Many brands feel they’ve already done everything, renting a massive billboard, using colorful visuals, packing it with plenty of information, and hoping the audience will instantly get the message. But in reality, many ads just pass by unnoticed, unread, misunderstood, and completely forgotten. This is where many people begin to realize that the steps to create an advertisement are not as simple as “design – submit – display.”
A common mistake happens when brands assume that a billboard works the same way as digital media. In fact, Out-of-Home (OOH) has its own standards and principles: messages must be captured in seconds, visuals must stay simple, contrast must be strong, and placement must follow audience movement behavior.
Imagine a brand manager who’s confused because a competitor’s billboard always looks more “striking,” even though both brands advertise in the same large locations. They start wondering, “What makes that billboard so impactful? Why does my competitor’s ad resonate more than mine?”
This is where City Vision steps in. They’re not just an ad space provider, but a creative and strategic partner who understands how OOH works, how audiences absorb messages, and how a brand can stand out the most in public spaces.
Designing an outdoor ad isn’t as simple as pulling visuals from an Instagram feed. There are technical standards and visual communication principles specifically tailored for OOH.
OOH only has 3–5 seconds to deliver the message. If the visual is too crowded or the text goes beyond limits, audiences won’t have enough time to read it.
City Vision’s creative team understands audience attention patterns on the street: eye flow, readability, color contrast, and media consumption moments in urban areas, KRL, and TransJakarta.
As an official partner in various transit hubs, they understand how audiences move, stop, observe, and make decisions.
Brands receive creative guidance that aligns with modern OOH industry standards, not just aesthetic, but effective.
Source: City Vision
Every successful OOH campaign and every set of steps to create an advertisement, always begins with defining the objective. This determines the visual style, tone of copywriting, and the most strategic location.
If the goal is brand authority, the billboard must look strong, premium, and dominant. If it’s for a product launch, the hero visual must be large and precise. And if the goal is pure brand flexing, the tone must reflect confidence and exclusivity.
OOH is a prestigious medium, perfect for brands wanting to signal that they are major players. City Vision understands this positioning and helps brands choose the style that fits their objectives.
In OOH media, creative ideas must “speak” within the first one second. Creative brainstorming principles for OOH include:
Bold & simple: strong visuals without overwhelming the audience
High contrast & visibility: contrast drives readability
One core message: audiences don’t have time to read paragraphs
Dominant hero visual: product, talent face, or brand symbol must stand out immediately
At this stage, City Vision’s creative team provides consultations to ensure your idea truly works in public spaces.
OOH copywriting is entirely different from digital ads. In digital, you can use 20 words; in OOH, you only have room for 3–7.
Outdoor copywriting principles:
Extract one core message and remove the rest
Use strong, emotionally charged words
Ensure the brand name is clear and readable
Avoid jargon or complex sentences
City Vision also runs reading-distance simulations to ensure your tagline remains readable from multiple angles and distances.
Visuals play a crucial role in OOH success. Small details such as fonts that are too thin or insufficient brightness can cause an ad to fail.
Premium OOH technical standards include:
Minimum readable font size
Strong color contrast
Enough negative space
A large, clear hero visual
Balanced, clean layout
Remember, audiences cannot close a billboard. But they can ignore it if the design is poor. Additionally, premium visuals + premium locations = a strong impression of an authoritative and credible brand.
City Vision provides complete technical guidelines, from resolution to safe-text zones, for both digital and static panels.
A great design means little if placed in the wrong location. This is one of the most overlooked stages in the steps to create an advertisement.
City Vision’s locations include:
Commuter routes with captive audiences in Jakarta’s KRL
TransJakarta shelters and corridors
High-traffic CBD areas with strong middle–upper class concentration
Premium locations automatically elevate brand authority and signal that your brand is a major category player.
Source: City Vision
Not all brands want to deal with technical processes. That’s why City Vision offers end-to-end execution.
Their professional services include:
Final creative QC
Compliance & technical adjustments
Display monitoring
Exposure and documentation reports
With structured operational standards, brands won’t need to worry about the process. City Vision is not just a billboard provider, they’re an outdoor partner who handles everything until completion.
OOH isn’t just offline advertising. In fact, research shows that OOH sparks:
Increased brand searches
Higher digital ad CTR
Stronger retargeting funnels
Ways to maximize integration:
Add subtle CTAs
Use dynamic QR codes
Align visuals with digital campaigns
City Vision provides the best integration recommendations to ensure your offline ads connect seamlessly with digital funnels.
Ultimately, creating memorable OOH ads requires strategy, not just design. You need a partner who understands the entire flow, from idea and visuals to location selection and execution.
City Vision offers comprehensive support:
Creative ideas and consultations
Design and copywriting reviews
Premium location recommendations
Professional display execution
Complete monitoring and reporting
If you want a billboard that doesn’t just appear but truly influences, then it’s time for a premium consultation with City Vision.
