They won’t deliver the instant gratification of a Facebook lead form, but they burn your name into people’s heads. When their AC dies or roof leaks, you’re the first name they think of. Corporate giants do this on purpose. So should you.

You can’t sell a roof or A/C to someone across the country, you need your community to trust you. And in trust-heavy industries, familiarity beats clever copy every time.

Why Billboards Still Work (Yes Even Now)

Everyone assumes digital wins because you can track it. Billboards? No clicks, no UTM codes so people think they’re “old news.” They’re wrong.

Billboards are brand awareness machines. As one contractor marketing firm puts it, “when it comes to marketing for contractors and home service businesses, billboards are all about brand awareness—not direct lead generation”.

They work because of the mere exposure effect: the more you see something, the more you trust it.

Even if you’ve never called, your brain tags the name as “familiar.” And in a pinch, you choose familiar.

The Billboard Advantage — Broken Down

• Local saturation: A high-traffic billboard can hit hundreds of thousands of impressions a week. It’s always there, no scrolling past it.

• Trust through repetition: Seeing your name day after day = mental shortcut for “legit.”

• Offline reach: Some homeowners you’ll never catch on Google Ads, they will see the sign on their grocery run though!

• No ad blockers: It’s up 24/7. They can’t mute it. They can’t skip it.

• Credibility signal: A big, physical ad says “we’re established” in a way a Facebook carousel never will.

And the kicker? Billboards have higher recall rates than TV, radio, or online ads. People remember what they see in the real world.

Brand Recognition vs. ROI Obsession

Sure, you can’t log into a dashboard and see “Billboard: 12 leads today.” But here’s the truth: not everything that counts can be counted.

Maybe a customer saw your sign in March, your yard sign in June, a Google ad in August, and called you then. The billboard didn’t “get credit” but it absolutely shaped the decision.

Billboards prime your other marketing. That search ad they clicked? Way more likely to get the click if they’ve already “met” you on the freeway.

Want tracking? Use unique phone numbers or promo codes. But don’t starve your brand because it’s not instantly measurable.

Local Proof: Hendrick Heat, Air & Plumbing (Tulsa, OK)

Justin Hendrick started small. Used online ads for fast leads, billboards for long-term familiarity. Didn’t expect miracles. Month two? $700K. Year one? $8M in revenue.

Why?

• Prime billboard locations with massive daily traffic

• Same logo/colors everywhere online and offline

• Stuck with it long enough for it to compound

People didn’t just know the name, they trusted it.

Big-Brand Case Studies (That Prove the Point)

Chick-fil-A’s “Eat Mor Chikin” Cows

Mid-90s, Chick-fil-A’s budget was small. So they skipped the TV arms race and put giant Holstein cows on billboards painting “Eat Mor Chikin.” It was weird and unforgettable. Over two decades, it grew them from a $100M regional chain to a $6.8B national player. The billboards did the heavy lifting, so they could outspend competitors in visibility without matching TV budgets.

Coca-Cola in Times Square

First sign in 1920, still there 100+ years later. Coke doesn’t need to “sell” you with that sign. The whole point is omnipresence. If Coke thinks high-visibility outdoor ads are worth a century of rent, there’s a reason.

Netflix & Spotify

Even the most online brands step offline. Netflix takes over Times Square and LA billboards to launch shows because giant real-world displays create urgency and social chatter . Spotify’s witty “Year in Review” billboards have become cultural touchpoints. If 100% digital products are buying physical space, your brick-and-mortar service company should be all over it.

Why Home Services Should Lean In

If you’re in HVAC, plumbing, roofing, pest control you’re selling trust. Trust is built through familiarity. Familiarity comes from visibility.

Billboards aren’t a “maybe” tactic here. They’re your trust accelerators. They work quietly, feeding your Google Ads, mailers, and referrals.

If you disappear from the landscape, you disappear from people’s mental shortlist…plain and simple.

Bottom Line

Billboards are not dead. They’re the long-term play that makes every other marketing channel work harder. They won’t give you the quick hit of a PPC lead, but they will make you the obvious choice when a need hits.

Old-school isn’t outdated. It’s underrated.

If Coke, Chick-fil-A, Netflix, and a Tulsa HVAC shop can all win with them — so can you!