A fully liveried bus ad is an impressive piece of outdoor marketing that will usually receive a fair amount of attention due to the sheer
impact of the format. The reach
opportunities are increased by the obvious mobility and also the ability to
access retail areas where there are little or no other OOH formats available.
As with most media, it is
especially effective
when tied into events, such as the recent ‘All in or Nothing’ message from
adidas which was timed to maximise their presence along the routes of the no.38
and no.8 buses during the World Cup.
These fully wrapped buses are
high cost in terms of production which encourages longer campaigns to maximise
value for money and lower media costs pro rata. There is the risk, however, that the message soon becomes stale and
the impact diminished.
The latest Adidas activity is for
their new Predator boots, timed perfectly to
coincide with the start of the upcoming season. It’s both refreshing and
intriguing to see a brand follow up on successful bus branding rather
than using it as a ‘one-off’ impact piece. This
willingness to spend big on the on further production augments the Adidas brand
stature, especially given the assumed association with the cutting-edge Routemaster buses.
It’s good to see the use of the large
format hashtag. It’s being used to pinpoint a particular product (and
potentially help measure response) rather than being used for the sake of it.
Adidas has definitely
kicked on and let their #predatorinstinct take over, giving them familiarity in
the space and the potential to score a victory over rivals in owning the medium
within London.
#PurePoint
