P.S. If you enjoy creative billboards, you'll want to see some of these: http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/01/05/clever-and-creative-billboard-advertising/. Although there isn't a single word of text, it's impossible to miss the big benefit on the Tide detergent billboards.

Headline Answers: 1. B 2. C 3. A 4. D