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Tell us which sites you want and we will confirm the specifications for your sites.
Ready when you are.
Pick your sites, tell us the dates, and we'll come back with a plan.
Plan my campaignPlan My Campaign · Creative Support
Design for the red light.
Adverts can be supplied or designed by our in-house team of designers. Either way, four rules help your advert read from the road.
A captured audience for not less than 45 to 70 seconds.
The M1 at the Houghton flyover. Our four rules play as a spot on Alive's own site photo.
Put it to the red-light test
One brand, two adverts. Switch on what a driver does to them.
Example · Stack Burger Co. is a made-up brand
Stack Burger Co.
Sample
Double stack.
R59
Drive-thru open late · 1 km ahead
Stack Burger Co.
Sample
Double stack beef burger with cheese, bacon, onion rings and our special sauce
- Single stack
- Double stack R59
- Triple stack
- Chicken stack
- Veggie stack
- Fries
- Onion rings
- Wings
- Coleslaw
- Milkshakes
- Kids' meal
- Combos
- Breakfast stack
- Drive-thru open late
- Order on the app
1 km ahead · Turn left at the lights · Follow us on social media
Choose fonts that are easy to read from different viewing distances, such as large, bold fonts.
Use tonal contrast (a difference in value), instead of relying on a difference in colour alone. To check it, open your advert in compositing software such as Adobe Photoshop and convert it to grey scale. If it is still readable and every element stands out, it has good tonal contrast.
Alive's design guidelines advise against white backgrounds: on LED, white or very light colours may repel the eye. Digital displays can produce white and pastel colours, but Alive does not recommend them. Using the full range of colour is more pleasing to the eye.
Clean. A good advert places its main image so that it moves the eye naturally to the information, uses colour well so that it is legible, and has fewer design elements so that the message is clear.
Crammed. A weak advert has a logo that is too small to see, and not much contrast between the subject and the background.
What each word asks of your advert
Our design guidelines come down to four words: Simple. Bold. Legible. Brief.
Simple.
Some advertisers worry they cannot fit all their information on one frame, so they add every detail they can think of. This mindset comes from traditional print advertising.
On a screen, pick the one message that matters most and let the rest wait for your website or a call.
Bold.
Use upper and lower case for a long message, and keep all caps for short messages.
Switch on From the car to see whether large, bold type still holds.
Legible.
Tonal contrast and colour are what make words readable, so test both before you send an advert.
Try Grey scale and White background on the example.
Brief.
A limited amount of text helps viewers read and understand your advert.
Two ways to get your advert
Our designers make it
Our graphic design team works closely with clients to understand their goals, target audience and brand personality, and designs to suit them.
Change it by the hour, the day and the screen
Kettle & Co.
Sample
Breakfast is on.
R45
Coffee and a toastie · next left
07:00 Breakfast
Kettle & Co.
Sample
Lunch in ten minutes.
R65
Wraps and salads · next left
12:30 Lunch
Kettle & Co.
Sample
Supper, sorted.
R189
Family meal for four · next left
18:00 Supper
In seconds. Change messaging in just seconds.
By time of day. Rotate locations, and choose the time, day or month your adverts flight. A restaurant can flight a breakfast, lunch and supper special by time of day.
By screen. Show different branch details on each screen location.
Try your advert on a real board
Add your own image, or type a headline and pick a background colour, and see it on a screen we run. Nothing you add leaves your browser.
