Exploring Winning Strategies for Bus Stop Advertising

Have you ever been at the bus stop and you are bored out of your mind waiting for your bus? What are some of the things that keep you occupied and help relieve the boredom of the wait? Scrolling through your phone could be one of those things. What now happens if say, your phone battery goes flat or the network signal is not too good? 

The human brain rarely stays blank; people’s brains are always engaged whether consciously or unconsciously. That is why advertising companies seek to always occupy people at any free time they have which is why you see adverts in bus stops. So in that free moment between waiting for a bus and boarding, your brain can quickly register the ads. 

Much as we agree that people’s attentions are always drawn to adverts in the bus stop, those ads may or may not register. Therefore developing bus stop advertising strategies is top priority for advertisers. These strategies ensure that their messages are not only seen but also ingrained in the minds of the viewers. 

In this article, we will explore the top winning strategies that advertisers employ to ensure successful marketing campaigns. 

Top Strategies to Employ for Winning Bus Stop Adverts

We have agreed that placing adverts in, on or around bus stops is a very brilliant idea. However, it is an idea that may not yield the desired result if not properly optimized. 

Below, we discuss the strategies that ensure that your bus stop marketing campaign is a huge success:-

Strategy 1- Use Striking Designs 

Before you venture into this mode of advertising, ensure that you will be working with very competent and talented professionals such as graphic designer/artist, layout artist and printer based on the medium you want to use.  You need these professionals because of the many visual designs that are needed to create striking designs. 

You do not just want your message to occupy space, but you want it to grab and retain attention and also be quickly etched into the subconscious of the readers/beholders. So you’re looking for the best colours, images and fonts that will achieve this. 

The secret here is to KIS (Keep It Simple) yet eye-catching! Do not be afraid to use innovative designs that speak to the identity of your brand and its values. 

​Strategy 2- No Ambiguity!

Have you ever seen that an advert that left you more confused than ever and you wondered what in the world of marketing is this? Some marketers in the bid to use striking designs go overboard and create ads that are too busy. 

When making an ad for a bus-stop, CLARITY is key! Bear in mind that people in a bus-stop are in transit; even if their bus is late or they came out earlier so as not to miss the bus, their preoccupation is with getting on the vehicle and to their destination. This therefore means that you have few seconds you pass across your message. 

To this end, you message has to be clear and as brief as possible without losing its meaning. Make sure the headline grabs attention and the Unique Selling Point (USP) is clearly stated. Bold clean graphics and concise messaging helps you achieve this. You want to avoid any word or phrase that needs the reader to pause and think about before understanding it or technical jargons that only professionals in the field will understand (unless they are the only target audience you have). 

Strategy 3 – Know the Location and Audience and Use Relevant Messaging

If you own a business that is located within walking distance or a short drive from a bus-stop, you best grab the opportunity of reaching as many people as possible. However before you set out putting up your ad, make sure you carry out proper survey of the people in that environ. 

Find out the demographics, behaviour, preferences and needs of your target audience. In addition to that, you also need to know the competition, visibility and traffic patterns of that particular bus stop. Armed with these pieces of information, you can then go ahead to customize your ad to fit the location and audience. 

Bear in mind that this strategy is not only for those whose businesses are close to bus stops. It applies to every advertiser /businessperson and even goes beyond this form of advertising. Read this article for details on the importance of surveys to any business. 

Strategy 4 – Use Interactive Elements 

Interactive elements are things that compel readers to engage with the ad. These interactive elements that are best for this type of adverts are hashtags and QR codes. These elements invite commuters to stop and engage the advert. 

Interactive advertising is actually the rave of the moment because unlike static displays, they offer people the opportunity of participation. When people encounter novel and innovative advertising, they are likely to ‘gist’ their friends about it which translates to unsolicited word of mouth advertisement. 

In addition to the above, interactive elements can increase the time people spend engaging your advert. So instead of just glancing at it and continuing on their way, they may be tempted to spend some time exploring and interacting with the ad. 

Conclusion 

Bus shelters or stops as they are popularly known are famous for not only hosting commuters but for all sorts of commerce. Smart business people leverage the high human traffic in these locations to put their brands in the face of prospective customers or buyers. The sad thing however will be not optimizing the advert to get the desired result. 

It will not do to just slap some pictures and words on a neon board and put it up. It is important that advertisers do their due diligence to know what works and what would not. 

In this article, we have shared some very important tips that will come in handy for you are you plan your marketing campaign. Take your time and read through these tips; you can even research further on them so that when your advert goes up in any bus stop, it will be 100/100.