Fast Facts

What
  Ads placed on stairways in public venues.

Who
   StareWays, headquartered in Millburn, N.J.

How it works
   An advertisement is installed as a single visual image on stairs in public venues. StareWays calls the installation adSteps, says CEO Barry Roberts.
   Initially the stair ads were marketed in New York area exhibit halls for trade shows. Today installation locations include:
Transportation hubs like airports, bus stations, train stations and metropolitan transit stations
Stadiums and arenas for professional, minor league and college teams
Concert venues
Additional sports venues like race tracks
Malls and other retail outlets
Entertainment and cultural outlets like museums, libraries, theatres and concert venues
Municipal locations like city halls and post offices

    The medium is used for branding and promotions.
    “It’s exclamatory, not explanatory,” Roberts says. Advertisers can contact StareWays directly or through a media company.
   “We can help them pinpoint types of venues then we’ll turn them over to our media partners to put together a package of which locations, which specific malls or airports or stadiums,” Roberts says.
   Creative is provided by the advertiser. Ad size depends on stair size. The creative appears only on the risers so it’s visible as consumers approach or pass by the installation.
   A single image or more than one can be used, depending on the staircase width. Web site banners as well as billboard art can be converted, again depending on the staircase size.
   “On a vertical staircase you can’t use horizontal artwork from a billboard, but there are a lot of vertical banners on web sites that would work. Some staircases are horizontal with fewer steps that are very wide. For example, a museum with very wide steps could use more of a horizontal image. You could play with it and have one whole image all the way across or separate images.
   "Or say in a stadium, you can go for a large image between aisles that can be seen from the other side of the stadium or a logo repeated on each stairway,” Roberts says.
  Advertisers can tie creative into the venue. Like a billboard, minimal verbiage combined with bright graphics is effective.
   “Something can be up a short time for a specific event like a trade show for three or four days, and some can be up for as long as six to 12 months,” Roberts says.
   A large venue like a stadium can sell by section, aisle or the entire inventory.
   Creative can be changed during the course of a campaign, Roberts says. “One mall store changed their campaign in the middle--after Christmas--to promote a sale.”
   Ads are printed on adhesive-backed flexible thermoplastic polymer-based film.
   The medium is suitable for local and regional advertisers as well as national companies.
   Ads on steps are used as a stand alone as well as part of a media mix, Roberts says. Service is turnkey.

Markets
   Currently adSteps are up in New York, New Jersey and Atlanta, Roberts says. “Markets are limitless. We can go anywhere in the U.S.”

How measured
   Malls and airports provide traffic numbers while stadiums and other ticketed venues provide specific attendance numbers.
   TV audience figures would become part of the measurement for some sporting events.

What product categories do well
   Product categories are tied into the venue, Roberts says. “Malls? Who advertises for the most part are retailers in the mall. Also movies are very big.”
   Additionally, categories that work well are entertainment including television, financial services, soft drinks, fashion, cosmetics, communications, luxury goods, local colleges, hospitals and car dealerships.
   Point-of-purchase outlets and products do well. “Store managers have gotten people into their mall locations who didn’t even know the store was in the mall,” Roberts says.
   Existing category agreements in venues like stadiums and arenas affect what’s available in each location.

Demographics
   Demographics are targeted by venue and location.
   “If the advertiser wants to reach men--a sports venue. Want to reach teens and moms? Malls. Commuters? Transit. The target is much more dependent on location than medium,” Roberts says.
   For example, a profile of an individual mall or chain provides targeting data. 
   “Our mall is in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn with 160 stores with two anchors. A major mall,” says John Scaturro, marketing manager for Kings Plaza Shopping Center in New York. “We have a population of 1.5 million within five miles of the mall to draw on, resulting in 10 million visits a year. Our visitors are 50 percent African- and Caribbean-American, 38 percent Caucasian, 12 percent Latino and 6 percent Asian. The average household income of our customers is $44,000. The bulk of them are in the 25- to 54-year-old range, with 20 percent under 15-years-old.”

Making the buy
   Lead time is four weeks, though campaigns have been implemented in less time, Roberts says. Partnering media companies may have their own time requirements.
   Packages are individualized based on an advertiser’s needs, Roberts says.
   Factors that affect pricing include type of venue, location, size and number of installations, as well as length of campaign.
   Campaign length varies with the type of venue as well as the advertiser’s needs. The product is guaranteed for six months, but a contract can extend beyond that limit with installation of new or replacement creative.

Who’s already on adSteps
   Children’s Place, Nickelodeon, Panasonic, New York Boat Show, U.S. Army, Seiko, Chicago Paper and Can Co. and Miller Lite

What they’re saying
   “People stop and stare. I think part of it is looking to see how it works. From a distance it looks like a billboard. When you get closer you realize it’s stairs. Our stairway is flanked by escalators so very few people use the stairs, which make them more visually accessible. You could see it all the way down the corridor. It really popped off those stairs.” – John Scaturro, marketing manager for New York-based Kings Plaza Shopping Center

Web site info
   StareWays at www.stareways.com

Etc.
   Additional programs – adTables, adBanners, adFloors, adDoors, adWindows, adWalls, adWraps – can be packaged with adSteps or acquired separately.