Out of Home
Your client going out to the Hamptons
By Kathy Prentice
Feb 19, 2008 - 1:09:27 AM

While New Yorkers thoughts turn to their summer shares in the Hamptons, advertisers can put together branded beach bags filled with product samples for distribution on the jitneys that transport them.

To find out how to get your client’s message directly into the hands of upscale consumers on their way to a vacation weekend, read on.

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

Fast Facts

What
Product samples and literature placed on the seats of buses transporting passengers from Manhattan to the Hamptons.

Who
The michael alan group, headquartered in New York.

How it works
Advertisers place samples and product literature on each seat of the Hamptons Jitneys.

The program is called “Seat Drops.” Examples of recent campaigns include a magazine, make-up samples, sunscreen and bottled water packed in a reusable beach bag and a bottle of jewelry cleaner attached to literature about a jewelry company.

Advertisers provide samples and literature. Seat Drops are often packaged in branded, re-usable mesh or cloth bags.

A typical program is sample drops on five 56-passenger buses.

Prime dates include Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends.

Advertisers are usually national brands, but locals like restaurants have also launched campaigns.

“Restaurants offer special deals,” Murphy says. “They could let people know about happy hour or a new menu as long as they’re putting something of value in, a recipe card or cookbook or something like that.”

Markets
The jitney program is currently available in New York.

Numbers
The Hampton Jitney carries over 600,000 passengers annually between New York and Long Island’s East End.

How it is measured
Impressions are estimated using the number of bags or premiums distributed.

“Most people share a house with friends or are going to a family home, so we say to expect that at least three or four people are going to see a product,” Murphy says.

What product categories do well
Health and beauty aids, self tanning products, sunscreen, entertainment and luxury brands are top categories.

Magazines also use seat drops to distribute merchandise from their advertisers.

Demographics
Riders’ profile, according to data provided by Hampton Jitney:

- Gender ratio is 50-50 male-female, with a slight skew to female on weekends
-Ages break down as follows: under 21 at 5 percent, 21 to 24 at 15 percent, 25 to 34 at 35 percent, 35 to 44 at 25 percent and 45 and older at 20 percent
-61 percent are single
-Household income breaks down as follow: $100,000 and up at 88 percent, $150,000 and up at 74 percent, $200,000 and up at 54 percent, $250,000 and up at 41 percent and $300,000 and up at 30 percent
-75 percent of riders are home-owners and 65 percent have a second home
-75 percent of those surveyed report spending $10,000 or more on fashion per year, 55 percent spend $15,000 and up, 41 percent spend $20,000 and up and 15 percent report spending $25,000 or more on fashion
-Luxury purchases breakdown come in at 97 percent for hair care, 99 percent on shoes, 87 percent on fragrances, 80 percent on designer clothing, 83 percent on electronics, 81 percent on home furnishings, 79 percent on jewelry and 71 percent on cosmetics
-Those who report traveling for pleasure number 90 percent and for business 67 percent.

Making the buy
Lead time is three months for holiday weekends like Memorial Day and Labor Day. One to two months lead time is sufficient for other inventory.

The cost for a typical one-day, five-bus campaign with a staff of two at each venue is $1,460.

Who’s already on the Hamptons Jitney
Salon Bronze and People StyleWatch are recent advertisers.

What they’re saying
“We were trying to reach younger women interested in these kind of tanning products, a high-end audience. The Hamptons crew is the sort of trend-setting group that wants to try something first.” – Ellen Leikind, vice president for IdeaVillage, the agency that placed Salon Breeze on Hamptons-bound busses

Web site info
The michael alan group at http://www.michael-alan.com