Enough Said: When Minimalism Means More

“Less is more”, an aphorism that is fully embraced on the billboards along the I-10 leading to Coachella. 

In the article Coachella’s OOH Billboards are the Real Brand Stars | The Brand Leader® Kyle Duford discusses the minimalist marketing strategy employed by artists to Coachella attendees and others travelling along that stretch of the I-10.

He suggests that although many would consider billboards outdated (me included), a clever billboard can spark intrigue and discussion, especially when you consider that you have a captive audience stuck in traffic.

Referencing Lady Gaga’s billboard featuring her monster paw and the words “Welcome to mayhem, dance or die” and Tyla’s “Got Water?” billboard, Duford talks about how instead of “information dumps” these posters are more like inside jokes inviting you to join a special club for only those who get the reference.

It’s kind of funny looking at this because honestly, I’m surprised by its success. If you said to me “Let’s advertise using a billboard” I wouldn’t think it was a great idea. The number of people with their eyes glued to their phones everywhere I go would suggest that you really don’t have as captive of an audience as you used to regardless of traffic.

The difference here is, unlike a normal billboard, this is a game and really who doesn’t like winning at games? Who’s the first to see it? Who’s the first to get it? Who’s the first to share it? These billboards offer some pride and clout to those seeing them.

Of course, this brings us back to social media like I bet most marketing does nowadays. People love to share (boast) about their experiences and these billboards nestle themselves right into that experience. Easy to photograph and a way of saying not only that you have arrived at Coachella, but that since you get the references, you fit in and belong. You’re one of the cool kids.

 This social media sharing culture we have lends itself to rapid information spread and seeing the billboards could easily become a “gotta see them all” situation. FOMO (fear of missing out) is alive and well, especially if everyone is going to talk about it at Coachella and online.

As Duford continues his analysis of these billboards he flips the narrative to “Soberchella”, a booze-free initiative specifically targeted to sober festival attendees who often find their sobriety treated as an afterthought or sometimes not considered at all. These kinds of initiatives make people feel seen, like the message is for you as an individual instead of the general masses. These initiatives are showing themselves to be a bit different and unique just like the individuals that make up their target audience. By identifying a smaller niche group to market to the campaign more successfully cut through the fog of white noise of those brands blanket marketing.

Deciding on a target audience for any campaign is essential so that concept, in relation to these billboards, doesn’t surprise me, but the use of the billboards themselves really makes me wonder about what other opportunities there are for revitalizing media that has fallen by the wayside. Can we bring about a form of nostalgia marketing that targets different audiences using “old-school” media or is Coachella’s method a one and done?