Planning your summer event success with outdoor advertising

From concerts to festivals, markets, sports games and shows – warmer weather prompts more than just a summer wardrobe. Along with al fresco dining, fruit salads and shorts comes much-anticipated summer events. What better way to promote your summer event than by utilising one of the most effective advertising mediums – out-of-home (OOH) advertising!

When the weather is fine

According to a recent OOH consumer survey – in summer, 83% of people spend more time outdoors, and market-savvy people know this! Ever noticed your favourite TV show disappearing just when the weather starts heating up?

So what does this mean for you, the person in charge of marketing a summer event? It means, your audience is not holed up indoors watching TV or interacting with online ads. They are outside, walking around, frequenting popular summer hotspots, socialising in beer gardens and driving to the beach. Meanwhile – they could be interacting with advertisements about your summer event. But, only if you’re strategic about how and where you place your ads.

Strategic Summer Events

There are many events synonymous with summer. Cricket, tennis and the whole ‘Summer of Sport’. Then there’s the wonderful open-air entertainment, things like the iconic Glastonbury and Manchester International Festival.

Image: http://www.jackarts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/FullSizeRender-24.jpg 

Image: https://frieze.com/sites/default/files/editorial/what-is-the-city-but-the-people-launch-event-for-manchester-international-festival.jpg

Every two years, the northwest’s festival brings special events to Festival Square in Manchester city. The festival typically takes place in July, but the moving date is always confined to the summer months to make the most of warm weather foot traffic. Even though admission is free – the festival ensures they place strategic OOH advertisements in the months leading up to the event, to capture their audience’s imagination while out and about.

The event uses OOH advertising in different sizes and forms, combined with artwork that changes to keep the aesthetic fresh. Utilising outdoor advertising billboards, bus shelters and underground placement – they’ve ensured they can find their audience as they explore the city.

Image: https://north.akauk.com/content/uploads/2017/09/MIF17PartySkills_48Sheet-1200×917.jpg

How to target your audience

Outdoor advertising is extremely popular for those looking for opportunities to promote their summer event. The 6 sheets that are commonly found on bus stops and high streets are perfect. They’re affordable, impactful and the perfect size and shape for listing a festival line up. They’re always in hot demand, so it’s a good idea to secure your space early, even if you don’t yet know what that line up will be.

Happy Customers

Happy Bubble customer Will Seaward put this to the test and used Bubble to promote his comedy show at Edinburgh Fringe. Will utilised outdoor on phone kiosks and 6 sheets during the festival. Here’s what he had to say about how summer event advertising went for him:

“A huge thank you for being so on it and understanding through August, and for getting everything sorted. It meant a huge amount, and given that it was just one small order I was really impressed. I’ll be recommending you everywhere! (and indeed, have already been recommending you everywhere!) The final product looked great, and I know for a fact that it generated a lot of foot traffic in the last two weeks! I’ll absolutely be booking again!”

Using Bubble’s map (and with a little help from our planning team) Will was able to strategically choose OOH locations near ticket sales desks and where crowds were loitering to gain maximum exposure.

What’s great about Bubble is that while you can book your spots for next summer now (yes right now – but get in quick they sell out fast) you won’t need to supply creative until two weeks before the posting date. If you don’t have a designer at your disposal, for just £100 Bubble will sort your ad design for you. Just supply a logo and a headline and Bubble’s team of designers will do the rest for you. That way you have more time for al fresco dining, it couldn’t be simpler.

The right OOH for your audience

Image: https://bubbleoutdoor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/6-sheet-bus-shelter-1.png

OOH is a high impact medium with a broad reach. Thanks to Bubble’s unique platform you can hand pick and choose the best locations for your event.

Think about our friend Will’s example above. He was able to target his ideal audience and find spots in his chosen format (phone kiosks) by simply using the filtered search on the Bubble Marketplace. Instead of having to take out a national campaign that probably wouldn’t capture his ideal audience and definitely wouldn’t be relevant to everyone outside of Edinburgh, a targeted campaign was achieved.

OOH doesn’t limit you to one style. Choose a mix of phone kiosks, bus stops, billboards and small digital screens and you’ll be able to mix up the presentation of your message with a small tweak for each size.

Ready to start searching for the ideal spot for advertising your summer event next year? Just click here and get going before the best locations sell out.