Want to produce ads that truly stand out? Beyond the design of your ad, it pays to think about where you’re advertising.
While certain advertising spaces can attract more eyes and ears, they’re also some of the most crowded places – you could be competing against thousands of other advertisers. By looking into alternative options, you can reduce the competition. You may also find that you reach new audiences in these spaces that can’t be accessed through conventional channels.
There are many alternative advertising mediums to consider. Below are a few examples that could be worth exploring.
Local radio advertising
Millions of people tune into local radio stations every week. These are excellent platforms for local businesses such as trades, automotive dealers and restaurants to promote their business. The cost of broadcasting a radio advert depends on how many times you want to broadcast it and at what times (expect higher costs during popular listening hours). Radio advertising companies can help you come up with a memorable advert – helping to provide any music or necessary voiceover.
Spotify advertising
Some people prefer to stream music rather than listen to the radio. On Spotify, it’s possible to reach out to many of these listeners through adverts – more than half of Spotify users do not pay for Premium. Spotify advertising uses precise data-driven targeting based on users’ age, location and taste. The platform tends to attract a younger tech-savvy audience, although there are many older listeners too.
TikTok advertising
When it comes to social media advertising, it’s important to look beyond Facebook and Instagram. One platform that has become hugely popular – particularly among Gen Z – is TikTok. Via this platform, businesses can share paid promotional short videos.
These include in-feed ads and top view ads that play as soon as a user opens the app. B2C businesses in sectors like food, beauty, fashion, tech and travel can benefit the most from this platform.
LinkedIn advertising
LinkedIn advertising is the perfect social media platform to advertise on if you’re a B2B (business-to-business) company. LinkedIn advertising is the perfect social media platform to advertise on if you’re a B2B (business-to-business) company, making linkedin ads especially effective for professional audiences. It’s set up all around professional networking and has about 310 million monthly active users.
There are many different ways to advertise through LinkedIn including images, videos, carousels and text ads. Such ads can be precisely targeted based on various metrics like location, job and skills.
In-app advertising
Many of us regularly use mobile apps that contain ads. In-app advertising can be a way to reach consumers via these mobile apps. Such adverts can take the form of banners, rewarded videos or even playable ads (a popular way to advertise mobile games).
Unlike most ads found on websites that are pay-per-click (PPC), in-app advertising uses a real time bidding (RTB) model in which advertisers bid for impressions on specific apps. This allows you to target the apps you think will get you customers. There are specialist RTB platforms that you can use for this such as AppLovin and AdMob.
Subway advertising
Subways can be found in many major cities around the world. In cities like London and New York, millions of people use these public transport systems each day. They can therefore be great overlooked places to promote your brand. This can be via posters and billboards throughout the stations and platforms, or via adverts within the trains themselves.
Many of the people using subways are tourists or people commuting to work, so it’s important to consider the types of adverts that will interest these types of people – industries like travel/tourism, entertainment, food, retail, tech, business services and finance often benefit the most from subway advertising.
Taxi advertising
It could also be worth looking into taxi advertising. Many taxi companies accept sponsorship from advertisers. These vehicles can act as moving billboards that are seen by hundreds – and sometimes thousands – of eyes each day. There are specialist companies that can help you to explore this form of advertising.
On top of vinyl wraps, it’s possible to also advertise inside some taxis using seat posters (in this case, think about the types of people who use taxis a lot – what types of products/services are they likely to be interested in and does your brand fit?).
In-flight magazine advertising
Go on almost any airline and you will find an in-flight magazine provided in the seat pocket in front. These magazines often have space for advertisers. Could this be a place for your company to promote your brand?
These magazines are often great mediums to advertise luxury goods like jewellery, high-end cars and designer fashion – frequent flyers are often quite wealthy people who can afford these types of products. Of course, these magazines are also great for hotels, resorts and attractions around the world. Just make sure your attraction is based in a destination that the airline flies to, as attractions in other destinations typically won’t be accepted.
Niche magazine advertising
Fewer people buy magazines nowadays, but those who do tend to be passionate enthusiasts with spending power. It’s possible to find magazines centred around all kinds of niche interests ranging from fishing to crocheting.
If you’re selling a niche product or service, a magazine centered around that niche could be one of the best places to promote your brand. The magazine will be able to link you to advertisers so that you can create and publish an advert in a future copy.
Local event sponsorship
Local businesses should consider the power of local event sponsorship. This involves paying to fund an event in exchange for being able to advertise at that event. Such events could include local concerts, business events, sports events or food festivals. Try to choose events that you think will attract your target customer – think about the demographic of people at these events.
You may be able to advertise through posters, banners or even branded stalls. Event organizers will be able to discuss advertising options with you. Charity events are particularly worth targeting as they are a chance to donate money to a great cause while also promoting your brand.
