Caption: If this were you, would you really know what you were getting into?
Putting yourself onto an LED billboard and being the poster child for your brand and showing your potential customers the face of your business is an excellent way to attract more clients. It is a personable approach that gives a very real sense that people can relate to your business, making your brand look less corporate and more non-commercial. However, this approach is not without its drawbacks.
Remember My Name – Fame!
Imagine if you, a humble employee at your firm, were approached by management to be the poster boy/girl for their new advertising campaign. You’re going to be famous! But take a step back for a moment and look at the bigger picture.
Image your likeness 50 feet tall and plastered onto an LED Billboard for the world to see. People will recognise your face wherever you go; standing in line at the grocery store, picking your kids up from school, everywhere. Being recognised for your talent, your ability and your merit is one thing, but simply being recognised as a smiling face of a billboard is something else. One may wish to bear this in mind before agreeing to the job. We would recommend getting professional models to stand in for you, as they always want to draw attention to themselves.
The Issue of Privacy
In this day and age, it has never been easier to invade someone else’s private life. We put far too much information about ourselves online and it is worryingly simple for someone with the right skill set to put all those pieces of information together in order to find access to places you would rather they hadn’t. Yes, the clamp down on GDPR regulations as of late has made this less frequent, but it’s still a consideration for looking to put their faces on billboards.
Becoming a well-recognised celebrity, be that locally or nationally, can have ramifications beyond the aspect of fame. People bombarding you when you’re out to lunch with your family, yelling, ‘Hey, you’re the guy from that billboard!’ and having to either refuse the photo opportunities or sit their politely whilst they do it anyway.
Safety is also a constant concern. Not just from other’s in the flesh but those online too. A famous face is easier to track down, and those who have such mischievous intentions could see your face on a billboard as a giant vertical ATM sign. None of these points are here to put you off the idea of putting yourself onto an LED billboard, they are merely here to point out the potential pitfalls that could occur. The same goes for the next one.
It Can Also Be…Strange
I’m afraid so, the nature of being a celebrity can have its weirder and, in many cases, darker moments. As awful as it is to have your privacy intruded upon, having it happen to your personal space is a far worse example.
Stalking. It does happen.
Cases such as these are numerous. Someone sees the same person in the supermarket who they saw on the billboard and decides to follow them home. Then come back to their house the next day. Then follow them to work. Before you know it, you’ve got a horror movie and making a rather worried call to the authorities.
There is also the impact that billboards have on a driver’s visual behaviour. According to an NCBI study, it is something that we should take into account. As stunning as you may look digitally stretched out across a vast billboard frame, you may not want to be responsible for a driver losing concentration on the road and getting into trouble.
I must again reiterate that this article is not meant to put you off from putting your face onto a billboard, but in the same way you would want to know the risks of any new and exciting endeavour, it’s helpful to know the worst case scenarios. LED billboard’s are fantastic places to showcase brands, companies and aspiring actors/models, but its perhaps not the best place for advertising your face to others.
