What do you do when your advertising budget is so small, all you can basically afford is one billboard? You try to say everything on that billboard.

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But in spite of the fact that we at Oatly wrote 522.5 words on a single billboard, it wasn’t enough. So we scraped together some money for a second, cheaper billboard about a kilometer away to finish our message.

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Somehow, we get the feeling this is not how billboards are supposed to work…

Oatly was new to New Zealand, but had already gained a strong international reputation. So we knew there was a core audience (vegans, lactose-intolerant, and the LOHAS – Lifestyle of Sustainability and Health) waiting for the brand’s arrival.

This knowledge, combined with the relatively small population in New Zealand, allowed us to utilize a mass media medium such as billboards to reach a broader audience while informing our core target.

Of course, the billboards only represented one part of the media strategy. They were supported by PR and social media, which further fueled awareness and conversation.

The Long Copy Billboard was located in downtown Auckland and in spite of it containing 522.5 words, it could not complete the story we had to tell. So we bought a second billboard about a kilometer away. Together, the copy on the billboards directed readers to a hip local café that was serving up free oat cappuccinos.

We also worked with influencers who helped our audience connect the messaging of the billboards. Because, like, we’re not mean, you know.

The billboards and café promotion lasted one month.

We’re not convinced many people located and fully read both billboards. But clearly, someone did – and they told a lot of friends. Because each day of the offer, there were long lines in the café and the free oat drinks were gone by midday.

By the numbers, the Long Copy Billboard:

- picked up 20 pieces of media coverage.

- attracted 3,345,500 UMVs and almost 3.7 million OTS’s.

- created an engagement rate of 20% with influencer collabs.

And here’s the most fun stat: Over a dozen careful readers saw our colleague Mårten’s email address and wrote to him, just to see what would happen. In return, they received delightfully long responses, complete with photos of him and his family on holiday. If you’re jealous, we’re pretty sure you can still write him and he’ll respond: marten@oatly.com.