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When
was the last time you left home and were in a truly advertisement-free
environment? Think about it. Now advertising
messages go anywhere and everywhere people do. Go to almost any
U.S.
beach and you'll be greeted with a plane towing an ad banner. You may even
be exposed to "beach sand impressions," which are ad messages
imprinted into the sand and regenerated overnight. How about a ball game?
Every conceivable stadium surface is covered with advertising, from signage
to food snack packs, and some stadiums even have video screens built
directly into the seat backs. Feel like going for a bike ride surrounded by
nature? You may find your local biking trails are named after businesses,
thanks to the new availability of naming rights for everything from nature
trails to neighborhood swimming pools.
The
industry calls this alternative out-of-home or placed-based media, and it's
a bonanza for small businesses because there's
literally something for everyone. While there are virtually limitless places
to put your ads, here are just a few ideas to get you thinking:
-
Shopping cart returns--Ads
are placed on the roof of shopping cart
return stations located in supermarket parking lots.
-
Valet parking tickets--Messages
are imprinted on all the segments.
-
Public telephones--Ads
are placed on phone kiosks located near streetball courts, school yards,
playgrounds and urban parks to reach younger males when they're on the
courts. (Of the 800,000 locations available, 1,500 are less than a block
from a streetball court.)
-
Dry-cleaning bags and hangers--Ads
are printed on garment bags, hangers and paper covers.
-
Commercial restrooms--Posters
are located in public restrooms, such as in bars and restaurants, on
stall doors or above urinals.
-
Vending cart umbrellas--Ads
are placed on umbrellas that cover vending carts in metro markets.
-
Golf course hospitality carts--Signage
is found on the sides and backs of hospitality carts on nearly 1,000
golf courses.
-
Dogs--(That's right, dogs) wearing advertising messages,
called K9 Billboards, are available to stroll through cities nationwide.
-
Campus laundry rooms--Acrylic-covered,
framed poster-size ads are available on more than 300 college campuses
and in a total of 3,500 laundry rooms.
-
Diaper-changing stations--(Also
called "Baby Boards") carry advertising in public restrooms.
-
Health clubs, spas and salons--Ads
in a variety of shapes and sizes are located throughout the facilities.
-
Public tennis courts and swimming pools--Ads
are found on scoreboards, walls and even on the bottoms of the pools.
-
Stadium and arena food carriers--Logos
are imprinted on snack packs used to carry food and beverages.
With
so many place-based media options available, choosing the right one can be
tricky. Last tax season, I received an e-mail with a question from an
accountant trying to build his new practice. He couldn't understand why his
marketing wasn't working, yet his tactics were poorly chosen--and one in
particular was really out of left field. He said he was advertising on the
backs of supermarket receipts. Now, really, would you choose an unknown
person to handle your finances from an ad on the back of a shopping receipt?
It's a great tactic, but it was absolutely wrong for him.
Results
of Choosing the
Right Place
-Based Opportunities
Using the right place-based opportunities should enable you to accomplish at
least one or more of the following five things:
1.
Influence a purchase.
Ideally you want to find placed-based media that reach your prospects when
they're in a position to buy what you sell. The last time you visited your
dentist, did you notice the brochures in the waiting room promoting the
tooth-whitening products your dentist applies? These
"informational" brochures are excellent placed-based selling tools
because they prompt patients to ask the dentist for the product or
procedure.
Ads
placed in and around supermarkets, for example, are effective for products
sold there. In addition to ads on shopping cart returns, advertisers can
place their product names or logos on supermarket clocks, buy shopping cart
ads, and a variety of displays--all to reach consumers just prior to a
purchase decision. Ads on cash register receipts entice customers to come
back for special promotions or discounts on products they may never have
tried. They can also be used to draw shoppers to stores located adjacent to
the supermarket. Where will your customers be when they're deciding to buy
what you sell?
2.
Reach your best prospects.
The most exciting characteristic of placed-based media is that they can go
wherever your best prospects do. Trying to reach boaters? Ads and
informational materials placed at marinas may do the trick. Are your
prospects sports enthusiasts? From high school and college stadiums to
professional arenas, there are countless placed-based opportunities to send
your message.
Suppose
you were marketing to college students. After all, 15-million college
students in the
United States
spend more than $100 billion each year for everything from clothing and
shoes to cars and electronics. On-campus advertising includes outdoor
posters and dioramas; indoor posters in laundry rooms, dorms and student
unions; plus a new form of advertising available on about 100
campuses--large plasma screens that alternate ads with announcements in the
lobbies of student unions and in recreational facilities. If you were a
retailer marketing to a nearby campus, you could run on-screen ads 11 times
per hour, sometimes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to promote student
discounts, host on-campus promotions, and recruit employees.
3.
Put your message in the right context.
Place-based media often can be used to reach prospects when they're in just
the right state of mind. For the same reason that business marketers
advertise copiers, computers and cellular phones using outdoor media that
reach commuters on their way to work, other less traditional media can
accomplish a similar goal by presenting your message in the appropriate
context. If you're a member of a major health club, for example, you've
probably noticed the video screens and other advertising featuring products
related to fitness, health, diet and beauty. When would you be more
receptive to an ad for a new diet plan, at dinnertime while eating pizza and
watching TV, or when you were working off those extra calories the next
morning at the gym?
Pet
owners stocking up at the neighborhood pet store are in the right frame of
mind to take a brochure for a local pet groomer from a countertop rack while
waiting at the register. And teenage boys playing basketball on an urban
court are likely to take notice of a nearby poster advertising sports
apparel. These placed-based media work because they reach qualified
prospects in the proper context.
4.
Appear in a compatible venue.
Most people are familiar with the small posters that are placed in
restaurants and clubs, generally inside the restrooms or nearby, perhaps in
a hallway where patrons must wait in line. Ever notice the kind of
advertising they carry? The majority is for compatible,
entertainment-oriented products and services that match the "fun"
state of mind of the patrons who view it. Place-based ads feature local
attractions, musical events, gambling junkets, skydiving and snorkeling
trips (in Miami), ghost tours (in New Orleans) and dating services, just to
name a few.
Your
place-based advertising should be a synergistic part of your overall
marketing campaign and carry similar themes. So it's important to choose
out-of-home venues that are compatible with the overall tone and content of
your company's message. An ad for the tax preparer I mentioned earlier, for
instance, probably wouldn't work on a nightclub restroom poster, even if
patrons of the club matched the demographics of his target audience. His
message simply wouldn't be compatible with the tone of the venue.
5.
Earn community goodwill.
Other more subtle forms of place-based media can effectively boost your
company image as a good citizen of the community. One such example is the
Adopt-a-Highway program, which posts signage along major highways from
coast-to-coast in exchange for sponsors' fees to cover routine maintenance.
The Adopt a Highway Maintenance Corporation is one of the leading providers
of the service and signage. Primarily used for branding purposes, the
signage designs are approved by state highway departments, which typically
allow a company name and logo. You can buy the signage along a major route
close to your office or anywhere you like. In some states, signage is
available every mile and in others its every two miles, and on average, each
sign is seen by drivers and passengers in 5-million cars a month. It's a
great way to show your customers and your entire community that you care.
As
you can see, there are hundreds of options for you to launch your own
place-based media campaign. And with the right placement, targeting the
right customers, it's sure to be a success.
Kim T. Gordon is the "Marketing" coach at Entrepreneur.com
and a multifaceted marketing expert, speaker, author and media spokesperson.
Over the past 26 years, she's helped millions of small-business owners
increase their success through her company, National
Marketing Federation Inc. Her latest book, Maximum
Marketing, Minimum Dollars, is now available.
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