Mobile’s inexorable march across the digital landscape, warping the very dimensions through which it strides, seems like a fact of marketing life in 2018.
Mobile now accounts for nearly 70% of the time we spend chowing down on digital media. To chase this audience, I see marketers now adopting an attitude that’s not just mobile-first, but mobile exclusive.
However, all the doomsaying about zombie people shambling around, phones glued to their hands 24/7 isn’t quite accurate just yet.
Take a peek at 10 places your print marketing can still make a difference.
The Tube: Word’s your oyster
Oh god, is there anything worse than accidentally making eye contact with someone on the Tube? One of you might smile, and then… do you start a conversation or what? People are weird.
Instead, place your marketing collateral just above eye-height and capitalise on the crippling social anxiety which is ruining Western civilisation.
Meanwhile, on the platforms themselves, longform copy returns for its final great hurrah, with Londoners sometimes being forced to stand waiting as long as 180 seconds for their tube!
While they pass through this intolerable abyss of inaction, flex your narrative muscles and give them something to read.
Thirsty for more examples? Check out our Pinterest board. And if you’re not based in London, never fear. The same effect can be achieved in the carriages and vestibules of provincial trains. Anywhere people are crammed together like sardines with a desperate urge to look at anything but each other, you’re golden.
Number two: Toilets
Now, on to the basis for centuries of good old ribald British humour: defecation. Depending on the genitals of their guests, public toilets either offer a decent opportunity to catch an audience with their pants down, or an excellent one.
The back of a stall door is prime real estate, with some great examples to point to, although you’re still not avoiding phone-hands except when folk are first sitting down or standing up.
Instead, it is the humble urinal which truly serves as the print marketer’s dream.
Consider the urinal. Positioned at eye height, never much more than a foot away from the audience’s face. Presented at a time when one or both hands are full, making phone use impossible. Placing your poster here will get it seen, and hopefully prompt your audience to come spend a penny or two.
Vehicles: Driving engagement
You can’t use your phone when driving because you should really be looking at other vehicles… so advertise on the vehicles.
Known as wrap advertising, this is the kind of stuff you see on buses, trams, and company vehicles bearing branded livery. It’s what separates your run-of-the-mill white van man from a captain of commerce. And it works! More than 90% of Brits live within five minutes of a bus route, making for a huge potential audience.
Of course, you’ve got to be strategic and match your ads to the people you want to see them. City-centre trams are going to reach more urban leisure-spenders than a rural bus route.
Don’t forget the back of your vehicles either. Trust us, we’re in Cambridge, we know all about traffic jams. Be sure to make proper use of all available space… and give your vehicles a regular scrub.
It’s also worth mentioning that you need to ensure your vehicle ad exists in some kind of larger strategy. A van isn’t going to wait while someone scribbles your phone number down, you need to provide a strong visual link to your other marketing so that people realise where they’ve seen you.
Read the rest of this post on the Sookio blog.