Ancillary 2: Billboard

On this page, you will find all of my research and planning for my billboard. The order of posts on this page is earliest posts at the top and my most recent posts at the bottom of the page. I have put an image of my final billboard at the bottom of this page as well as on my 'Home' page under my main final products.

Analysis of 3 existing products:

Billboards: Below are 3 billboards I have edited in thing link and chosen to analyse for my 3 existing products task. I have chosen these 3 in particular because they relate to running which is the man aspect of my regional magazine and ELLE because it is a well recognised magazine.

What you expect to see on a billboard:

Layout:

• A bold headline is displayed on the billboard, typically at the top of bottom of the page.
• One main image is usually featured to draw the readers attention.
• A release date for whatever is being advertised is usually featured, typically if it is a magazine being advertised.
• Subtitles and minor text is in a smaller font usually shown below the main headline.

Colour:

• Colours are kept simple,yet eye-catching.
• Billboards are for passers by so need to be quick and easy to read. 
• Main colours featured are black and white, they are normally themed with on other colour.
• Too many colours can become confusing and distract the reader from the true aim of the advertisement.

Text use:

• A bold headline is featured typically at the top of the page to highlight what the billboard is about and to draw the readers attention.
• Some minor text and headlines are feature in a smaller font size for example a release date.
• Bold fonts are key as they are easy to read.

Content:

• A main background image.
• A bold headline.
• Possibly smaller sub headings/release dates.
• A company logo.
• Rarely minor images.

Image features:

• A model is typically featured.
• The product being advertised is usually on display.
• The image is usually simple as to not distract from the product.
• The image is designed around the product on display, to highlight it's features.

Billboard institution research:

When billboards started:

Billboards were probably first used to convey a message to the majority of individuals who were illiterate. The oldest known billboard advert was posted in the Egyptian city of Thebes over 3,000 years ago and offered a reward for a runaway slave.

How they are created:

The artwork on billboards is added after the structure of it is complete. The way it is applied depends on the design of the sign. Some advertisements are hand painted straight onto plywood sections that are directly attached to the billboard frame; others billboards use lithographic prints prepared on large vinyl sheets, which are pasted onto the sign face. Hand-painted billboards are normally used for small campaigns that want to achieve a higher quality look.


How much does it cost to have a billboard displayed?:

Here is some information about outdoor LED billboards:

Display Size	Pixel Pitch	Price
2x8'	16mm	$4,400 per face + parts & shipping
4x8'	16mm	$7,800 per face + parts & shipping
40x90"	10.66mm	$8,600 per face + parts & shipping
14x48'	16mm	$154,000 per face + parts & shipping

How much does billboard advertising cost? In Boston, bulletins range from $11,000 - $23,000 per 4 weeks. In sunny San Diego, bulletins range from $8,400 - $15,000 per 4 weeks.

How magazines use a billboard:

Magazines use billboards to advertise their new releases. People spend most of their time in their cars so billboard adverts are great! Billboards are also free to consumers because they don't have to pay for the TV to watch the advert or internet to see them online. They are right there in front of them for all to see. Because of this billboards open up their advertising to a much wider audience of all different age ranges.

Technological developments:

Billboards have advanced in the way that they have gone from being printed to electronic. Electronic billboards are easy to change and make for a better display because they can move. They are more eye-catching but can also be distracting to drivers so have to be carefully thought about.

Successful examples:

Both McDonalds and Coca-Cola are very successful businesses therefore these billboards are very successful examples of billboards.

Survey monkey responses:


From this I can see that the majority of people who took my survey were women. With 37 out of 48 being women this is an obvious difference. This is a good thing as my main target audience is women.

37 out of the 48 people who took my survey were aged 18-24, this is perfect as this is the age of my primary target audience.

With the majority of the people who took my survey opting for sport as a genre of magazine that they prefer, my results should reflect my target audience well. With a large amount being interested in fashion, this will be good in terms of the colour scheme results, look and layout etc.

With over 37% of my responders choosing sports as a hobby, I can tell that my results are going to be the correct styles and opinions of the sort of people who will be reading my magazine. 

From these results, I can see that the outcome is very similar to that of my magazine results. Therefore I think  I will stick to the same colour scheme of Green, Black, White and Burgundy. I may incorporate some of the other colours chosen but I will stick mainly to my original colour palette.


I will display my billboard at the most expected places to be seen and design it specifically around these areas.

With the image being the main thing appealing to my audience on a billboard, it is important that I choose the correct image to grab the readers attention. I also need to highlight my brand logo/name as this is also a key part of the billboard.
I will use an action shot for my image as this is what my audience want. I also think it will make the billboard more appealing and eye-catching to passers by. This will appeal to my target as it will be a bright, fun looking board. This fits with Stanley Hall's theory of 'youth as fun'.
I think I will have one main image covering the whole billboard and then a few minor images at the bottom. This will show some examples of previous or upcoming covers of my own magazine

With images playing a big role on my billboard, I will listen to my audience and use a main image, some minor images with examples of previous magazines and a small amount of text.

Flat Plan:

Below is my flat plan for my Billboard, I have annotated it to show how it will appeal to my target audience. The flat plan billboard will fit my genre because it features a runner and previous magazine samples. The images show that it is a running magazine and the information given connotes this too.




Photography research:

Photography has come along in leaps and bounds, compared to what it used to be like. Images are now digitalised and can be uploaded to just about anything! This is a big step from the likes of polaroid pictures and cameras in which you had to get the films developed, before you could even see what they look like. Because of this development, I am able to take a wide range of images, edit them and have rough drafts before a final copy is displayed. When it comes to my billboard, I am able to  capture images, that in the past, would not have been possible to take. I am able to display these in HD for the public to see and enjoy. These advances enable me to be creative and take images that will appeal to my target audience.

In my magazine, the style of photography used is sports photography, this includes action shots of runners and other athletes doing their specific events. Some shots may be still shots once athletes have finished running but mainly action shots.

Bob Martin is a very well known sports photographer, he has taken images of many famous athletes and has a wide range of images from golf, to horse-riding. Here is some information about Bob:

"Sports Photographer Bob Martin is a multi-award winning sports photographer specialising is shooting action, graphic, and editorial pictures for advertising, corporate and editorial clients.
During a career spanning the last thirty years, Bob has photographed every major sporting event; from the last fourteen Summer and Winter Olympics, to Elephant Polo and Horse Racing on ice. His work has taken him to the farthest corners of the world, and his photographs have been published in  numerous publications including Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek, Life Magazine, Stern, Paris match, Bunte, L Equipe, The Sunday Times and the New York Times to mention just a few." I like his style of photography and will take inspiration from them for my billboard.


Below are my five favourite Bob Martin images. I have chosen these images in particular because I like the way they show the emotion on the athletes faces. Not only can you see what they are doing in such a clear image, yet you can see emotion. Four out of the five images are action shots. However, as much as I like the action shots, I really like the still image of 'Muhammad'. This image clearly shows the athlete reflecting on the race she has just ran, or thinking about the race she is about to run. Her expression is one of thought and I find this intriguing. I think this type of image will appeal to my audience just as much as the action shots. I also like the rain in the background of the still image also. The two images of Bolt (in yellow) show his incredible effort and exceptional technique. He is a world class athlete and this can be displayed in these images. The two other images of Jessica Ennis-Hill and the USA athlete intrigue me, although bother vey different images, I like how the image has been captured. The athletes look completely natural and not edited in any way to look different from what they actually are and I think this is a good thing. The focus is just right for every one of these images and I would be very happy to capture an image as in good and with as much emotion as these images.

Lighting research:

What types of lighting are used in photography? All of the examples below are almost self explanatory. However lighting such as rim lighting and ambient lighting are more difficult to understand. All can be found online along with examples and definitions.

• Side Lighting
• Back Lighting
• Rim Lighting
• Ambient Light
• Soft or Diffuse Light
• Hard Light
• Spotlight
• Artificial Lighting
• Various Combinations of Lighting

The type of lighting used can have a big effect on the image you take. For example ambient light, which is non-direct, soft lighting being bounced off of other objects, can make your image really pop. Whereas back lighting, which is when light is behind your subject and is directed at you and your camera. This type of lighting creates silhouettes quiet easily. Combined with certain atmospheric conditions such as fog or airborne dust this means you can get dramatic lighting effects. You should choose your lighting carefully to get the results you want. For my images, I will be using natural light and other various combinations of lighting. I may use a reflector to highlight the athletes but as they will be moving this may prove very difficult to achieve.

Original images:

Here are my three original images that I chose to use as possible billboard images. I liked the idea of black and white because I could add bright colours to the page by putting my text in colour. The text is the main thing I want my audience to see so by having my image in black and white it would direct my audience straight to any coloured text.

The first image, which is in colour features Cornish athletes at the Cornwall County championships, which is also the same race as the second image. I chose these two as they are both interesting but also quite busy. However, I chose to use the third image for my final billboard as it is simple and has room for text around the page. It also fits with my Cornish theme as the image is taken on a Cornish beach and the athletes are Cornish also.

Photoshoot Reflection:

When reflecting upon my photoshoot, I noticed that the majority of my images were of either cross-country running or beach training. None of my images are at a track, unlike all of the images I have used for my magazine pages and most of the images on my website. If I had the chance to take my images again, I would try and take a variety of angles and styles. Although taking images of moving objects is very difficult, I think I managed to do a good job. I thoroughly enjoyed taking my images and I can't wait to take more images like this for other projects. I tried to take images that my target audience would be interested in, I think I have achieved this and I am very happy with my images.

Editing Evidence:

 I started with my chosen image as my background. I decided to use one main image as the background as I felt that it was eye-catching for my audience and because of it's black and white colour I could put all of my information in bright colours which would stand out from a distance. I added a tag line and the border from my contents page for continuity.

I then added my website address, so people could look at the billboard and know who to search for online. I also added my logo so people would recognise my brand image.

Once I was happy with the overall look of the page, I added my magazine examples from my contents page, again for continuity, but also to advertise my products, which is the aim of a billboard. I saw this technique used by 'Elle' magazine when doing my research.








Draft Billboard:

When beginning to draft my billboard, the image to the left was my original idea! I liked the way the images came through the text and how bold the text was. As you can see I took many attempts to do this. However, I didn't like the way that it didn't give me any space to write any information, it was just my logo name. It also doesn't look my my logo, so it lost continuity.

 I may use this technique for another project in the future as I really enjoyed making it and I like the way it looked, It just didn't apply to my target audience in the way I wanted it to.

 Here is my final DRAFT billboard, as you can see, it is very similar to my final billboard. I just felt that the text in the small box would be to small do read if you were driving past the billboard for example. I took the information from my contents page to keep continuity.






Final Billboard:

 Here is my final billboard, I added my magazine examples so that my target audience will know what is to come. I put my logo in the top corner of billboard so that my readers will recognise my brand. My tag line is "Chase the Cornish coast and discover Cornwall with Running Kernow" The use of the lexis 'chase' relates to the fact that is it a running magazine this also relates to Higson's theory of regional identity and gives my readers a sense of regional pride. I put my logo at the bottom right of the page so that people are aware of my brand being available online too. All writing fits with the colour of my colour palette, keeping continuity throughout  all of my products.