ISSUE #269

If you've traveled to SF in the past year, then you've probably seen the swath of AI billboards - "Still hiring humans?" this, "Give us the finger" that.

But these buyouts aren't only for companies flushed with cash.

They're for teams that understand brand recall beats immediate attribution.

Stytch spent one month covering San Francisco with 80 bus ads and 11 billboards. Result: 70% more branded searches, 25% lift in traffic, and 10% of new sales opportunities directly citing the campaign.

Should you do the same?

In this week's roundup, we cover:

• Why OOH works for B2B → It's about brand recall during breaking point moments, not immediate pipeline generation

• Where to place your ads → Map ICP movement patterns through commutes, conferences, and business travel corridors

• What copy actually converts → Bold, simple lines that tap into beliefs rather than listing features

(P.S. This issue is totally late 😮‍💨)

Ian at SaaS Weekly

BUILDING THE PLAYBOOK
Frameworks and resources to design your growth play

Out of Home Brand Campaigns

🏗 Out-of-home | 8 min read | Lenny's Newsletter
When and how to run a billboard campaign

In theory: Most B2B SaaS teams chase immediate attribution. They want to see the direct line from ad spend to pipeline, from click to close. But that's not how brand awareness works.

Out-of-home flips the script. Instead of chasing the few buyers who are ready today, you're planting a memory for the majority who aren't in-market yet.

The real power isn't in immediate pipeline. It's in making your brand feel ubiquitous when decision time comes. Stytch saw 70% more branded searches and 10% of new opportunities directly citing their billboard campaign.

In practice:

• Map where your ICP lives and moves. Stytch targeted SF corridors where software engineers commute, plus conference venues during peak season. Geography determines who sees your message consistently - focus on high-frequency touchpoints where your buyers actually spend time.
  

• Plan for 4-6 weeks with social amplification built in. Most campaigns run monthly with professional photography planned upfront. Hire someone to document every placement so your team, investors, and customers can amplify organically across LinkedIn and Twitter. The billboard is just the anchor - social virality extends the reach.
  

• Frame success around brand lift, not just pipeline. Track branded search volume (Stytch saw sustained 10-15% lift after campaign ended), sales team anecdotes ("where did you hear about us?"), and digital amplification metrics. Attribution will be murky, but brand momentum isn't.

My take: This works because most B2B products have a "when you know, you know" adoption curve. Teams don't casually browse for solutions - they hit a breaking point with their current setup and need to move fast.

OOH plants the seed that becomes urgency later. When that team's infrastructure finally breaks, they won't research from scratch. They'll remember the company that felt everywhere and seemed inevitable. That's not vanity metrics - that's how B2B buying actually happens.

🗺 Out-of-home | 8 minute read | People Brands and Things
Where should you run your billboard campaign?

In theory: Location sets the context for your billboard - the "where" is the element that makes your message land. But effective placement isn't about picking one perfect spot.

Your audience moves through predictable patterns - commutes, conferences, business travel - that create multiple touchpoints for repeated exposure.

Airports have become premium SaaS real estate because they're "extensions of markets" with captive audiences who have dwell time.

In practice:

• Target ICP movement patterns over broad demographics. Focus on commuting corridors, office clusters, and conference venues where your buyers spend time daily. Skims dominated JFK Terminal 4 because it's Delta's hub - they created their own "domination package" that the media partner now sells as a product.
  

• Airports are the new highway billboards for B2B. They function as "whole other neighborhoods" with high-value audiences who have time to absorb messaging. Think SFO during conference season or major hubs where your target companies cluster.
  

• Layer iconic placements with contextual messaging. Two-thirds of adults act on OOH ads in high-traffic iconic areas. Pair Highway 101 visibility with self-referential creative that acknowledges the location - like GoPuff's floating digital boat at Ultra Music Festival showcasing day-specific products.

✍️ Out-of-home | < 1 minute read | Melissa Rosenthal on LinkedIn
"How do you write billboard copy that sticks?"

In theory: Placement gets your billboard seen, but copy is what makes it stick. You have five seconds to capture attention before someone's gone - which means every word has to earn its place.

The best billboard copy doesn't explain features or list benefits. It taps into what your audience already believes and gives them language for it.

Most B2B teams default to safe, descriptive copy that tries to say everything. But memorable billboard lines work like good headlines - they create curiosity gaps that pull people toward the next action.

In practice:

• Be bold and impossible to ignore. Ōura's "Give us the finger" works because it's provocative, connects to the product (ring on finger), and taps into defiant wellness attitudes.
  

• Keep it brutally simple. Notion's "For your life's work" beats "Collaborative productivity platform for teams" every time. Strip everything except the core idea that makes someone Google your brand later.
  

• Embrace the chatter, even controversy. Lemonade's "Forget everything you know about insurance" sparked debate but got remembered. If your billboard gets screenshotted for LinkedIn or starts Twitter threads, you've extended a four-week campaign into months of earned media.

TOP READS FROM LAST WEEK

1. The ABCs of Notion's B2C2B influencer strategy (Link in Bio)

2. Should Influencers be part of your GTM Strategy? (GTM Strategist)

3. B2B Influencer Marketing for SaaS in 2025 (Partner Stack)