Group Seminar Paper
Ambient Advertising
In the highly competitive and cluttered advertising world of the twenty-first century, many businesses are finding that alternative forms of advertising are necessary to target the more media resistant markets of consumers. One relatively new form of advertising is that of ‘ambient advertising’. The wide spectrum of different types of ambient advertising vary considerably, however many academics have agreed that, all revolve around using an unexpected space as a media channel for a businesses brand. Each type of ambient advertising whether street, venue or otherwise, have their own advantages and limitations when communicating information to potential buyers. Finally, although ambient advertising can be effective as the only choice of advertising, it can better be utilise as an element of an integrated communications campaign.
Ambient advertising is a relatively new term in the advertising world, a term that does not appear in Urdag’s 1992 edition of the Dictionary of Advertising, but has largely made itself known throughout the 1990’s. Barnes (1999) quotes Duncan Talior, the Chief Executive of the Promotional Campaigns Group as saying, “Ambient is a name for a media choices that haven’t established themselves in the mainstream. What is ambient today could be a mainstream next year.” (p. 1). It is because of this element that it is often hard to exactly define what an example of ambient advertising is and what is mainstream. For example the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English sites the ‘Back of Receipts’ as a form of ambient advertising, whereas many others would consider it a legitimate mainstream form of advertising (Longman Dictionary, n.d.). Whilst there is extensive debate in the adverting industry as to the exact definition of ‘ambient adverting’, Wehleit (2003) offers an industry accepted given that “ambient advertising exists in non-traditional media formats without direct interaction.” (p. 1). The addition of without “direct interaction” is an important distinction as ambient adverting is often wrongly grouped together with other forms of non- traditional advertising such as experiential and Guerilla advertising technique. Ambient advertising is therefore advertising of a non standard medium.
The concept of adverting with and on a non-standard medium is central to the arguments for using ambient adverting in the first place. Wehleit (2003), highlights that the modern audience are “professional media users,” (p. 1) and as a consequence are far less susceptible and willing to listen to a traditional message, as they are cynical of being marketed towards. Furthermore, a television user is far more likely to go to the toilet during a commercial break, then actually hear the message of the advertisement. Wehleit (2003) also argues ambient advertising enables and empowers the companies to market to people, “where they are.” (p. 1). Whilst this appears to be an argument for traditional outdoor advertising, ambient adverting goes one step further than simply displaying a brand, logo or a slogan but actively illustrates how the brand can “fit into the consumer’s day-to-day environment.” Ambient advertising therefore has to be relevant, creative, and fitting in context with the environment in order to be an effective form of advertising.
Moreover, ambient advertising enables advertisers to break through the clutter, Tellis (2004), argues that a primary cause for advertisements failing is that they do not cut through the clutter. Barnes (1999), argues that in order for ambient advertising to be successful it needs be “driven by ideas.” (p. 1). Himpe (2008), highlights this that the more creative an ambient advertisement the more it is likely to benefit from the amplification effect, the amplification effect is the phenomena of when a brands message is relayed through media channels. For example, if a customer sees a cleaver ad they are likely to photograph the advertisement and share it with their friends. Social media platforms such as Facebook, and Twitter are make it ever more important and relevant for marketers to be creative, as if the advertiser producers a highly creative ad they are more likely to have their advertisement forwarded as free publicity by internet users, news agencies and opinion leaders. This element is arguably the most important for any marketer when understanding ambient advertising as it allows an advertisement that can be limited to be extended and viewed by a far bigger audience.
Moreover, Wehiet (2003) highlights that “70% of brand decisions are made at the point of purchase,” claiming that a floor sign in a shopping centre which is impossible to ignore can be one of the most persuasive forms of advertising. Ambient advertising clearly has a use at the point of purchase. A cleaver sign pointing to a product such as McCann-Erickson’s 2004 advertisement for Purina, which depict cut out of dogs doing tricks in the store such as hanging from the roof in order to get the Purina dog treats (Himpe, 2008). This clearly draws the eye to the potential customer and clearly highlights just how effective point of placement can be.
Furthering the notion of relevance Shankar and Horton (1999) highlight ambient advertisings advantages of ambient in targeting specific markets. The pair cite how Tabasco sauce used ambient advertising to promote a new milder product is South Africa, the ambient medium was toilet paper carrying the slogan, “Don’t you wish you had mild Tabasco sauce instead?” The ambient advertisements where placed in famous South African restaurants, and clearly directly spoke to Tabasco sauces current and future customers. This is a strong example of how ambient advertising can be more effective than traditional advertising mediums as communicates directly with the target audience. On the other hand, the Tabasco sauce example also highlights the importance of integrating ambient advertising with the overall communication mix. On its own the message may be heard by a select number of people in order for it to be reinforced and communicated on a mass level traditional adverting methods such as outdoor, radio and television should communicate the same message, Public Relations and media channels should be use to promote the ambient advertisement as well.
However, Feldwick (2003) asserts that ambient advertising is invasive and interrupts day-to-day lives, saying that’s its growth is offensive to the consumers personal space, grouping in together with online pop-up advertisements and Spam email. Nonetheless, it is not clear that Feldwick’s opposition is not absolute, his assumption seems to assume that ambient advertising is stating a traditional branding message simply on more “innocent surfaces”. This, as we would agree is an intrusive and ineffective form of ambient advertising. However, if as we have discussed ambient advertising cuts through the clutter with cleaver-targeted messages, ambient advertising can be a highly effective weapon in the marketer’s arsenal.
Ambient advertising can take the form of any advertisement which is placed in a unique and innovative setting, however in order to better analyse the effectiveness of this form of advertising it is necessary to categories the more common forms of ambient advertising. These categories include: Venues, street media, moving, sky, projections, and café/takeaway (Ambient Advertising, 2010). Each category of ambient adverting has its own distinct advantages and limitations in targeting and communicating with an organisations’ target market. Firstly, using venues in ambient advertising involves the placement of ads in; washrooms, clubs/bars, sports stadiums, universities, shopping centres and sports stadiums (Ambient Advertising, 2010). Ads placed in this environment are highly captivating given they can be placed in more personal environments then traditional mass media channels such as TV and radio. Brands placing their ads in these areas have the opportunity to engage with consumers, however could also be perceived as annoying and intrusive for consumers who feel there is no escape from the advertising world. Secondly, street media involves ads such as; wall murals, street posters, pavement stickers and chalk stencils located on public spaces (Ambient Advertising, 2010). The main benefits of using this form of advertising are that brands can achieve high levels of exposure and frequency with their target audience (Ambient Advertising, 2010). Street media can also be targeted form of advertising given ads can be placed in high or low socioeconomic areas. Moving ambient advertising is another interesting choice of media as it can lead to extended reach and interaction through giveaways and sampling, which allows businesses to maximise brand impact (Ambient Advertising, 2010). Some examples of moving ambient ads include; mobile billboards and moving billboards attached to scooters and cars.
Another form of ambient advertising is sky advertising, which commonly involves the use of plane and helicopter banners and sky writing. This unique use of the sky itself as an advertising space gives businesses the opportunity to deliver the unexpected to large crowds of people and can generate high levels of word of mouth if used during large scale events such as sporting games or music concerts. However, this method could be an annoyance to many consumers who do not approve of such a space being used an advertising platform. Projections are another common ambient advertising category and involve turning a vacant building space into an ad through the use of digital imaging technology (Ambient Advertising, 2010). Other then creating eye-catching dimensions to an otherwise lifeless space, projections also have the distinct ability to cut through clutter and noise given they are often located away from traditional advertising media and can give the consumer a sense of the scale of brand and advertising campaign (Ambient Advertising, 2010). The final main category of ambient advertising is those used in Cafés and takeaway settings. Using cafés as a media channel allows brands to connect with consumers on a much more personal level, as well as being able to target consumers more closely when ads are placed in cafés based on their location and target market. Some form of ambient advertising used in cafés and takeaway shops include; coasters, lunch bags, glasses and coffee cups (Ambient Advertising, 2010).
In order to gain a full appreciation of what constitutes an effective ambient ad it is necessary to compare two separate example of ambient advertising, one of which have resulted in positive brand outcomes and the other a more negative outcome.
NZ Girl is an example of an organisation which has successfully used ambient advertising. NZ Girl is an online magazine which chose to adopt an ambient advertising campaign in order to promote its magazine to teenage girls and generate word of mouth amongst their target market (New Zealand Herald, 2006). NZ Girl did this by using a number of plane banners to fly over the New Zealand ‘Big Day out’ which is a music concert attended by approximately 40,000 young people fitting NZ Girls’ target market (New Zealand Herald, 2006). These banners were highly eye catching and somewhat controversial as they said things such as “John Smith has a small dick” followed by another banner which said “Don’t mess with NZGirls.com.nz!” (New Zealand Herald, 2006). The use of controversial statements and ambient advertising lead to a massive level of buzz and word of mouth being generated amongst people at the music festival, many of which took pictures and told their friend about the ads using online social networking sites (New Zealand Herald, 2006). This user of ambient advertising was highly effective as it was well targeted and captured the interest of the magazines target market.
An ambient ad which has resulted in negative brand outcomes is that conducted by a group of Russian entrepreneurs who chose to force a donkey to parasail in order to attract people to parasail at a private beach (Mail Foreign Service, 2010). The ambient ad involved a donkey being strapped into a parasail and being flown over the sea for a number of hours before landing in the water and suffering serious injuries (Mail Foreign Service, 2010). This resulted in a number of complaints and negative consumer opinions given the lack of thought put in to the form of ambient advertising (Mail Foreign Service, 2010). The stunt was seen as inappropriate and lacked real ‘fit’ as beachgoers would prefer to relax rather then hear and see a distressed donkey parasailing over the sea.
Although ambient advertising is an exciting and original method to attract the interest of consumers, it is most effective when used as an element of a fully integrated communications campaign. One organisation which has realised this is none other then the Australian Governments’ $20 million anti-binge drinking campaign; ‘Don’t turn a night out into a nightmare’ which was a part of a National Binge Drinking Strategy (Australian Government, 2010). The objectives behind the campaign were to: Raise awareness of the harms and costs associated with drinking to intoxication aimed at 15-25 year-olds, and secondly to deliver personally relevant messages to encourage, motivate and support young Australians and parents to reconsider their alcohol consumption and decision making (Australian Government, 2010). This was achieved through the use of a huge number of traditional media channels including; TV and radio ads, web banners and games, print media, media releases and promotional giveaways (Australian Government, 2010). These media channels were highly effective in promoting the gravity of alcohol related injuries. This message was further exemplified through the use of ambient ads which included the campaign slogan being printed or displayed on; coasters, washroom mirrors, inside of buses, trams and trains as well as on club passout stamps (Australian Government, 2010). The use of these ambient ads as part of the overall communications campaign has lead to a communication breakthrough whereby the campaign message was able to reach teenagers, young adults and parents. Research measuring the effectiveness of the campaign was measured between November 2008 and April 2009, results from this qualitative survey indicates a number of improvements in behaviour and intentions, including a drop in; number of drinking occasions, supply of alcohol by friends, intention to drink to get drunk and a reduced frequency of certain negative alcohol related experiences (Australian Government, 2010). Parents also reported that they were more willing to discuss drinking prompted by the advertising (Australian Government, 2010). These results can be directly attributed to an effective integrated marketing campaign which was augmented using ambient advertising in highly targeted locations.
Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that ambient advertising is in fact an effective and useful media channel that business should adopt in order to cut through clutter and reach their target markets. Although, this advertising technique is relatively new, its’ many forms such as; venue, street, moving and projections, have been seen to captivate their audience and create a lasting position in the minds of consumers. However, some ambient advertisements can be less effective if there is a lack of ‘fit’ or the nature of the ad is irritating or inappropriate. Ultimately, ambient advertising should be used as a single element in an integrated campaign, leading to high brand recall and recognition.
Reference List
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Mail Foreign Service. (2010). Police hunt cruel Russian donkey owner who attached it to parachute for sick advertising stunt. Retrieved September 14, 2010, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1296210/Flying-donkey-shocks-Russian-beachgoers-parasailing-firms-sick-stunt.html#ixzz0zXrEpV7
New Zealand Herald. (2006). They watched the sky and saw... nothing. Retrieved September 14, 2010, from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid =10367409
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