Successful brands are all about trust and visibility; visibility online, on the high street and in the media and trust from consumers, competitors and the press. Public Relations (PR) aside it's important to get your brand awareness as consistently high as possible and in doing so alert potential customers to what service or product you offer. Sometimes it's easy to lose track of the goal with new fangled advertising ideas and viral ad campaigns and bringing it back down to earth with a pavement sign might be just the price ticket.

These simple advertising techniques provide an unavoidable physical presence for your brand; an A board outside a shop, restaurant or cafe is very likely to be seen by passers by and even if they don't come in there and then, on that particular occasion, you know that they've noted the offer, deal of the day, special menu or new class subconsciously and you've automatically got the seeds of a new customer. Undoubtedly you'll get some extra custom from an A board either there and then or in the future and this can only mean extra money or members or whatever it is that you're trying to increase.

The other great thing about a pavement sign is its ability to catch the eye of pedestrians and drivers alike and if you do your homework on what people want from you and create a simple yet eye-catching board, you'll probably be onto a winner. But keep it simple, if you try and cram too much on there the bold effect will be lost and so will your target audience. Stick to a few words or one price and don't clutter up the space with pretty borders and designs as they'll likely distract from the important information in the very short time that the average customer will spend looking at it. This is a passing advertising technique and not one where you can capture the imagination for more than a few seconds let alone minutes.

Smart business is about knowing what your customers want and giving it to them and the same goes for advertising methods and content so don't ignore online and viral potential but equally, if you have physical premises, make the most of them.

Set out a pavement sign or A board to draw attention to your business premises and hopefully draw in the crowds of potential customers.