The world of advertising does not stand still. Advertising looks for non-standard solutions and new ways to reach the customer. Sometimes it escapes the template and escapes known definitions. And this is probably the most fascinating thing about advertising. This constant development and search for originality and distinction.
Ambient media
Ambient media arose from the need for originality. They come from the outdoor advertising segment, but their characteristics go far beyond classic OOH media. So what are they? The simplest way to define ambient media is as follows: they are places or objects that we come into contact with and use every day in urban space and for which we find new, additional utility: we turn them into advertising media.
Before we move on to examples of ambient media, one important note: these media must form a certain network, a standardized group. We are not talking here about individual ingenious solutions, but about concepts that are repeatable. Given this statement, ambient media are objects, objects and places that appear serially in the environment.
Examples
And now the most interesting part! Examples of campaigns using ambient media. First up: advertising on toilet paper. No one will deny that the basic utility of paper is something completely different from its communication or advertising functions. But it is also difficult to disagree that toilet paper can be printed and convey certain messages this way. Also advertising. One of the pioneering campaigns using toilet paper rolls was the campaign advertising Tabasco sauce in South Africa.
Pedestrian crossings can also play the role of ambient media - white stripes have been adapted, among others, for the following campaigns: teeth whitening strips, bathroom cleaner and office concealer.
More about the use of pedestrian crossings at https://prowca.wordpress.com/portfolio/przejscie-dla-reklamy/
Mr. Propper – advertising on a pedestrian crossing
If you remember Heyah's spectacular entry into the Polish mobile telephony market, you may also remember the ambient campaigns that accompanied it. For example, the use of balconies of several-story apartment blocks - a large sticker with a red hand (the symbol of the Heyah brand) was placed on each balcony.
More about the Heyah campaign at https://adbuzzer.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/heyah-and-its-best-early-campaigns-2004-2005/
"Heyah Paws" on the balconies of an apartment block. Source: adbuzzer.com
Ambient and public transport facilities
Ambient campaigns also include advertising on parcel lockers, handles in public transport (so-called "handles") - one of the mobile networks placed there the inscription "Who wants free calls, raise your hand!", as well as advertising at bus and tram stops . Bus shelters are a perfect place for ambient solutions. We have been using them for many years to promote various brands, products and events. One of our first implementations of this type was the campaign promoting spring water "Mama i ja". Another example is the campaign we prepared with the Polish Volleyball Association, promoting the Eurovolley Poland 2017 European Championships at bus stops. Public transport stops imitated a fragment of a volleyball court, with a real net, lines marking the dance floor and figures of life-size (and therefore quite small!) volleyball players glued on. on the carport windows.
Volleyball court in the bus shelter
You can turn a classic city lantern into an advertisement for a zoo - then the lantern becomes the neck of a giraffe. We wrote about the campaign using a tram as a mobile cafe in an article on our blog https://mediamiejskie.pl/blog/eventy-w-autobusach-tramwajach-i-na-przystankach/
One of our favorite, and at the same time one of the funniest, examples of ambient activities is the campaign of a German employment agency that placed stickers on the side walls of various self-service devices (an ATM, a photo booth, a petrol pump, a coffee machine, a washing machine in a public laundry, etc.). with the image of people who are supposedly inside the machine and instead of it perform appropriate activities - brewing coffee, washing laundry, spending money from the cash register, etc. These images were accompanied by the slogan "Life is too short for a bad job" and an encouragement to take advantage of the agency's offer .
Source: https://onextrapixel.com/creating-great-guerrilla-sabotage-and-ambient-marketing/
Ambient media is, above all, creativity, wit, surprise (sometimes even shocking), interaction and involvement. These are activities that appeal to recipients and arouse their interest, but let's be honest, they do not always translate immediately into generating sales. However, it is worth considering them as an alternative, or perhaps more often - as a supplement or reinforcement of traditional advertising formulas.
