See And Be Seen Minimize competition-and maximize results-by putting your advertising dollars where your customers live, work and play.
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Is your present advertising campaign buried in an avalanche ofcompeting messages? Instead of waiting for customers or prospectsto find your ads, would you like a way to place them right undertheir noses?
New forms of out-of-home advertising are springing upeverywhere, and they help advertisers do just that. They'recalled place-based media, since the locations themselves draw theaudience to the advertising. Traditional forms of out-of-homeadvertising, including billboards and transit advertising, are nowbeing joined by innovative, new place-based media that work becausethey let you fish where the fish are. From advertising on moviescreens, at theme parks and resorts, to advertising on taxi tops,truck-mounted billboards, video monitors in airports and malls, andeven posters on restroom walls in bars and restaurants, nowthere's a media opportunity to fit every type of business andbudget.
Place-based advertising will allow you to:
- Advertise free of competing messages. If you live in a majorcity, you've seen the specially designed, truck-mountedbillboards that carry a single advertiser's message to viewersalong predetermined routes. Taxi-top and bus-shelter ads also allowurban advertisers to communicate their messages unencumbered bycompetition. If your prospects can't be found on city streets,your message can take to the air. Let's say you own a smallrestaurant in a beach community. You could have an aerialadvertising company fly a banner with your message up and downlocal beaches. This form of aerial advertising would really standout, compared to a campaign relying on the local entertainmentguide, where prospects would see your ad among dozens ofothers.
- Use environmental stimulation. Imagine you're riding a skilift up a mountainside preparing for your second run-and you see anad for soup. Chances are having a hot bowl of soup would sound likea great idea. Now suppose you're sitting in your family roomafter dinner, watching television, and a soup commercial comes on.Are you going to be as receptive to the message?
Place-based advertising that relies on environmental stimulationis effective because it guarantees that ads will be seen by thosewho are in the best frame of mind for your message. The key is tochoose the right medium for your company. For example, you can nowrun ads in slide form on movie screens across the country. Thistype of advertising works best for marketing entertainment venuesor consumer products and services to adults ages 18 to 49, theprimary movie-going demographic. So movie- theater ads wouldprobably not be effective for a management consulting company,because the tone of the message would appear out of place.
- Reach prospects where it matters most. If you have a pet, youknow that veterinary waiting rooms are chock-full of pamphlets andposters with helpful information paid for by manufacturers ofproducts you can purchase while you're there. Depending on thetype of products or services you market, look for opportunities tocommunicate information in environments that lend credibility toyour message when prospects are closest to the point of sale.
- Find lower-cost advertising alternatives. The cost to run aone-third-page, black-and-white ad in a major daily newspaper on asingle day costs more than $5,000. On the other hand, for less than$500, you could run your ad three times before every movie on alleight screens at a local cineplex-for a full week. For manyentrepreneurs, place-based media offers an opportunity toaffordably launch or expand their campaigns. To find the right typeof opportunities for your company, consult the Standard Rate andData Service (SRDS) directory called Out-of-Home AdvertisingSource or visit www.srds.com.
