Alongside flowers and outdoor cafes, the emergence of skateboarders on the streets and concerts in the park are sure signs of spring. Ads in the form of branded stickers are a new, cool way to reach an elusive young audience where they skate.
To find out how to get your client’s message on stickers for kids to plaster on their skateboards and elsewhere, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Unique graphics placed on vinyl stickers that are giveaways to young audiences.
Who
GoGORILLA Media, headquartered in New York.
How it works
Unique graphics are used to brand stickers that are distributed to target audiences at events and through retail outlets. The stickers are vinyl.
“They can be put on just about anything,” says vice president Joe Bonadio. “Where regular stickers with a paper surface wear off, vinyl stays forever.”
Creative is unique for sticker campaigns.
“Two things work to get people’s attention with a piece like this,” Bonadio says. “One is color and really good imagery, eye-grabbing, shocking, knock-you-out-of-your-shoes imagery.
“Kids like modern and in some cases very retro graphics, something that looks cool to them. Usually the artists doing the graphics are not much older than these kids.”
The second is a universal message presented in simple text in a large font. “It just says something like a simple truth, something that can mean a million things to a million different people,” Bonadio says.
For example, the word truth was the focus of a Florida anti-smoking campaign. Other single-word creative include Blah! for blah.com and a choice of labels (independent, shark, Republican, dependent, pawn, teddy bear, Democrat) for Hennessy cognac.
URLs and logos are optional. Some advertisers incorporate their logos into the creative. Standard sticker size is 4 inches by 6 inches, or postcard dimensions, and in some markets stickers are distributed on postcard racks. The adhesive backs peel away.
Alternative shapes and sizes can be used. “An advertiser can do any shape. Cutouts, ovals,” Bonadio says. Creative is provided by the advertiser.
An original design used by the state of Washington’s health department to promote their anti-smoking campaign featured stickers printed with slogans like “Kiss this before you kiss a smoker.” The instructions were to place the stickers on gross or smelly things.
“The creative says the whole idea is that you shouldn’t smoke and that smoking is like eating cigarettes,” Bonadio says. “It’s like a little wild stickering campaign.”
Recipients put vinyl stickers on backpacks, snowboards, guitar cases, messenger bags and walls, Bonadio says. “They can be put on just about anything.”
Postcard racks are used for distribution primarily in rural markets. Other avenues of distribution include countertop displays in comic book stores, record stores, gaming stores, pizza shops, coffee shops and retailers that sell skateboards and sneakers.
Street teams are used for distribution in urban markets. Teams typically wear branded t-shirts. Giveaways often take place at events like concerts or festivals.
“If you know the bands your target audience listens to, you can find their tours and follow them. You can target every town,” Bonadio says.
Vinyl sticker giveaways can be used as a stand-alone campaign or combined most typically with other out-of-home or specialty print as part of multi-media campaigns.
A web site with videos and games was an element of Washington’s anti-smoking campaign.
Stickers are also used in graffiti campaigns, Bonadio says. “Put them on a wall or the side of a bus. They’re used as urban graffiti all the time. They have the same effect. They stand up to weather. They don’t go away.
“We did GoGORILLA ads, gorilla heads, in vinyl, and over a year and a half I put up 5,000 to 7,000 of them all over downtown. It’s very subtle branding. People like it even when they don’t know what it is.”
Markets
Markets are unlimited, Bonadio says. Postcard racks are available to use for distribution in 16 markets.
Numbers
Typically 5,000 up to 50,000 or 100,000 stickers are distributed during the course of a campaign, but the number depends on the distribution vehicle. A million stickers could be distributed via postcard racks in a national campaign.
How it is measured
Distribution numbers are used for measurement. Secondary methods include responses to offers, web site hits and responses to text messaging offers.
What product categories do well
Beverages, athletic products, sneakers, entertainment, wireless, electronics and fashion are top categories.
Demographics
Teens through college age, or ages 12-22, are the primary target. The target skews slightly male. It’s also skewed toward active, socially aware kids, Bonadio says. “This is pretty niched.”
Making the buy
Lead time is four to six weeks for production as well as development of a distribution plan.
Who’s already on stickers
ESPN X Games, Virgin Mobile and Washington State Health Department Tobacco Prevention and Control have used the program.
What they’re saying
“Basically the X Game audience is not receptive to corporate messages. It’s uncool in their minds. We used stickers to reach them in an environment that didn’t feel like corporate messaging. They love to decorate their skateboards and skis, and stickers are a great way to do that. You take the sticker and apply it to the skateboard and on the back there’s information on how to tune in to the X Games. It’s a way to tactfully reach this consumer in a receptive way.” – David Koppelman, general manager for New York-based MacDonald Media
Web site info
GoGorilla at www.gogorillamedia.com
