Your client as
a sand sculpture
Think of them really as events that unfold over days
By Diego Vasquez
Jan 11, 2010
At its best, alternative media is about turning a simple ad message into an event that gets people staring and talking, and when it comes to buzz-building events, there's nothing quite like a 50-ton sand sculpture erected at a busy location miles from any beach, say Times Square.
There's the visual impact of the sculpture itself--they can be very elaborate--but also the attention they attract as they are being put up, with people wondering just what this pile is sand will turn out to be when the workmen are done.
Crowds gather to watch the sculptors at work, taking pictures and sending them to friends. TV news crews stop by to report on the progress.
While we think of sand sculptures as a seaside event, they can be put almost anywhere, from malls to convention centers to Times Square.
To find out how to get your client’s message made of sand, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Creating themed sand sculptures that incorporate your client's logo.
Who
There are dozens of sculptors around the country with the ability to create sand sculptures for advertisers on beaches, but fewer than a dozen that are able to handle the logistics of creating them in other locations.
How it works
As an ad medium, sand sculptures are about as customizable as it gets. Advertisers and sculptors decide when and where the sculpture will be built, what images it will consist of, and whether the stunt will include street teams.
The ads can be created anywhere, though sand and cleanup must be paid for and the proper permits must be secured. In a place like Times Square, which is nowhere near the beach, sand sculptures are particularly eye-catching.
An elaborate sand sculpture can take up to 50 tons of sand, a dozen sculptors and days or even weeks to build, as in a Times Square campaign two years ago to promote USA's series "Burn Notice."
Street teams can complement the sand sculptures. In this case, USA employed street teams of bikini-clad models to tie in with the show's Miami setting.
Local media are often encouraged to come film when teams begin constructing the sculptures. For example, if a retail chain is unveiling a huge sand statue at a store opening, local TV news crews might be invited to film the crew the night before as they start working.
In fact, sculpting can be almost like performance art. Crowds gather to watch as sculptors use brushes, wax carvers and dental picks to shape the huge clumps of wet, densely packed sand.
Sand sculptures have been around for more than 100 years, dating back to when artists in Atlantic City carved sculptures along the boardwalk and accepted money from businesses to incorporate their logos. But they've only become a more corporate practice in the past two decades, and the internet has helped sand sculptures become more popular.
That's because photos of the sculptures now go viral online. A person may post a picture of the "Burn Notice" sculpture on their Flickr or Facebook page, which is shared with another friend and another and another. Rather than a few hundred people seeing a sculpture at a one-day event, thousands see photos of the sculpture online.
A finished sculpture can last indefinitely with minimal upkeep, though those erected in public areas generally have permits for just a day or two.
Markets
Beach markets are the easiest place to create sand sculpture ads because of the abundance of raw material. But they can be created in any market in the country.
Numbers
A good high-traffic area for sand sculptures, Times Square sees more than 500,000 pedestrians on an average day.
In 2008 the busiest street corner in Times Square was the Southwest corner of 7th Avenue and 44th Street, according to the Times Square Alliance. On Wednesdays it averaged 134,711 people, with 127,445 on Saturdays.
The annual spending potential in Times Square is $1.2 billion, including about $560 million from visitors/tourists, $460 million from area employees and $173 million from residents.
South Padre Island, Texas, a popular spring break destination, has also hosted dozens of sand sculptures. The island has about 3 million visitors annually, according to the South Padre Island Chamber of Commerce.
How it is measured
For sculptures in a public place, general impressions can be estimated using street traffic data.
If a sculpture is at a trade show, event attendance is used to estimate impressions.
The number of brochures or product samples distributed near a sculpture can also be tracked.
What product categories do well
Frequent advertisers include auto, beverages, pharmaceuticals, alcohol, hotels, airlines, sunscreen, entertainment, credit cards and technology.
Demographics
Demographics vary depending on where a sculpture is placed.
The Times Square area is about 57 percent male and 43 percent female, according to Onboard Informatics, which provides real estate data. About 71 percent are under 50 years old. Average household income is $82,588.
Census data shows the median household income for South Padre Island is $45,417. Thirteen percent of residents are under 18, 6.2 percent are 18-24, 28.2 percent are 25-44, 34.2 percent are 45-64, and 18.4 percent are over 65.
The area skews male; for every 100 females over age 18, there are 115.9 males.
Making the buy
The range of prices varies widely. A small, simple logo on the beach costs around $300, while an elaborate sculpture placed in the center of a busy city costs tens of thousands of dollars.
Lead time is generally a month, but if an advertiser is pressed for time, sculptures can be bought and erected in as little time as one day.
Who’s already in sand
Recent advertisers include Coca-Cola, Barefoot Wine, the Miami Dolphins, USA, Sun Microsystems, Curves for Women, Mini Cooper and the city of Myrtle Beach.
What they’re saying
“It’s great for beach exposure, especially for spring break. It’s nice to do it on a crowded beach because it’s such an attention grabber. Everyone takes pictures with it--it can be quite viral I think. Also, it’s completely carbon neutral, it doesn’t require we cut down any trees or anything.”–
Lucinda "Sandy Feet" Wierenga, owner of Sons of the Beach
Web site info
Sandman Matt
http://www.sandsculptor.com
Team Sandtastic
http://www.teamsandtastic.com/
Sons of the Beach
http://www.sonsofthebeach.com/
SandScapes
http://www.sandscapes.com/
Curb
http://www.curbmedia.com/
Sandsational Sand Sculpting
http://www.sandsational.com/
Sanding Ovations
http://www.sandingovations.com/
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