Do you remember the last time you laughed at an awful pun that was on a bus bench, even though you were in the middle of traffic on your commute to work? Or maybe you were even the person who decided to sit on that bus bench while you were waiting for your ride, chuckling before you settled into your seat and grateful for the rest.
You probably already logically know that these are ads that have been strategically placed by another company’s marketing team, but for some reason, the street furniture advertising is more forgivable. You don’t necessarily feel as annoyed by this because of the way that it draws attention to itself.
Does that idea make you want to look into this new sort of advertising? Does street furniture advertising seem like an interesting way to connect with your audience more directly, as well as on a more personal level? And do you have any idea how useful street furniture advertising can be for you, even if you have a tight budget?
Defining Street Furniture Advertising
Street furniture advertising is advertising that is placed on furniture that exists in communal areas of the city, although the platforms are frequently privately owned by transit companies or other third parties who have cleared their structures with the city.
However, this doesn’t only apply to bus benches, although these are probably the first kind of street furniture that came to your mind. Actually, street furniture isn’t even exclusively regular furniture, as it can even include some kinds of technology that are visible from the street.
In its most general sense, street furniture advertising means paying for a space to place your ads on smaller surfaces that aren’t otherwise being utilized. They’re like billboards in some ways, as in they’re still ads that are meant to gain street attention. But they are also pretty unique.
Street Furniture Advertising is Unique
Obviously, ads on street furniture are still ads, however, they also have the potential to be much more. They can help you target specific audiences, ease your company’s ability to upscale and downscale your campaign, and you can really get connected to the community of the area you’re targeting.
Worry Less About Competition
Advertising is always going to be somewhat competitive, as the first step to successful ad placement is actually getting eyes onto your messaging. If no one is able to hear about the product that you’re trying to launch, then you won’t be able to sell anything.
With street furniture advertising, potential customers are far less likely to tune out your ads in the same way that they are with traditional billboards. Not only are they used to keeping billboards in their peripheral vision, but there are also dozens of them in a person’s single commute.
But if you focus on street furniture, you’re catching people’s eyes when they want to be distracted. That’s because they’ve most likely been stopped in the middle of traffic on their way to work or somewhere similar, and they’re welcoming the opportunity to allay their feelings of boredom.
Let Your Budget Be Flexible
While the price range for street furniture advertisements can be quite broad, anywhere from below $200 and above $5,000 for a single month of ad placement depending on your target location, there’s still a lot of flexibility there for your advertising goals. This is according to Blue Line Media.
Surely, this is one of the least expensive ways to get your company’s name, product, or service out there and into public spaces.
Whether you’re running on a tight budget or a very sizeable amount of money for your marketing campaign, this is a strategy you should be able to utilize.
Easily Scale Your Campaign Up or Down
Because street furniture marketing is generally so inexpensive, it’s also pretty easy to scale your project depending on your needs and your budget. Even if you want to target a specific area with a high concentration of ads, or you want to spread out your campaign between many different places, you should be able to accomplish your goals.
Personalize for Your Audiences
Street furniture marketing is also pretty useful for if you want to target some specific consumer types. That means that if you’re looking to target a lower-income person with a budget-friendly option, if you have a product that could specifically be useful to commuters, or a million other things, this is likely useful for you.
Make sure that your audience feels like you are paying attention to them, even if that means calling them out in some way in your messaging.
Have a Sense of Humor
Street furniture ads can also just allow your marketing team to be more creative in general. Let them think about specific puns and jokes depending on the medium you want to use, take advantage of the different levels of awareness that potential customers have, and make your audience’s experiences feel tailored and personalized.
You can poke fun at commuters, laugh at the movie posters that are typically located in bus and transit shelters, give directions to your physical location nearby, or even say something comforting to someone who is having a hard time.
Because these kinds of ads are lower in profile than billboards, any eyes that come across your ad are more likely to psychologically encounter your ad and feel like the message was meant for them. So be kind, be funny, be quirky, and be attention-grabbing.
