So often, we see ads as a distraction or imposition in our busy lives. But there are other times when we are open to such distractions. Visiting petrol stations has to be one of those times. This short guide will show you how easy it is to add forecourt ads to your marketing mix, and looks at some of the major benefits of advertising in petrol stations.

Looking for distractions

Walking through the petrol station forecourt, your average visitor is likely to check out the headlines on newspaper racks and scan the shelves deciding whether or not they have deserved their favourite chocolate bar or not. Distractions are welcome. Minds are open to information. This is the perfect time to be greeted by your brand’s message.

Reach out to a nation of drivers

As of 2014 there were 45.5 million driving licenses held in the UK. Given that not all licence holders are regularly driving, that’s still a large majority of the population. In many ways, driving is the great unifier. That said, there will be demographic variations in who sees your ad depending on location. Petrol stations near industrial estates are likely to be frequented by a majority of male drivers aged 25-50. They’ll also have different spending priorities compared to, say, visitors of petrol stations in affluent areas where there’s likely to be an even gender split.

There are 2700 digital screens across Britain’s forecourts. Forecourt screens take advantage of an average dwell time of around two minutes to deliver your messages with high levels of engagement.

Your ads will reach an audience of 1.4 million consumers every day and get seen by 22% of the population every two weeks. That’s serious exposure for your brand.

Who advertises at petrol stations?

Petrol station advertising is suitable for a wide range of brands. Some of the more obvious include phone companies like Vodafone and 02, food and drink retailers like Cadbury and Coca Cola, as well as vehicle hire companies like Arnold Clarke.

If you stock products in petrol stations, then consider booking digital ad panels in the relevant site locations. This offers very effective point of purchase (POP) advertising opportunities. The majority of new brand purchases are spontaneous. Consider forecourt advertising to enable high impact sales activation and the recruitment of more consumers to your brand.

Affordable and easy to use

Digital forecourt panels offer you excellent flexibility. You can either display static creatives, video or flash content.

Bubble has digital forecourt screens in petrol stations across the country. They are displayed at the till point for optimised engagement, displaying your ads for ten seconds every 90 seconds. And from just £144 for a two-week block, they are also affordable. All you need to do is send us a JPEG, AVI or flash file of your artwork in accordance with our submission criteria.

To get started with advertising in petrol stations today, take a look at Bubble’s interactive panel locator map.