How Effective is Bus Shelter Advertising?

As a business owner, you want to reach as many people as possible with your advertising campaigns. You also want to do so in ways that are captivating and exciting, to get potential customers interested in the products or services you offer. While there are a variety of effective online marketing techniques, such as social media and video ad campaigns, there’s nothing quite like reaching consumers in person. One great way to physically market your business is with bus shelter advertising. By placing promotional content in bus shelters, you’ll attract an audience of on-the-go consumers who might not discover your business otherwise. If you’re new to bus shelter advertising, you likely have a number of questions, and we’re here to answer them as we break down the efficacy of a bus shelter advertising campaign. 

What are Bus Shelters? 

Bus shelters are the covered seating areas located next to bus stops, common in most major metropolitan areas. Bus shelters provide commuters with protection from the elements so they can travel comfortably, keeping them out of the hot sun, or inclement weather like snow and rain. Bus shelters tend to vary in size and style from city to city, but they all provide a unique opportunity for advertising. 

What is Bus Shelter Advertising? 

Bus shelter advertising refers to visual advertisements for a brand that are placed within a bus shelter in a major metropolitan area. Similar to other kinds of outdoor advertising, bus shelter ads provide your business with a high degree of exposure, as they’re bound to be seen not only by commuters waiting for the bus, but also drivers sitting in traffic at stoplights, or people who are walking by on foot. Given this, you’re sure to reach a large array of consumers with bus shelter advertising.

As mentioned above, bus shelters tend to differ in their design depending on the city. As such, there are a few different types of bus shelter advertisements that you might consider:

  • Static Panel Advertisements: Static panel advertisements are somewhat similar to billboard advertisements as they allow you to display a single printed image that promotes your brand. Static panel bus shelter advertisements tend to come at a lower cost, as they are made of paper and are easy to change in and out when moving between advertising campaigns. Static panel advertisements are great for business owners who want to showcase the services or products they offer with a bold, eye-catching visual design without breaking the bank. 
  • Digital Advertisements: Some more modern bus shelters are designed with illuminated digital screens that allow promotional images and videos to be projected on them. This allows you more freedom in regards to the type of content you can display: you could showcase a static digital image, or create interactive video content that plays on a loop. In addition to this, you could adorn the walls of the bus shelter with static images that correspond to the content that you’re digitally advertising. Given their customizability and technological aspects, digital bus shelter advertisements tend to run at a higher price point than static panel advertisements. 

How to Make Your Bus Shelter Campaign Effective 

In order to run an effective bus shelter advertising campaign, you’ll want to consider a number of factors: 

What Demographic are You Looking to Target?

Consider the types of people that you’re looking to target with your advertising campaign. What locations do you think your brand would be most popular in? For instance, if you’re hoping to reach younger, college-age consumers, you might want to center your bus shelter advertising campaign in an area near a university. Or, if you’re looking to target a vast array of people, you may want to run a campaign that’s centered in the downtown area of a major city. By considering the demographic of consumers you’re looking to target with your bus shelter advertising campaign, you ensure that the right people see what your business has to offer. 

What’s Your Budget? 

As with any advertising campaign, you’ll want to weigh the options available to you with the budget you have. For instance, if you have a lower budget ceiling, you might want to go for static bus shelter advertisements, so you can get more bang for your buck. If you’ve got a larger budget to work with, you may want to explore the interactive features available with a digital bus shelter advertising campaign.

Bus shelter advertising is an incredibly effective way to reach consumers as it provides eye-level engagement to a wide variety of people. You can choose static panel advertisements if you’re looking to make a visual impact on a budget, or opt for flashier digital advertisements that are sure to pop out to all those who pass by. What form of bus shelter advertising do you think would work best for your business?