Have you ever wondered how many bus tops there are in the country? The data from 2016 puts that at a little over 400 000! Just London alone accounts for over 19 000 bus stops. These staggering numbers are no surprise to anyone, as bus travel is an everyday routine for many of us. We are all very familiar with the transport system and can imagine how many hours per year people spend waiting at bus stops and in bus shelters.
We have been manufacturing and selling bus shelters for a long time, and we often speak to clients about the importance of bus shelter design. The primary function which the design needs to have is traveller comfort. Bus shelters protect people from the rain, wind and intense summer sun. They need to provide, at a minimum, a roof. On top of that, our models usually include further provisions such as side panels for extra protection from bad weather, seating for more comfort, bins to keep the surroundings tidy and LED lighting to make bus stops welcoming places at all times of the day. Furthermore, we can manufacture on request some of our models of bus shelters, like the Topaz Bus Shelter, with bus stop signs and timetable cases to help users navigate their journey better. However, there is one often overlooked extra that we always advise our clients to consider when ordering a bus shelter – the advertising case.
What is an advertising case?
An advertising case is a place for adverts. It is usually made of the same materials as the rest of the bus shelter and can be of varied sizes. For example, our Ruby Bus Shelter comes with an optional extra for a 1.2m x 1.8m advertising case. The advertising case is usually integrated into one of the shelter’s walls and fits seamlessly with the rest of the design. It is also very straightforward to use, and advertising posters can be easily replaced when placements end. An example is our Topaz Bus Shelter which has a large 1.2m x 1.8m advertising case. Our advertising cases are further illuminated from both sides for maximum visibility, making them functional day and night.
Why should my bus stop have space for advertising?
Consider the above statistics and the fact that most of us likely live within 5 minutes of a bus stop – which we walk past, even if we don’t necessarily use the bus. Bus shelters offer a unique opportunity to install and sell advertising space quickly and unobtrusively. Making use of advertising cases on bus shelters is a way for you to make your investment into local infrastructure serve more than one purpose – providing the local population with a welcoming and safe place to wait for the bus and a stream of income into the local budget.
You may wonder if it is worth the extra investment and if bus stop advertising is that attractive. The answer is yes.
Bus stops are uniquely positioned as focal points in the community. They offer advertisers mass exposure. Local people in the neighbourhood walking past the bus stop, bus travellers and anyone riding or driving past is exposed to bus stop adverts. Advertising cases reach both a broad audience and a very diverse one – in age and gender. The ads placed in one of our advertising cases would have excellent reach businesses would happily pay for.
One of the main benefits of bus shelter advertising is that it can be used for consistent, repeated city-wide adverts, which is often precisely the set-up some businesses seek. Bus stop adverts can also be configured to specific routes where the ad would follow the passengers as they travel through the city, which can be very impactful. Moreover, there is also the option to make an ad localised to a specific neighbourhood or even hyper-local – a restaurant opening a block away from a specific bus top can use the space to announce its start date to the neighbours. Bus stop advertising gives advertisers a choice, yields good results and provides flexibility.
Bus shelter advertising cases give businesses high visibility if they choose bus stops in high-traffic areas. There are usually plenty of those in cities around central neighbourhoods and shopping areas. If bus stops are selected carefully, targeting specific audiences like commuters, shoppers, or tourists can be very easy.
Bus shelters are typically used by people waiting for a bus, so naturally, they spend a while there. This leads to travellers spending a significant amount of time close to adverts which means extended exposure and can increase brand recognition for the advertiser. Additionally, adverts on bus shelters are often regarded as less intrusive by people. We all know how tedious waiting for a bus can be, and ads provide an almost welcome distraction to travellers in that situation.
Using advertising cases for the community
There is another benefit in installing an advertising case beyond generating additional income from a feature of the local infrastructure that needs to be installed either way. Advertising cases can be used for what their names suggest – selling advertising placements, but they can also do a lot more than that.
Local authorities can use advertising spaces to promote their own initiatives, local events or helpful advice that may be relevant to a particular area where the bus stop is located. A great recent example is the pandemic. Numerous municipalities worldwide began using bus stop advertising cases for public announcements and reminders to wash hands and be vigilant about symptoms.
Plenty of other creative ways a council can use a big and prominent advertising spot exist. For example, you could organise local art competitions and display winners across the city. Imagination is your limit, as they say.
If you want to discuss your options for bus shelters and any add-ons, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We are always happy to advise our clients on the best solution for them.