Billboards – one of the oldest forms of advertising – are growing in popularity, partly thanks to improvements in design and printing technology.

NEXT to product quality, Myanmar businesses know that the best way to sell their products is effective advertising. And many believe that the most effective form of advertising is one of the oldest – a large public display, in the form of a street-corner billboard.

Our cities are full of them. And developments in technology have made them brighter, more colourful, and more resistant to sun and rain.

“At first, the quality of billboards was not so good because we had to use low quality machinery that could only handle four colours. But now printing techniques have improved. If you use a digital machine with six colours, the billboard will be more attractive to your customer,” said U Nay Min Tun, the manager of Idea Digital Inkjet Printing.

“Billboards are more effective than advertising in newspapers or on TV for introducing new brands, for the cost,” said U Myo Thi Ha, operations manager of Advanced Technologies & Solutions.

He added that, of 100 people who see the billboard, 10 are potential customers, and one will buy the product advertised.

“Our business is overseas education services and the benefit we derive from billboard advertising may be low because of the high cost of learning abroad. But this way of advertising an inexpensive product can stimulate a lot of demand,” said U Myo Thi Ha.

U Zaw Min, the manager of Azada Art Services and Gallery, said billboards provide about 20 percent of his work.

The popularity of the billboard has helped supporting businesses in the design and vinyl printing industries, while also providing work through the construction of the boards themselves.

“We occasionally hold seminars on overseas education and introduce foreign universities and colleges. If the seminar is important, we hire a service company to make a billboard ad. They have more experience than us and we don’t need to spend much time on that process. But we need to be sure what design and what location we want,” said Daw Thar Yar Aye, the business development manager of Overseas Education Channel.

Nowadays, billboard advertising costs about K450,000 for 24 square feet and K9,000,000 for 675 square feet, depending on location, said U Nay Min Tun.

“We also offer advertising services besides inkjet printing. In a typical contract, the customer might pay half the cost up front, 20pc when the billboard goes up and the rest after construction is complete,” said U Nay Min Tun.

There are restrictions. Alcohol and tobacco product advertising is closely regulated by the rules and regulations of YCDC, as are depictions of models in suggestive poses.

Effective, eye-catching design is a must for boards that may be seen for only a few seconds. The information must be clear to a casual glance.

U Myo Thi Ha advised companies to research their needs in advance, including the effectiveness of the location.

“As our business is overseas education services, we always research the location to ensure that it is seen by potential students, by checking how much traffic there is and how good the lines of sight are,” said U Myo Thi Ha.