Advertisers targeting low- to middle-income consumers have a new way to grab the attention of a captive audience: customers waiting in line at check cashing stores.
   Signage and sampling are the mediums.
   To find out how to get your client’s message displayed on the walls of neighborhood locations, read on.
   This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.

What
   Ads and sampling in check cashing centers.

Who
   Encompass Outdoor Media, headquartered in New York City.

How it works
   Signage is visible as customers wait in line. Posters measure 24 inches by 36 inches and are displayed in glass, keyed frames.
   “The location that it’s placed depends on the facility,” says partner Michael Travin. “Each place is structured a little differently.”
   “The best sight line in the location is what we strive for,” says partner Don Winter.
   An advertiser can place up to five signs in a location, depending on available wall space.
   Most advertisers target several locations, Winter says. “It depends on what they’re trying to do, but say they want Brooklyn and there are 100 choices, they’ll pick 30 or 40.”
   Coupons, samples and brochures can be handed to consumers along with their money.
   “Sampling can be something like gum, CDs, anything that can go through the window at a check cashing location, given out by tellers at the time of transaction,” Winter says.
   Creative is provided by the advertiser, though Encompass can assist with development of creative. Four-color process is available.
   Days and times that the locations are open vary, Travin says, though most are open six days a week or Monday through Saturday with some open 24 hours.
   In addition to check cashing, services can include sale of telephone cards and money orders, facilitation of electronic bill paying and money wire transfers. Some also have ATMs and sell public transit tokens.
   “Some are stand-alone stores and some are part of strip malls,” Winter says. “They’re all independently owned.”
   There is opportunity for local reach as well as national and regional, Winter says.
   Multiple advertisers can run ads at each location. Product exclusivity can be negotiated.

Markets
   Currently there are 660 locations available in New York City, more than a thousand in the New Jersey, Connecticut and Northern New York state area, and more than 10,000 across the country.
   Most locations are in urban areas, but there are also rural markets, Winter says.

Research
   When surveyed, 58 percent of respondents said they use check-cashing locations even though they have at least one type of account at a traditional bank, according to Financial Service Centers of America in Hackensack, N.J.

How measured?
   Monthly foot traffic through each check cashing location averages 4,500, according to research by the New York Check Cashing Association provided by Encompass.
   Customers stand in line 10 to 15 minutes, Winter says. Proof of performance is provided, including photos.

What product categories do well?
   “Categories run the gamut from fast food to health awareness campaigns and anything in between,” Travin says.
   Good fits also include utility companies, wireless services, phone cards, food, automobile manufacturers, entertainment and tax preparation services.

Demographics
  General characteristics of check cashing location patrons, according to the New York Check Cashing Association, include:

Gender
- Male 53 percent
- Female 47 percent

Annual Income
- Less than $20,000 at 23 percent
- $20,000 to $30,000 at 27 percent
- $30,000 to $40,000 at 21 percent
- $40,000 to $50,000 at 12 percent
- $50,000 to $75,000 at 8 percent
- Over $75,000 at 4 percent

Race
- African American at 38 percent
- Hispanic at 28 percent
- Asian at 2 percent
- Caucasian at 28 percent
- Native American at 2 percent
- Other at 2 percent

Martial Status
- Married at 34 percent
- Single/never married at 48 percent
- Divorced/separated at 15 percent
- Widowed at 2 percent

Employment
- Full time at 80 percent
- Part time at 9 percent
- Stay-at-home spouse at 1 percent
- Student at 1 percent
- Retired at 3 percent
- Unemployed at 5 percent
- Service industry at 24 percent
- Skilled crafts at 10 percent
- Unskilled crafts at 11 percent
- Management, administrative and clerical at 17 percent
   The program has an ethnic reach through primarily urban areas. Specific groups can be targeted by zip code, market, borough, town or city, Winter says.

Making the buy
   Lead time is 30 days. Signage can be bought on a monthly basis, though most advertisers take multiple months, Winter says.
   The cost is $150 to $200 per poster, per location, per month, Travin says. Production is extra. “A general market buy is one price with a specific location a little premium above that.”

Who’s already in check cashing locations
   The state of New York.

What they’re saying
   “We used check cashing to target lower-income and ethnic audiences. It’s a unique way to reach into inner-city neighborhoods with a point-of-purchase promotion. At the campaign’s onset we saw a spike in direct response. There aren’t a large number of new media, so this is a valuable new arrow in our quiver.” – Kenneth Hochman, president of New York City-based America Media Concepts

Web site info
   Encompass Outdoor Media at www.encompassmediagroup.com