Advertisers can reach shoppers over the holiday season by placing their logo or a promotion on the envelopes that in-store photo shops use to deliver freshly developed prints to their customers.

To find out how to get your client’s message into consumers’ hands when they pick up their holiday photos, read on.

This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.

Fast Facts

What
Ads are placed on the exterior of envelopes that are used to package home photographs.

Who
Ambient Planet, headquartered in New York.

How it works
Ads are placed on the outsides of commercial photo envelopes of the sort that are typically used at large retail outlets. Additionally, branded inserts can be placed inside the envelopes.

For the television show “Brothers & Sisters” a photo of the cast was inserted into the branded envelopes and they were distributed through the CVS, Walgreens and New York's Duane Reade chain.

The front of the envelope was branded with the show’s logo in four-color, says sales manager Linda Bueno. “But you could brand the entire envelope.”

The insert was a one-sided portrait of the actors starring in “Brothers & Sisters” measuring 4 inches by 6 inches, or standard photo print size. The tagline: “Every picture tells a story.”

The branded photo envelopes measure 4-3/4 by 7 inches.

Creative can tie into the photo theme.

The program is used for both branding and promotions. “Think of all the times in your life you want to mark with a photograph,” says Bueno. “You can touch the consumer at those times.”

Branded photo envelopes are suitable for national, regional and local campaigns but have the most impact at the national level, Bueno says.

The program can stand alone or work as part of a media mix.

“We took it across other media, including wrapping escalators. We also used magazines, subway squares and some standard mall panels,” says Megan Andrews, manager of client services for Generation Outdoor, the New York outdoor media planning and buying agency that placed the campaign for ABC.

The program is sold by volume. The “Brothers & Sisters” run was 1,000 pieces per venue and took about a month for distribution.

“The runs would be larger for the holiday months,” Bueno says.

Markets
New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Detroit and Washington, D.C., are current markets.

Additional markets can be added at the advertiser’s request, Bueno says.

Numbers
The program launched in September in 300 stores.

How it is measured
The number of pieces distributed is used to estimate impressions, as well as the number of coupons redeemed when the program includes them as inserts.

An advertiser may also choose to conduct a brand recall study, Bueno says.

What product categories do well
Health and beauty aids, entertainment and pharmaceuticals are top categories. Any point-of-purchase products also do well, Bueno says.

Demographics
Groups can be targeted by retailer as well as by market.

For the recent “Brothers & Sisters” campaign, families with children were targeted. The target audience for the show is women 18-49, Andrews says.

Making the buy
Lead time is six to eight weeks.

Factors that affect cost include number of envelopes, number of outlets, which surfaces are branded and whether an insert is included. Per-unit costs decline the larger the program, Bueno says.

Who’s already on branded photo envelopes
The “Brothers & Sisters” campaign launched the program, running in 10 markets.

What they’re saying
“This is a fun way to get people talking. We wanted to try something unexpected and original that would target our demographic and focus on the family aspect of the show.” –Megan Andrews of Generation Outdoor, speaking of the “Brothers & Sisters” campaign

Web site info
Ambient Planet at http://www.ambient-planet.com/