When we’re trying to get the most out of our promotional budgets, we love to find a format that delivers effective low-cost advertising. But we love getting to play with the latest and greatest ad technology, too. Although many people overlook it today, the bus stop advertising actually offers a great compromise between these two desirable values.
Here are a few of the reasons bus stop ads are well worth consideration for any brand that’s looking to increase its exposure.
Bus shelter advertising is highly scalable. The format delivers a low cost of entry that is friendly to local groups and small businesses, but the sheer breadth of exposure makes these ads attractive to large brands as well.
Advertisements at bus stops deliver twenty-four hour a day performance. They come with always-on lighting so that their visibility is never compromised. (In fact, many ads are actually more visible at night than during the day.) All in all, this translates into an ad format that never quits.
To develop that last point a little further, bus stop ads are also classic interruptive marketing tools. The target audience can’t switch them off or make them go away. While operators need to use common sense and respect their audience’s interests, they also don’t need to seek permission before sharing their message.
Bus Stop Ads Still Work
Properly-placed bus stop adverts will be able to capture attention from passing traffic. The real value they deliver is in reaching the captive audience using the bus stop, though. Because viewers will usually have plenty of time to examine these ads in depth, it’s the perfect medium for delivering a detailed, information-rich message that wouldn’t work in OOH ads.
Production values on bus stop adverts typically conform to very high standards. They compete very well with the ads found in the toniest magazines, and no brand would be ashamed to be associated with bus stop ads.
Advertising at bus stops is a great way to target a local audience. There is no uncertainty about geographically targeting specific groups; you know that everyone who sees a bus stop ad lives, works, or commutes in the immediate area. As a bonus, bus stop ads are easy to customise for different regions to make them more relevant.
Nationwide campaigns that use bus stop advertising deliver excellent reach (i.e. the percentage of the total population that sees the ad within a particular time frame) for very affordable prices. Most other media with comparable reach statistics (e.g TV ads) are far more expensive.
Conclusion
Though bus stop ads have been with us for quite a while, they are far from outdated. In fact, digital signage works exceptionally well in this venue. Clear Channel is in the midst of a drive to fit 600 digital bus shelter screens in the nation’s largest cities and towns. These ads are more personal than billboards, speak to a captive audience, and offer one of the best chances to foster interaction between audience and digital ad. With “proof of play” tracking becoming standard, it’s even getting easier to measure the impact of bus stop ads precisely.
