In this series, Squideo is breaking down the eight key ingredients to turn your advertising content into gold! In the last edition of Advert Alchemy, we examined the importance of timing in creating the perfect marketing campaign. This week, we’re looking at the importance of your advert’s location.

The placement of your advert is crucial in getting it seen. And there are plenty of options. If you have the budget, you can spread your advert as widely as possible. With more restricted budgets, however, you need to consider which location will provide the most bang for your buck. 

A Place in the Sun

First, let’s examine five of the most popular advertising locations. 

1. The Talkies

Traditional advertising spots are found on television, cinemas and radio. Here an advert can be exposed to a large and diverse audience depending on the platform you select; alternatively you can use local stations to attract specific groups. 

On television and radio, where an audience is likely to repeatedly see or hear the same adverts, there is a risk of ad fatigue. After seeing the same advertisement, viewers can lose interest or become annoyed – which risks hurting their perception of your brand in the long run. 

To combat ad fatigue, some marketing strategies factor in alternative versions of adverts and space out their broadcasting time. Skittles have run numerous successful adverts in the past, but in 2021 their “Taste the Rainbow” campaign came with an unexpected twist. The protagonist of the advert opens a series of doors in their new home. One produces the Skittles rainbow. In another, a cougar claw appears. 

Yet, watch another version and the same door reveals a small man reading a book. The change catches viewers out, recapturing their attention and ensuring they pay attention during future airings in case there are other alternative versions to watch. 

2. Blue Screen

From the early days of SixDegrees, MSN and Myspace, to the current titans that are Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, social media platforms have become a growing presence in our lives. Advertisers took advantage of the popularity of these sites early on in their inception. 

The first digital advert on a website can be traced back to 1994 when A&T paid for a banner on what would become Wired.com. Facebook opened its platform up to advertisers in 2006, with YouTube following suit a year later. Twitter didn’t fall in line until 2010, however, and it is only within the past decade that regular advertisements on social media platforms has become commonplace. 

Social media can be a good location to garner engagement as your audience can directly respond. Disney has had great success with its #ShareYourEars campaign which raises money for the Make a Wish Foundation. It encourages the audience to share their own images with the platform, which means Disney isn’t only engaging people following them but also the people following their followers. 

3. Look Up

Whether static or digital, stationary or mobile, billboards have been a traditional marketing pitstop for almost two centuries. Also called hoardings, they’re big, they’re bold and they’re impossible to miss. 

Starting as intricately hand-painted signs, billboards would take craftspeople days to create; sometimes even longer. One of the world’s most famous landmarks – the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, USA – was originally introduced as a billboard to promote a new housing estate. 

Thanks to digital technology, billboards are easier for companies to access and cheaper to hire. There are fewer limitations that advertisers must contend with, even the size of the advert: in 2018, Ford set a Guinness World Record with the largest billboard at 56,672 square feet. 

Over the last few years, 3D animation has become a popular choice for brands looking to set their adverts apart. Piccadilly Circus in London is a particularly well-known spot for 3D ads, given the shape of its screen. Have a look at the billboard WhatsApp produced for this location in 2022. 

4. Paper Craft

Traditional paper marketing includes newspaper and magazine adverts, posters, leaflets and flyers. As printing techniques have evolved, advertisers have been able to produce some truly magnificent pieces of paper marketing.

Unlike billboards and videos, you’re not constrained by the amount of time people will spend looking at the advert. An audience can look at paper ads as long as they want, which means advertisers can invest in a lot more detail. 

This doesn’t only include a larger word count, it also means creating designs that require more attention to appreciate. Have a look at this unusual, limited-edition advert delivered by Ikea in 2018.

Receive a positive result and a discount voucher is revealed. It’s certainly an odd campaign to run but, given the expenses associated with purchasing new baby furniture, it garnered a lot of interest and gave Ikea an opportunity capture brand loyalty with new parents. 

5. Direct Mail

The best way to specifically target an audience is to contact them directly. Whether through snail mail or email, this is a great way to communicate news with existing clients. New products, updates, company shakeups… utilise your contact list. 

Email advertising has progressed a lot as this medium enables more and more customisation. Scheduling platforms also make specific targeting easier than it’s ever been, with statistics at the ready to ensure your content is performing. 

Embed images and videos, add animations, put your branding at the forefront with coloured backgrounds, custom fonts and consistent messaging. 

Grand Designs

The most memorable advertising campaigns took a large step outside the box. While some of these unusual strategies might not suit your brand or budget, read on for a shot of imagination. Could any of these be adapted or scaled down for your project? Let’s look at five of the most unusual advertising locations. 

1. Video Games

Companies have produced their own video games (Pepsiman by Pepsi) and featured their product in existing video games (Red Bull in Worms 3D). Not only do you put your brand out on an engaging platform, but your product will also become associated with fun!

2. Eggs

Yes, you read that right. CBS engraved a series of advertising taglines onto eggs. Think about it for a second and it makes sense. Lots of people buy eggs. Pluck one out the fridge for a fry up and what do you see? An advert. That’ll stick in your memory for sure! 

3. Statues

If you’ve been lucky enough to visit Spain, this might be old news. For those unlucky folks, however, it may surprise you to learn about the Osborne Bulls. There are 92 of these silhouettes located around Spain standing at either 7 or 14 metres tall. 

4. Outer Space

Propelled 20 miles above the Earth by a high altitude balloon, American company JP Aerospace sends logos and messages into space along with a camera to capture that special moment. Perfect for companies looking to create a truly unique marketing story! 

5. Manhole Covers

This common street furniture has been decorated before, by graffiti, street or commissioned artists. Japan is estimated to have 12,000 specially designed covers, including an entire Pokémon range. Companies have sponsored manhole covers to support neighbourhoods, but some have even commissioned custom designs to advertise their products.

Content Worth Gold

Get in touch with the Squideo team today to find out how we can improve your advertising strategy with video production, motion graphics, social media management and much more!