Anyone have tips on selling Ads on my Digital Billboard Trucks in Vegas.

Hello,

Just seeing if anyone have any suggestions of how I can market my Digital Mobile Billboard trucks. I have building them for businesses for the last two years and I've decided to build a few for myself to use to sell ads on them. I plan on driving them on the Las Vegas strip 12 hrs a day, 7 days a week and I want to sell ad space on them. Here are my trucks.

 

I went to craigslist and somebody (maybe you) is already pushing something similar: http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/biz/5045558241.html

But, yeah, craigslist can be your golden opportunity.

 

yeah. that's my ad. i've been using craigslist for a while to sell trucks and have sold several that way. Problem is, I haven't got anything from ad space ads. in fact, I've tried many other free classified w/o any luck as well. I am tempted to go the google adwords route, but I'm afraid that I might spend thousands of dollars on it again w/o getting any calls.

 

You never know. It's not a saturated market yet, so maybe it's not going to cost you a ton of money. The beauty of AdWords is you already have targeted customers when they stop by your website (they found you as opposed to you found them).

But I wouldn't rely on one particular mode of advertising. Local newspaper classifieds could be another way of reaching out to potential customers. Cold calling or sending letters to local businesses can help as well.

 

Thanks. I will try all of those suggestions.

 

In addition to the "retail approach" (e.g., Craigslist) I would also consider a campaign targeting some larger, more strategic potential advertisers. For example, I would consider contacting the taxi cab companies in Las Vegas as they might be very interested in getting their contact info in front of your audience. The casinos might be interested in promoting a particular offering or show to capture some walk-in traffic. Their ad buyers, however, probably are not looking on CL or other such media and you will have to reach out to them individually.

 

This indeed seems very true for the craigslist ads that I've been posting. Again, the only thing I've been getting from craigslist has been people wanting me to build trucks for them. I kind of want to focus more on renting my Video Walls out and selling ads on my mobile billboards because my profit margin on building trucks really isn't that great for all the work involved. I have to keep my prices competitive w/ China while using superior equipment and labor here in the States. If the people I build trucks for make money on the trucks I build, why can't I.

I will definitely try doing some old school b2b work on top of the different retail ad posting I've been doing. What do you think about email marketing campaigns? Is it worth it? If so, what price range should I go for? I've seen many different ads for this and the price ranges seem fairly dramatic.

 

I don't think that email blast campaigns work for B2B lead generation. Email contact with existing customers and prospects can work, but not for acquisition campaigns, in my experience. I think that you should research potential contacts at each company (start with linkedin) and call in directly to that person. Even if s/he is not exactly the right person, s/he can likely refer you to the right person. I think that you could then offer a compelling sales pitch to the person who buys advertising in each organization. Unique, eye-catching, great for impulse buyers, exposes a new universe of people who might not be seeing their other media efforts, etc.

 

Thanks again, jrbiz. Very good stuff.

 

Create a website. That will help you alot.

 

I have a website. www.led4k.com

 

Just a suggestion. You may want to update your images here: http://www.led4k.com/LED_Trucks.html and especially here: http://www.led4k.com/LED_Signs.html

They don't do any justice to what you're trying to accomplish. A picture is worth a thousand words as you know.

 

Should I go with larger pictures? And what about video?

 

Yes, large pictures with higher resolution. Some of the pictures you have are just bad. The videos are ok, but they too can be updated. @jrbiz mentioned impulse buyers, and I think to appeal to those (and to anyone else) your site / promotions should be SO freaking good and flashy that there would be no questions left in a buyer's mind that he / she is making the right purchase / decision when it comes to your business.

 

Makes sense. Admittedly, I had 0 input on the making of the site. My assistant actually put it together & I didn't realize how bad it was until now when you just pointed it out. Even the verbiage is pretty bad. I have some work to do, for sure.

 

Have you tried posting "Your Ad Could Be HERE" on your trucks?

If you are tracking the results via analytics, and have great results, then you could show a nice graph too.

I would suggest hiring someone to make a mobile app so people could sign up via their mobile device, since virtually everyone seeing the ads would not be sitting at a desk. Also, very important, make sure your website is mobile-friendly and that you take advantage of Google Local like crazy. https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/ (check for mobile-friendliness).

*I'm not sure about videos, unless they are really short. Since you will be driving around most of the time, I assume without many stoplights, then make sure they are simple, short (a few seconds), and easy to understand. After all, people are driving, or you are driving by, and there may only be a second or two to look without crashing or walking into a pole.

 

Due to fuel costs, its not really viable for me drive it around just to advertise adspace. I can post something like that as one of the rotating ads on it. As soon as i have about 4 campaigns on a truck, I should be able run an ad like that & I would be able to do your analytics graph idea.

 

Here's what I would suggest....

What other businesses do you see advertising on billboards in your area? Contact these businesses! Let them know what you're offering and how it's a better fit (or a supplemental fit) than billboards.

Look, here's the thing....you already know they utilize outdoor advertising, which is a often a hard sell to any business that doesn't. So this potential barrier is non-existent. You're offering a unique and innovative twist on advertising they're already using that they already know works. Should be a relatively easy sell.

 

Maybe you already do this.. but how about giving some away - run a message that says PUT YOUR AD HERE... make it pretty and flashy, I guess. Offer referrals? Maybe sign up with and affiliate program and target your websites. Maxbounty, Chitika, Commission Junction.. etc

 

Great suggestion. You are right that some of the smaller, more newer type of businesses tend to be more stubborn about advertising their businesses. I can definitely undercut all of the mobile billboard companies in vegas. I will definitely do this. Thanks for the suggestion.