The Takeaway
Demure Fragrances wanted to build awareness, get recognized, and look like a modern brand. It ran one campaign on two digital billboards, with one select board in a popular region of Atlanta, Georgia, using a professional product image and the web address where the fragrances are sold. The campaign delivered 549 blips and 1,479 estimated impressions at an average of $0.038 per play. Website traffic doubled, and podcasts and publications got in touch.
Why Demure Fragrances Turned to Billboard Advertising
MiMi Q. Atkins founded Demure Fragrances in 2018. The fragrances use exotic notes, are manufactured in Italy, and are distributed across the United States.
The brand had three objectives, and MiMi was specific about them. Build brand awareness. Get recognized. Present a brand with modern appeal. That third one is easy to overlook and hard to solve. A small brand can have an excellent product and still look small, and looking small costs you the customers who have never heard of you.
MiMi was apprehensive about starting the campaign. That is a normal reaction, because billboard advertising for small business owners has a reputation for being expensive and hard to get into. Blip’s notes on digital billboards for small businesses address most of it. She went ahead anyway.
How Demure Fragrances Built Its Billboard Campaign
- Boards selected: Two digital billboards, including one select board from the boards in Atlanta, in a popular region of the city.
- Creative approach: A high-quality professional image with models and the bottle of “Totally by MiMi.”
- Message: The fragrance name and the web address, demurefragrances.com, where the fragrances could be bought.
- Budget approach: Pay per play at an average of $0.038 per blip, so the spend followed how often the ad actually ran.
Digital billboard advertising suits a product like this, because the picture has to carry the message. You cannot describe a scent on a board. What you can do is show the bottle at a size nobody could miss and let the quality of the image say the rest, which is exactly what this campaign did.
The Creative
The board carried a professional image with models and the bottle of “Totally by MiMi,” the fragrance name, and demurefragrances.com.
Product, name, destination. Most strong billboard advertising examples in beauty follow that order, because the bottle is the thing people will recognize later on a shelf or in a search. If you want help getting an image to hold up at billboard scale, the billboard design guidelines cover what to watch for.
What Demure Fragrances’ Billboard Campaign Delivered
The campaign ran as one campaign on two digital billboards and delivered 549 blips. Each blip is a single eight-second play. Those plays produced 1,479 estimated impressions at an average cost per blip of $0.038.
MiMi says she knew the campaign had gone live before checking her dashboard, because the response arrived first. Within 24 hours, people were contacting her to interview her for podcasts and to feature Demure Fragrances in publications. Influencers picked it up and her own followers engaged more than usual.
Website traffic doubled from the time the campaign launched. That is the headline result for this story, and it is worth reading carefully. The traffic moved alongside the boards, the press interest, and the social attention, all of which were happening at once. A fast response like this is one brand’s experience rather than something to plan around, and most businesses should expect recognition to build over weeks of repeated exposure.
The less measurable outcome was the one MiMi mentions first. Being on a board made the business look official, which was the third objective from the start.
Being on a billboard makes me feel big! Similar to the billboard, my business stands out and looks more official. This partly feels surreal, but at the end of the day, people are noticing and my business is growing as a result of this campaign.
MiMi Atkins, Founder, Demure Fragrances
Why This Billboard Campaign Worked
- The product was the hero: A large, well-shot bottle communicates a fragrance brand better than any line of copy could.
- One destination: The board carried a single web address, which is what made the traffic movement readable.
- A busy, chosen area: One select board sat in a popular region of Atlanta rather than wherever was cheapest.
- It changed how the brand was perceived: MiMi says press and podcasts got in touch within 24 hours of the campaign going live.
- Spend followed delivery: At $0.038 per play, MiMi paid for the plays her ad actually got. That pricing is what makes billboard advertising ROI possible to reason about at this size.
What Beauty and Fragrance Owners Can Take From This Campaign
- Show the bottle: A beauty billboard works on recognition. People need to know your packaging when they see it again.
- Give one place to go: A single web address on the board is what makes any traffic movement readable, and it is the only honest way to look at billboard advertising ROI for a brand this size.
- Expect side effects: Press and influencer interest often follow visibility. Watch your inbox as well as your analytics.
- Size it to your business: Billboard advertising for small business owners works on price per play, so choose a budget that fits and give it enough frequency to build recognition. Start with what digital billboards cost.
Run a Beauty Billboard Campaign Like Demure’s
Choose boards in the areas your customers already travel through, put your product on them, and set a budget you are comfortable with. Submit your campaign for review and start displaying after approval.
Frequently Asked Questions About Demure Fragrances’s Billboard Campaign
How many billboards did Demure Fragrances use?
Two digital billboards, including one select board in a popular region of Atlanta, Georgia. The campaign delivered 549 blips and 1,479 estimated impressions.
What did Demure Fragrances’ campaign cost per play?
The average cost per blip was $0.038. A blip is one eight-second play, so spend followed how often the ad ran rather than a fixed monthly rate.
What results did Demure Fragrances see?
Website traffic doubled from the time the campaign launched. MiMi also received podcast interview requests, publication features, and increased attention from influencers and followers.
Is billboard advertising for small business owners realistic?
Yes, when you can control the spend. Billboard advertising for small business owners works on price per play with no contracts and no minimums, so you choose a budget that fits and give the campaign enough time to build recognition.
What should a beauty billboard show?
The product, large and well photographed, plus your name and one web address. A beauty billboard is trying to make your packaging familiar, so the picture does most of the work.
How do you measure billboard advertising ROI for a small brand?
Watch the signals that move when more people know your name. Website traffic, direct search, and enquiries are the usual three. Compare the campaign window with the weeks before it, and remember that billboard advertising ROI is hard to isolate when press and social attention arrive at the same time.
Why choose digital billboard advertising over a traditional board?
With digital billboard advertising through Blip you choose the boards, set the budget, and pay per play, with no contracts and no minimums. Demure ran one campaign at $0.038 per play rather than committing to a monthly rate.
Where can I find good billboard advertising examples?
Look at boards in your own market first. The useful billboard advertising examples are the ones you can read at driving speed, and you will notice quickly how few of them manage it.
How quickly can a digital billboard advertising campaign go live?
Pick your boards, upload your artwork, and set your budget. Submit the campaign for review, then start displaying after approval.