Photograph by Daniel Godoy
Urban buses are part of the daily lives of thousands of citizens in Spain, which is why it’s easy to understand why these vehicles have established themselves as one of the best supports for outdoor advertising.
We, public transport users, pedestrians, and drivers, see every day on the street that urban buses provide a fundamental service. In fact, the color that identifies the buses of each city has, in a way, become one of the colors of the place: red, if you live in Valencia or Barcelona; yellow, if you live in Santiago de Compostela; blue, if your home is in Madrid… Why not take advantage of the great visibility these vehicles have and use them for advertising campaigns?
Data on the impact of bus advertising
According to data from the General Media Study (EGM), advertising on urban buses achieves greater impact than messages placed in a subway car, on a train, in a taxi, on bicycles, in airports, or in parking lots. Among the people surveyed for the latest EGM in 2020, about 22,839 recalled seeing advertising on urban buses in the past week, compared to approximately 3,000 who recalled seeing it on the subway or 2,525 who said they had seen it on the train.
Another proof that urban transport buses are an essential part of the postcard of almost any city is that, also in this EGM we are discussing, bus stops are confirmed as the urban furniture element where it is most profitable to place an advertising campaign. Of the individuals surveyed, 20,082 had noticed advertising at bus stops in the last week, compared to 13,850 who had noticed advertising on billboards or 8,160 who recalled advertising on columns.
Coche 1610 de TMB, un Castrosua New City con chasis MAN de GNC, muy buenos coches por parte de conductores y pasajeros. @TMB_Barcelona @GrupoCastrosua @MAN_Iberia pic.twitter.com/k2Fb0ZImcZ
— BCN Bus Spotter (@bcnbusspotter) February 12, 2018
Advertising on urban buses: well-segmented and highly noticeable
In the marketing environment, buses are often defined as moving billboards, a condition that influences the reach and visibility an advertiser can achieve.
Urban buses, as we explained earlier, are part of the daily pulse of a city, so users, pedestrians, and occupants of other vehicles often see them in circulation, adapting to the rhythm of the place. Their stops at bus stops or traffic lights also serve to make us pay more attention to the advertising on their sides or rear.
Another advantage of urban buses as a support for outdoor advertising is that they allow the advertiser to launch well-segmented advertising into the street; that is, a advertising message designed for a specific target audience.
In this regard, depending on the audience they want to reach, the advertising company can choose the bus line that best suits them according to its route. If they are targeting young people, they will want to place their message on buses connecting the city with the university area; if, for example, they want to promote an entertainment option that takes place in a nearby municipality, they may prefer buses that travel near the city exits. The best approach in these cases is always to seek advice from a good marketing team.
@GrupoCastrosua Un Castrosua siempre dando buenos consejos en una fría mañana en Madrid camino de FITUR pic.twitter.com/LT8YygVtA1
— I. Glez Díaz (@IGlezDiaz) January 23, 2020
Creativity on a bus body
Another point in favor of advertising on urban buses is that it can become an extraordinary manifestation of creativity. The message we disseminate on a bus must be short, clear, and easily legible; however, the more original its presentation, the greater its impact and reach will be. It can even go viral thanks to photos or videos shared on social media by passersby.
To achieve this acceptance and impact, the advertising applied to the body of a bus must have been designed for this specific support and take into account all its elements: doors, wheels, turn signals, windows, bellows (if it’s an articulated bus)… Some of the most memorable bus campaigns internationally had very creative designs that played precisely with these parts of the vehicle.
The television channel NatGeo, from National Geographic, used a bus to promote its documentary series ‘Built for the Kill’, which talks about different predatory animals. The designer of the advertisement, placed on the side of the bus, made a shark’s teeth coincide with the central door of the vehicle, so that when a passenger entered the bus, it looked like they had been swallowed by the animal.
Also well-known among marketing experts is a campaign by the brand Dr. Best, which, to promote a new “flexible” toothbrush, chose an articulated urban bus with bellows. With this articulated bus, they wanted to humorously demonstrate the flexibility of their new product.
Success stories of urban buses as outdoor advertising supports
When we talk about advertising on urban buses, there is no shortage of success stories. These vehicles allow for advertising that is so visual and attractive that many film and series production companies and platforms frequently use urban buses to promote their releases.
In 2012, the production company AMC managed to make a New York urban bus wrapped to promote the DVD of the first season of the series ‘Hell on Wheels’ go viral. The advertising creatives used micro-perforated vinyl to make the bus look like an old school bus. This material, approved for vehicle wrapping, allows light to pass through, so passengers’ visibility is not reduced.
In Spain, Wuaki TV used urban buses in Barcelona in 2016 to announce the premiere on its platform of the second season of the series ‘Gomorra’, focused on the history of the Italian Camorra. The advertising covered the sides and rear of the bus and achieved great impact due to its design: due to the graphics used, the vehicle appeared to have been blown up by blows and gunshots.
Netflix, a company known for its innovative marketing, also uses advertising on urban buses to popularize the audiovisual content on its platform. A campaign from 2018, in which it used buses from the Municipal Transport Company of Valencia to promote the series ‘Narcos’, became particularly viral. In the middle of the Fallas festival, the vinyls used featured burning dollar bills and the quote ‘Valencia is respected’, a variation of a phrase often spoken by the series’ protagonist.
La “promo” de Netflix con Narcos en Fallas: “A Valencia se la respeta”https://t.co/lyvagXDzYz pic.twitter.com/Ym9s42xY26
— Netflix Adictos (@Netflix_adictos) March 12, 2018
Advertising on urban buses is, definitively, a very useful tool for promoting a company’s services or products. The best approach is for the advertiser to seek advice before drafting their message, choose a suitable bus, and opt for a design that surprises and integrates the different elements of the bodywork. If it’s liked, it will surely be remembered.
