When we think of summer and outdoor advertising that reaches people as they are out playing on or near the water, we're inclined to think first of ads on beaches, such as branded umbrellas, or ads at marinas, catching people as they get on or off boats.
But another important venue for reaching folks on the water is by means of floating billboards.
They have several advantages, and key is they're likely the only advertising people at play on the water are likely to see. They also tend to be visible from a distance. Some can be quite large.
They can also be put pretty much wherever there's water and people, and moved about with not much fuss. They can be anchored for special events, such as regattas, and they can be towed or motored along beaches and other waterfronts, be a lake, a river or the ocean.
To find out how to get your client’s message on the water, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Advertising on the water with floating signage.
Who
A number of companies offer on-water advertising, and they can be found pretty much wherever there's a body of water that attracts swimmers, sunbathers and boaters in decent numbers. For this article, Media Life looked at Traffic Displays Mobile Billboards in Greenville, Mich., bbi Inflatable Display Systems in Santa Monica, Calif., and Miami Water Billboards in Florida.
How it works
There are several means of advertising on the water, each with its own advantages, and one is an inflatable floatation device that supports a billboard, typically 14 feet high and 12 feet wide.
The floating pontoons are usually towed by a boat along beaches or other large gatherings near the water, at a slow 5 mph pace. Or they can be anchored, as for a regatta, where they will be seen by the boats in the race and by all those who anchor near the race to watch the event.
In some cases, a permit from the Coast Guard may be required of the vendor where the signage creates an obstruction to navigation.
The billboards are two-sided, and they can be linked together to create a longer messages.
Another option is boats with billboards mounted directly on them, much like a mobile billboard truck but built for the water. These billboards measure about nine feet high and 24 feet long, and they’re two-sided as well. The advertiser can choose to run different creative on each side.
These types of boats also have the capabilities of being lit up so the ads can be seen at night.
A variation is a catamaran-style boat with a 34-by-14 foot billboard attached to each side. The sign almost completely covers the boat when you’re looking at it from the side, so it looks like an actual billboard floating around in the water.
The above vessels are widely available, but on occasion an advertiser may choose to create a special campaign on a larger scale, using a far larger vessel.
In 2007, the president of Dow Chemical made a presentation to the United Nations, and as he did so he pointed out the window to the East River, and there was a barge and on top of it was a 110-foot billboard of a Dow branding campaign the chemical giant was running at the time promoting the cause of safe drinking water around the world.
Markets
Advertising on water can be done anywhere there's a body of water, meaning coastal cities and markets by lakes and rivers.
Research
There's little to no research on the effectiveness of this form of outdoor advertising.
How it is measured
For ads that are towed along beaches, impressions can be gauged by beach attendance data. Where there's an event like a regatta, impressions can be calculated by attendance data and crowd estimates.
Highway traffic data can be used for campaigns on floating devices on water bodies seen from roadways.
What product categories do well
Frequent water advertisers include cell phones, beverages, health/beauty products, fast food, auto, banking/financial, mortgage and insurance.
Demographics
The typical campaign where ads are towed along a beach front reach a wide range of demographics, but campaigns can be targeted to certain demographics. Case in point: a campaign for high-end watches on pontoons anchored near a luxury yacht race.
Making the buy
bbi Inflatable Display Systems makes and sells floating billboards and also has its own fleet it rents out to advertisers. Depending on the size of the ad and the location of the event, campaigns can range in cost from $900 to $6,900 per day, not including the cost of creative.
Traffic Displays Mobile Billboards has two-sided 24-by-9 foot signs that rest on the back end of a boat. Pricing averages around $1,500 per day.
Miami Water Billboards has the catamaran-style boats for use in the South Florida area, near both beaches and causeways. The company sells 30-day blocks of advertising for around $700 per day, and advertisers can pick and choose which 30 days they’d like.
Who’s already on floating billboards
Recent or current water advertisers include Dow Chemical, McDonald’s, Sprint, Bud Light, State Farm, Heineken, WWE, Corona, Nike and Wal-Mart.
What they’re saying
“I think it works best with a general branding message. As is the case with any outdoor advertising, less is more, so it works well for anyone with a quick, simple message.” –
Cynthia M. Younker, partner and co-owner of Traffic Displays Mobile Billboards.
Web site info
bbi Inflatable Display Systems
http://www.bbidisplays.com
Traffic Displays Mobile Billboards
http://trafficdisplays.com
Miami Water Billboards
http://www.miamiwaterbillboards.com
Coastal Advertising
http://www.coastalad.com/OutdoorAds.html
Do It Outdoor
http://www.doitoutdoors.com
TrashTalkFCM
http://www.trashtalkfcm.com/
