Your client's ad
on workers' uniforms
Reaching consumers with messages worn by street teams
By Diego Vasquez
Mar 7, 2011
We're used to seeing ads on everything from billboards to buses. We're much less used to seeing them on people's shirts.
Ads on uniforms worn by workers are a relatively new and creative out-of-home venue.
Whether you outfit a street team clearing snow off the sidewalks, construction workers in a busy part of town or employees at a retail store, branded uniforms are an eye-catching venue for advertisers.
The ad can be as simple as a logo or it can be part of of larger campaign, for example an element in a promotion for a sale at a nearby store.
To find out how to get your client’s message on uniformed workers, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Advertising on uniforms worn by workers who are routinely seen by large numbers of the public.
Who
Any agency capable of putting together a street team campaign can be looked to to provide branded uniforms, whether for street teams or for retail workers or any other workers who receive wide public exposure.
How it works
There are three ways to get ads on uniforms worn in public places.
The first is to outfit a street team with branded uniforms. For example, a local diner might brand the uniforms of people who sweep and shovel sidewalks in the surrounding area.
The second option is to brand non-street team outdoor workers who are seen by thousands of people on a daily basis, such as construction workers or bike messengers.
The advertiser produces and provides the uniforms to the employer for free, and they may even compensate the workers for wearing the uniforms.
The third way to use ads on uniforms is to have retail workers wear them. For example, a TV maker could advertise on uniforms worn by workers at a big-box electronics retailer.
Uniforms for use in stores can be customized by using removable panels on the shirts that allow advertisers to be swapped out on a weekly or monthly basis. Ads can be present on only the front or back of the uniforms, or both.
Markets
Uniform ads can be used in any market.
Numbers
Numbers will vary widely according to the location. One very desirable location would be Times Square, a mecca for tourists but also passed through daily by many thousands of New Yorkers going to and coming from work.
Times Square foot traffic varies by day of the week. On Saturday, Dec. 18, 133,624 pedestrians passed through Times Square between 42nd and 43rd streets, according to the Times Square Alliance. On the following Wednesday traffic in that same area was 96,844.
How it is measured
Street traffic data can be used for street team campaigns, while customer counts can be used for ads on uniforms at retail locations.
What product categories work well
Ad categories that are good fits for uniforms are food, consumer packaged goods, electronics, telecommunications, service companies such as cable or cell phones, and local businesses such as restaurants and coffee shops.
Demographics
Provided a store is willing, ads on uniforms could be used in any type of retail outlet, including grocery stores and supermarkets.
Among adults who spent at least $200 on groceries in the past week, 48 percent are male and 52 percent female, according to Scarborough Research.
Fourteen percent are ages 18-24, 22 percent are 25-34, 25 percent are 35-44, 21 percent are 45-54, 11 percent are 55-64 and 7 percent are age 65 or over.
Fourteen percent have an annual household income of $150,000 or more, with 17 percent between $100,000 and $149,999, 18 percent between $75,000 and $99,999, 17 percent between $50,000 and $74,999, 10 percent between $40,000 and $49,999, 16 percent between $25,000 and $39,999 and 8 percent below $25,000.
Making the buy
For street team uniforms, lead time is typically two to four weeks. In-store uniforms could take longer because advertisers must negotiate with retailers.
Cost varies widely. A one-day street team campaign could cost as low as $2,000, while a multi-city in-store campaign could run into six figures.
Who’s already using ads on uniforms
Ads on work uniforms are relatively new and have yet to be widely used. Workers at the Universal Studios theme park have used them to advertise new and upcoming Universal movies.
What they’re saying
“It can be used at the point in which the consumer has their checkbook or credit card out and are making a buying decision. If you're watching an ad on a TV, you're not at the store waiting to buy that item. But when you're in a store, what better place to say 'buy this' than when you're about to make the purchase decision?" –
Blair Enfield, president at Eyelevel Interactive
Web site info
GoGorilla Media
http://www.gogorillamedia.com
Eyelevel Interactive
http://www.eyelevel.co
Brand Marketers
http://www.brandmarketers.com
Mango Moose Media
http://www.mangomoose.ca
Attack! Marketing
http://www.attackmarketing.net
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