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on pay phone kiosks
Coast-to-coast network for major ad campaigns
By Kathy Prentice
Advertisers buying TV time on this past Super Bowl got something of a price break because of weaker demand, but perhaps the best deal was achieved by Procter & Gamble when roving TV cameras zoomed to pay phone kiosks near the Superdome's main entrance featuring signage for a P&G campaign. The exposure, though brief, came without the Super Bowl price tag.
Placing print ads on public phones is certainly not new.
What is new is the development of a coast-to-coast network that can support national media campaigns.
With the rise in cell phone use and the accompanying decline in pay phone revenues, owners of phone kiosks are rightly looking to their kiosks as mini-billboards capable of making up for shortfalls.
To find out how to get your client on pay phone kiosks, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Signage affixed to the exterior of public pay phones.
Who
Prime Point Media, headquartered in Norcross, Ga.
How it works
Advertising messages are placed at eye level on the exterior of both sides of pay phone kiosks.
Signage is visible to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
Ads can be placed on indoor as well as outdoor phone kiosks.
Advertisers can buy entire markets or cherry-pick locations. Campaigns can be put together using demographic targets and special events.
Prime Point’s inventory includes locations controlled by regional Bell operating companies, large independent pay phone operators, and the trade group that manages small independent providers, says Bryan Jackson, marketing director. “Our nationwide inventory includes a million phones.”
Advertisers buy both surfaces on each phone enclosure and frequently buy banks of phones to create multiple impressions.
“Location domination,” Jackson says. “Using either the same copy, or multiple copy, across a bank of phones is a striking visual.”
Campaigns can be targeted to reach specific groups in major cities, especially at universities, convenience stores, stadiums and nightlife regions.
Point-of-purchase campaigns are focused on convenience stores, shopping malls, grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants and neighborhood boutiques.
“Tide’s ‘Points of Dirt’ campaign placed ads at places where people get dirty,” Jackson says of the P&G campaign that got Super Bowl airing.
“At playgrounds, near ball fields, hardware stores and ice cream parlors. We actually draw a perimeter around a location and posted on all those phones.”
Advertisers can choose packaged inventory, sold on a category-exclusive basis. For example, a “Beach Point” network targets consumers at boardwalks, marinas and other beach-related locations, from Atlantic Beach, N.Y. to Miami Beach, Fla. to Monterey, Calif.
Packaged inventory can also focus on events like spring break and sports games.
Product exclusivity is guaranteed at each location. Defining locations within large venues like convention centers and airports is determined case by case. Cost depends on availability and demand.
Service is turnkey, with Prime Point providing production, installation, maintenance and removal of signage.
Help with creative is available.
Proof of performance is provided through the use of digital photography.
Bold copy, strong imagery and striking colors make the most effective creative, Jackson says.
“Follow the same rules that you would for any outdoor. The element of surprise is that people aren’t used to seeing ads on phones.”
Currently advertisers tend to use copy from existing media campaigns, Jackson says. “In most cases they’re tweaking elements of their print or TV messages.”
Creative is printed in full color on pressure-sensitive vinyl.
Signage size is relative to the type of enclosure the pay phone is situated in. A minimum size is eight-and-one-half inches wide by 26 inches high, and sizes range up to 12 inches wide by 44 inches high.
“We lay out art work with critical copy and images within the minimum parameters and let it bleed out to larger sizes so it covers the entire surface,” Jackson says.
Branding has been the primary goal of advertisers using pay phone signage to date, but promotions would also work, Jackson says.
Turner South placed signage at 100 phone booths in the Atlanta area to brand its new lifestyle network. “We did it to build awareness of the network,” says Christina Salviski, marketing director.
Advertisers are primarily national companies that are seeking targeted exposure. “Folks are more likely to use it to develop large programs,” Jackson says. “But it’s available to local advertisers, too.”
Phone kiosk ads can be used as stand-alone media, but to date the signage has primarily been used as an element in mixed-media campaigns.
Markets
Prime Point’s network includes locations in all 50 states.
“We can set something up if there is a market where we don’t currently have inventory,” Jackson says. “We’re continually adding to our database.”
Numbers
How measured?
Impressions are determined using a formula that measures pedestrian traffic, Jackson says. “Our estimates are four impressions, per side, per minute or 250,000 per month per phone.”
Research
What product categories do well?
Food and beverages, toys, apparel, education products, cosmetics, retail, financial and telecommunications work well. Services like health care are also good choices.
Public service campaigns, like anti-smoking messages aimed at youth, also work well, Jackson says.
Demographics
Target groups don’t define the medium. Since more than a million locations are available, demographic groups can be targeted.
“We can target by household income, event attendance, lifestyle, zip code or census track,” Jackson says.
College students, young adults, ethnic groups and professionals can be defined and targeted.
Consumers engaging in activities like golf, skiing and working out can be targeted at resorts and health clubs.
Campaigns can also be event-focused by placing ads on phones at trade shows, sporting events, festivals and conventions.
Turner South targeted adults ages 38 to 54 who are living in established Atlanta-area communities, Salviski says.
“The programming is Southern living with shows like music out of Nashville. We wanted to hit an older audience than that of the traditional entertainment network, and for our purposes it was a good opportunity to get the word out.”
Making the buy
Typical campaigns range from one to three months, but can be longer or shorter. Prime Point will offer a seven-day showing as needed, Jackson says.
Lead time ideally is 30 days, he says.
Category-exclusive inventory is sold in packages consisting of 30 phones sold on a minimum one-month basis.
Factors that affect pricing include availability, demand, size of buy and length of agreement.
“Multiple locations in multiple markets are going to be priced differently than a small campaign in a single market,” Jackson says.
Rates range from $250 to $1,000 per month, per phone, including both facings. A buy is a full calendar month.
Production is included in cost.
Production for a buy of up to 200 phones includes one version of creative. “So, 1,000 phones get five ad copies,” Jackson says. Signage can be mixed when posted.
Who’s already on phone booths?
Recent advertisers include Turner South, Dasani water, Procter & Gamble and Dale’s Seasonings.
Web site info
Prime Point Media at www.primepointmedia.com
March 4, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
-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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