Your client on newspaper boxes

Your client on
newspaper boxes

Catch folks as they pass by. Bright colors help.

By Kathy Prentice

One byproduct of the wave of new, experimental out-of-home mediums is the placement of ads in spaces previously used only by proprietary companies. Truck companies that used their vehicles to brand their fleet now advertise the products they’re hauling or any product at all. Stores are bagging merchandise in branded containers. The list goes on.
   New in some Midwestern cities is ad space on the exterior of neighborhood newspaper boxes. Newspaper customers as well as pedestrian and street traffic will now see mini-billboards for the local fast food joint or car dealership when they approach the street-corner boxes where they once saw just the newspaper’s logo.
   To find out how to get your client’s ad on newspaper boxes, 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 displayed on the exterior of neighborhood newspaper boxes.

Who
Free Newspaper Boxes, a division of JobDig, headquartered in Minneapolis.

How it works
   Print ads are displayed on the exterior of street corner news boxes that are used for distribution of free publications.
   News boxes are placed high-traffic locations, says director of outdoor advertising, Troy Dilla.
   News boxes are often available in suburban areas that restrict billboards.
   Creative is usually supplied by advertiser but can be developed by JobDig’s creative department.
   "A logo and contact information like a web site address or phone number and maybe a little verbiage is standard creative," Dilla says. Graphics can be used.
   Ads are 12 inches wide by 10 inches high and are printed in four-color process.
   Waterproofing lasts from six to eight months, at which time creative can be changed, Dilla says.
   Creative can also be changed weekly or monthly.
   Branding is the primary objective of advertisers, though promotions and discounts also work well, Dilla says.
   News box ads are usually part of a media mix, Dilla says. "They’re used to compliment radio, TV, print and traditional outdoor."
   Currently local businesses are the primary users. "As we expand into other markets we expect more national and regional advertisers," Dilla says.
   Product exclusivity is provided at each individual news box.
   Locations can be cherry picked.

Markets
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Rochester and St. Cloud, Minn., Fargo, N.D., and Sioux Falls, S.D., with other Midwest markets coming.
Spot checks in several markets including Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles found no major newspapers selling ad space on their news boxes. Currently they use the box exteriors to promote their own products.

Numbers
Using Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB) stats on billboards and bus shelters to estimate the total daily effective circulation (DEC) of news boxes, Job Dig estimates a CPM of 46 cents for a 25 showing and 43 cents for a 50 showing when the DEC represents 18-plus people passing and thus potentially exposed to a sign face.
There are currently 1,200 boxes available.

How measured?
Measurement is a combination of the newspaper pick-up rate combined with walk-by and drive-by traffic, Dilla says.
Circulation numbers for the papers distributed at the news boxes is one method of measurement. Weekly circulation numbers are 109,700 in all markets. Broken down into individual markets, the numbers are:

Minneapolis/St. Paul at 50,000
Sioux Falls, S.D., at 17,800
Fargo, N.D., at 16,200
St. Cloud, Minn., at 11,500
Rochester, Minn., at 10,000
Duluth, Minn., at 4,200

Currently JobDig is using an estimate similar to the formula used to calculate impressions for bus shelter and bench advertising.

Research
Eight out of 10 Americans walk in a city, town or downtown area weekly, according to an Arbitron Outdoor study. The same study found that the largest group of walkers is between 18 and 24 years old, followed by the 25 to 34 age group. Additionally, there’s been a 147 percent increase in car traffic since 1970 and 110 percent more daily car trips.

What product categories do well?
Banks, restaurants, real estate, attorneys, car dealerships, entertainment and non-profits are initial advertisers.
"Directional ads are doing great," Dilla says. "An ad with an arrow that says ‘We’re in the neighborhood.’"

Demographics
Demographics can be targeted by placement. "We gather the information to target by household income and other criteria," Dilla says.

Making the buy
   Lead-time is less than a week with camera-ready art, Dilla says.
   "We post on Monday of each week, so if we get art by a Thursday we can post by the following Monday."
   Locations and creative can be changed at the beginning of each week.
   Campaigns generally run four to six months, but can be placed on an annual basis.
   Factors that affect pricing are number of signs and length of contract.
   Standard rates are:

$80 per ad, with a purchase of 20 to 100 sites for a three-month flight.
$70 per ad, with a purchase of 20 to 100 sites for a six-month flight.
$60 per ad, with a purchase of 20 to 100 sites for a 12-month flight.
$70 per ad, with a purchase of 101 to 300 sites for a three-month flight.
$60 per ad, with a purchase of 101 to 300 sites for a six-month flight.
$50 per ad, with a purchase of 101 to 300 sites for a 12-month flight.
$60 per ad, with a purchase of 300- plus sites for a three-month flight.
$50 per ad, with a purchase of 300- plus sites for a six-month flight.
$40 per ad, with a purchase of 300- plus sites for a 12-month flight.

Production costs are additional at $1.50 per sign, per box.
When an advertiser doesn’t supply copy, ad creation costs $75 per version.

Who’s already on newsboxes?
United Way, KQRS Radio and the Multiple Sclerosis Society are currently on news boxes.

What they’re saying
"We see the value in the frequency aspect of it. It’s such an around-the-town type of medium. This puts our logo on every other street corner, visible and reminding all listeners that we’re here, from those making $8 an hour to owners of multi-million dollar companies." – Brent Wilcox, account executive with Minneapolis-based KQRS, an ABC radio station.

Web site info
Free Newspaper Boxes at www.jobdig.com.

Etc.
City Solutions also offers newsbox advertising in Columbus, Ohio, Orlando and Miami as well as in their hometown, Indianapolis. Three sizes are available: 30 by 88 inches, 30 by 108 inches and 30 by 144 inches. Find them at www.citysolutionsoutdoor.com.

-Kathy Prentice writes about out-of-home advertising for Media Life, penning her stories from the resort town of Traverse City, in the upper reaches of Michigan.

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