Advertising in toilets, now an essential component of the use of the external environment, has evolved from the first ordinary posters to the creation of special advertising spaces protected from modern vandals and graffiti “masters”. In Great Britain, this direction appeared in 1994, when 20 panels were allocated for posters in toilets, and already in 1999 their number exceeded 27 thousand; revenues from this area of advertising during this period increased from $35 thousand to almost $5 million. The first advertisers were film distributors, men's stores, cable television stations and computer game sellers. They were attracted by the opportunity provided by pub toilets to reach the hard-to-reach category of young men aged 18 to 35. Although almost five years ago, hardly anyone would have imagined that brands such as Mars, Gillette and Nestln would also advertise in such places, but now their advertising in toilets is a common occurrence. In terms of cost per thousand impressions, this is an expensive media tool, but at the same time it is a good way to reach hard-to-reach audiences, and you can save on costs if you simply repeat successful designs created for print advertising in posters. For some advertising campaigns, such as anti-alcohol campaigns or those aimed at car drivers, a toilet wall, with an average 30-second exposure to the advertisement placed on a person, can become an ideal media tool. By transferring this concept to shopping malls, advertisers can reach parents with small children (in places where they can change the child), and at gas stations - businessmen, motorcyclists, leisure travelers, and sports fans. Huge opportunities of this kind are also provided by sports facilities, recreation centers, and health clubs.
Source. Ruth Nicholas (1999). Toilet trading. Marketing Week, 13 June, pp. 51-2.
The next creative take on outdoor advertising came in 1999, when Virgin Atlantic painted the traditional green and white port of Hong Kong's Star Ferry bright red and placed its logo against it. For the first time in a hundred years, the design of the ferry company has changed. Changing the symbols cost the advertiser 20 thousand-25 thousand dollars per year. The next step in advertising using the external environment was “art spaces”, i.e. advertising placed on the ground. In an attempt to attract the interest of highly lucrative but hard-to-reach international business travelers, advertisers have turned to the concept of "arts venues", which is seen as potentially attractive to this category of jaded consumers already tired of traditional advertising. It was recently reported that passengers arriving by plane at Munich Airport see a giant Swissair advertisement from above, which is literally growing on the ground - below under the planes taking off and landing. It features a 250-metre-long airplane (barley green) against a brown straw background and features the red and white Swissair logo, created using environmentally friendly color pigments. In this case, the “art playground” option was chosen because it conveys positive elements about the Swissair brand, in particular that it cares about the environment. A huge bottle of Beck beer has a similar feel - suitably cropped growing wheat, accompanied by the slogan "Only natural ingredients", which runs parallel to the main road leading to London's large Euston station. Some major advertising experts believe that these examples are just early experiences and that the future of environmental advertising will develop in a direction similar to the techniques used in the film Bladerunner(“Blade Runner”), where advertising is projected onto the walls of buildings and becomes a dominant element of the overall cityscape. Although other analysts, less confident about the significance of environmental advertising technology, argue that ideas matter more than the mechanisms of their transmission.
Currently, most of the known examples of outdoor advertising rely on the novelty of this approach and its ability to shock viewers. To realize such opportunities, new technologies are actively used. For example, the development of appropriate printing technologies made it possible to take the next step in poster advertising and print huge posters (130 m x 17 m), which was previously technically impossible for commercial purposes. Technology now also allows wraparound types of advertising to be used on trains, buses, planes and even rockets. For example, the Heathrow Express trains (which operate on a 15-minute journey between Paddington Station and Heathrow Airport) have carriages fitted with large flat-panel TV monitors to show TV programs and advertising. This advertising medium does have significant potential to influence passengers, primarily because it is specifically designed to reach the very attractive market of business travelers (60% of passengers on these trips), who typically do not pay much attention to traditional media. As we see, simple and not particularly new technologies can be used. When ScotRail wanted to project its advertising onto the sides of Scottish monuments, it initially planned to use a state-of-the-art computer imaging system, but a conventional 35mm film projector was sufficient. While technology can provide advertisers with good publicity, as was the case when Adidas projected an ad onto the white steep slopes of Dover, ultimately the larger concern for outdoor advertisers is whether additional ways of amplification can be found. brand in target markets?
Traditional advertising is becoming more and more expensive. Standard media is full of advertising, and therefore companies constantly have to look for free and new places that can still get the attention of the audience. A public toilet is one such place. A number of studies have revealed that advertising in the toilet does not irritate the majority of respondents at all. At the same time, the memorability of such advertising, according to ROMIR Monitoring, is 64%. In addition, of these 64% who remembered the advertisement, half were also able to name the name of the product, which is a fairly high indicator.
In Russia, advertising in toilets appeared not so long ago. However, restrooms gained worldwide popularity as a means of advertising only in the 90s, so this method can be called relatively new. Today, advertising in toilets is one of the striking examples of non-standard media. At the same time, placement in the toilet has a number of quite significant advantages, such as a high degree of advertising memorability, good targeting, increased attention and a number of others.
Another important point that makes toilet advertising attractive is its large audience reach. According to statistics, about 70% of visitors to public places always look into the toilet. It is also worth noting that the restroom is a fairly quiet place. It is usually quiet there, there are no competitors advertising. Toilets in Russia are not yet a very active place for advertising, so this looks original and invariably attracts attention
If we talk about segmentation possibilities, they are also quite high. We are talking not only about the gender and age of visitors, but also about social status and hobbies - all this is achieved through the correct choice of location. If you need to reach wealthy people, then an expensive restaurant will do, but if students are interested, then a youth cinema or night club.
The benefits also include ample opportunities to wow your audience. The toilet contains various means that allow you to approach placement as creatively as possible and make memorable advertising.
Of course, such advertising also has one deterrent factor. Not every brand approves of advertising in the toilet, fearing for its reputation. This situation is gradually changing. If previously only relevant brands were advertised in toilets - hygiene products and condoms - today the list of companies is extremely long.
By and large, there are quite a lot of ways to place advertising in the toilet today. The most typical and simplest is a regular poster. The negative side of such advertising is that it is not very original. And this can be important when using advertising in non-standard media, which is the toilet. However, sometimes there are combined methods, when a regular poster is supplemented with something else.
Social advertising quite often uses this platform for placement. The reason for this is precisely the possibility of placement. Clubs and bars are places where you can educate people about the dangers of drugs and the consequences of drunk driving. One of the best examples of this type of advertising is the Arrive Alive campaign in South Africa. In this case, the placement was the floor and walls of the toilet, on which there were pictures of drunk people, whose T-shirts said that they were fine and the problem would go away when they got behind the wheel.
The advantages of this type of placement are obvious, so it is not surprising that more and more companies are not against such advertising of their brand.
We cannot ignore the issue of advertising in toilets. Moreover, the interest of indoor segment participants and advertisers in this site is caused by the high efficiency of advertising placed here. Experts note that advertising in toilets, due to the effect of surprise, is remembered better and often makes a positive impression. In addition, studies conducted in the United States in 2006 showed that the impression of advertising seen in the toilet lasts on average 40% longer than from advertising placed on other media. This is due to the fact that, unlike other platforms, practically nothing distracts a potential buyer from a calm and detailed study of the proposed advertising information: viewing such advertising takes at least two minutes.
The advantage of advertising in toilets lies not only in its guaranteed contact with a potential consumer, but also in the fact that it has undivided attention for a certain period of time.
Em
Guerrilla deodorant Ax (aka Lynx) from the Uruguayan agency Lowe Ginkgo.
Cast shadows make lingerie stickers appear real. By posting these stickers in men's restrooms, Uruguayan advertisers are delivering the message that Ax deodorant is "blowing decent girls' heads off."
The German agency Kempertrautmann has developed a fun guerrilla campaign for the comedy channel Comedy Central.
The Comedy Central television channel believes that even in the toilet you can’t do without a dose of humor. These are the posters that were hung in public toilets right above the urinals. If you have a sense of humor, you won't be able to help but smile.
The Indonesian team from Saatchi & Saatchi showed a creative design for the Roxy Pool Hauz billiards club.
To prepare billiards players for the annual nine-ball competition, the agency placed its message in a place that is very popular with men - the restroom. A ball simulating a billiard ball was placed in the urinals. A message above the urinal encouraged players to practice their swing.
It was decided to place advertisements for horse racing “Horse Racing Alberta” in Canada in public toilets.
Above each of the rows of urinals there was a sign depicting a number, made in the same style that is used at hippodromes to indicate race tracks.
The posters have the inscription: Everything’s a race (Everything in the world is a race).
The creators of the Japanese agency BatesAsia, Japan came up with an original way to promote Braun trimmers. On the mirrors in the men's restrooms, at face level, “beards” from famous Japanese stylists were glued on. In this way, men could try on a new image and evaluate whether it suits them or not.
For those men who doubt what sexual orientation they should identify with, creatives from Selbynolte DDB and activists from the public organization HEIN UND FIETE placed the following prints in public toilets.
OMD Media Direction and Proximity created a non-standard embodiment for advertising the brand “Packaging with Light” from Schering AG, combining both visual and audio elements of perception.
The urinals sang a song to the men about how “love can’t wait.”
The communicators built into these devices reacted to the ingress of liquid, so the song could catch you at the most interesting moment. But you definitely won’t forget it. It’s good that only such truly masculine devices are equipped with communicators - a song from the toilet could become an unbearable blow to someone’s psyche.
Jo
The Gray Argentina agency carried out a guerrilla campaign for Playboy in 2006 under the slogan “I, too, can become the girl of the month.” Sultry Argentine girls were given the opportunity to feel like a star: images of the photographer at work were pasted in public showers and toilets, and beach blankets were also released, designed so that when a girl lays down on it, it’s as if she was on the cover of an erotic gloss.
Stickers in the toilets in the women's toilets of Antwerp highschool: Anorexia and Bulimia Association. Call. Creative by Duval Guillaume.
Russian work from the Shaker agency (St. Petersburg) was placed in women's toilets. Men do not understand it, since it plays on the position that women take in public toilets in order to avoid sitting on the toilet.
Unisex
Georgia Max Coffee has decided to remodel the restrooms at a number of key ski resorts in Japan. The toilet cabins were redesigned in such a way that a person felt like a skier about to make a ski jump.
The Japanese agency Tugboat (Tokyo) tried to convey the stimulating effect of coffee, which gives strength to new achievements.
An interesting campaign by the ARRIVE ALIVE organization against drunk driving took place in South Africa, during which wheelchair wheels were installed in the toilets of bars in Johannesburg.
As you can see in the photo, the overall design resembles a wheelchair. Thus, The Jupiter Drawing Room agency highlighted the consequences of drunk driving.
Another promotion from Arrive Alive. The Jupiter Drawing Room placed stickers of drunk people in the bathrooms of clubs and restaurants.
The people on the stickers claim that everything is fine with them, and in a couple of minutes they will be fine to drive home in their car.
“I just need to clear my stomach.”
“I’ll sober up when I drive. Just give me 5 minutes and I'll be fine."
“I’ve driven like this hundreds of times before. I'll sober up when I get behind the wheel."
A naturalistic campaign against drug addiction took place in university toilets in Lisbon (Portugal).
Going into the toilet between lectures, students could see a frightening picture there - drug addicts taking a dose.
The Canadian chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers is running an advertising campaign in restaurant bathrooms.
The prints, developed for MADD by Calder Bateman Communications - Edmonton, attract attention primarily due to their unusual placement.
Association volunteers “parked” the cars with broken windshields depicted on the posters at urinals and hand dryers, crumpling the corners. The result was an accident reproduced almost in 3D.
An online store selling flowers and gifts launched a guerrilla campaign on the eve of Valentine's Day. In the restrooms of bars, restaurants, and universities, identification boards have been replaced with stickers like these, on which a male figure offers flowers to a female figure. The advertising text was simple - "Valentine's Day? Visit www.uniflores.com.br."
Social workers in toilets against inhumane detention of prisoners
Washbasins
The Italian agency AM-NEWTON21 conducted an unusual campaign in the toilets of nightclubs in Italy.
Sexy Camera is an erotic show using a hidden camera on the Italian TV channel FX.
As part of the campaign, the face of a soap dispenser was styled to resemble an attractive girl in a short skirt in men's toilets in pubs and gyms. Thus, when receiving a portion of soap, the man seemed to put his hand under the beauty’s skirt.
It's nice when sweating can be controlled. WNZ Creative conveys the message that BodyIce deodorant is an indispensable assistant in the fight against sweating. For this purpose, Chinese creators stuck a guerrilla armpit sticker in a public toilet. The message this sticker conveys is pretty easy to read - using BodyIce deodorant can stop you sweating as easily as turning on a faucet.
The guerrilla campaign of the French professional union of private detectives took place in the toilets of Paris.
The Rapp Collins Paris agency proposed the concept “What if?...” - within the framework of this idea, stickers with horns were pasted on mirrors in restaurants and other public places in the city.
To make consumers aware of the superior color quality of Hewlett Packard printers over conventional inkjet printers, the Indonesian agency Publicis attached the casings of these devices above mirrors in bathrooms.
Thus, visitors to the toilets could be convinced that the copy (albeit a mirror one) from HP was no different in color from the original. The text also matched: “The true colors of life.”
By placing a perforated Modess Maxi sticker at the bottom of the sinks of women's toilets (the hole is where the drain is), McCann Erikson was able to create a good effect - no matter how much liquid you pour, the gasket absorbs everything.
Chinese McCann Healthcare showed what a truly “mirror-clean pan” looks like.
A sheet of thick black paper with a cut out silhouette of a pot or kettle, a little glue, a mirror - and here we have an example of guerrilla creativity - an advertisement for Tongda detergent for nickel-plated surfaces. “Stainless reflection” is the slogan.
Another mix of the ideological heritage of the Soviet past and the cliches of the Western present was created by South African advertisers from the Lowe Bull agency, who developed a “Russian” campaign for Russian Bear Vodka.
Posters appeared in the toilets of nightclubs in Cape Town, at first glance one could see a supposedly certain phrase in Cyrillic. However, looking at the poster in a mirror image, the phrase was read in pure English: Real Men Don't Drink and Drive.
“Sometimes attention is the only thing he needs,” says the TUCCA Association for Children and Adolescents with Cancer. And it illustrates this extremely touchingly. The social campaign involved stickers with a photo of a child, which were placed on mirrors in front of washbasins in Brazilian toilets. Are you washing your hands? Look in the mirror and find out how you can cleanse your soul with these hands.
"Who's here? Boys? Very good! And girls? Great! What are you doing here?
“We’re playing cards... like a fool.”
- ...Today is a game, tomorrow is gambling... A distraction from creative work! I speak clearly?"
film "Welcome or no outsiders allowed!"
A great example of custom advertising in Indore is washrooms. Due to the limited space, coupled with the lack of competitors and the forced long stay of people in the restrooms, this type of advertising invariably attracts attention and is well remembered.
Advantages of this type of advertising:
- Ability to target advertising to male and female audiences
- Inevitable consumer contact with advertising - 90% of visitors to cafes, restaurants, shopping malls, cinemas visit toilets
- High ad recall. According to Romir Monitoring, almost 64% remember advertisements seen in restrooms
- Ability to use non-standard solutions and approaches to advertising
- Prolonged contact. The visitor has nowhere to look, so he will pay attention to the advertisement.
Main places for advertising and popular formats
The most popular advertising placements in restrooms are posters and stickers at sinks, above urinals. Such advertising can be placed in restrooms of shopping and entertainment complexes, cafes and restaurants, and sports clubs.
Most often, such posters are placed on the inside of toilet stalls or near washbasins. As a rule, A3 or A4 is used above urinals, A3 or A2 is used on booths, and A2 is used near washbasins. For example, sports clubs often use an A3 framed poster or an A4 door sticker.
Various are used sticker formats: stickers on mirrors, in toilet and shower stalls, as well as on lockers in changing rooms.
In men's restrooms there are more advertising posters, since they are placed above each urinal, and in women's restrooms there are fewer, since they are often located next to the washbasins. For example, a movie theater may have 10-15 posters in the men's restrooms and only 3-4 in the women's restrooms. The cost of one poster in large cities is from 2,000 to 6,500 rubles per month.
Advertising works better in cinemas interactive mirrors.
Posted in video format, duration from 15 to 45 seconds. The principle of operation is as follows: a sensor is built into the mirrors, which reacts to the movement of a person at a distance of 40 cm, it turns on the broadcast of the video.
Cost of placement on interactive mirrors is not fixed, it all depends on the number of audience contacts with advertising. In places with high traffic, the price can reach 60,000 rubles per month, in places with low traffic - 35,000 rubles per month.
To achieve the maximum effect from advertising, you need to use creative solutions, for example, the sudden appearance of a mustache or beard, as the creatives of the Mirror-TV agency did for the Gillette company:
Social advertising can also be placed on interactive mirrors. Here is one of the shocking videos dedicated to the fight against drunk driving, posted in one of the toilets:
Vending machines for the sale of hygiene products have not yet been installed in all universities, but, nevertheless, they are most popular here.
For the sale of hygiene products in restrooms, they are often installed in women's restrooms.
The cost here is significantly lower than that of competing restroom formats. Complete vending branding can cost about 4,000 - 5,000 rubles per month, the price per sticker ranges from 1,500 - 3,000 rubles per month. It is important to understand that the size of a vending machine selling hygiene products is smaller than that of coffee or snack machines, but, nevertheless, such a medium is also very effective.
In America and Europe, other interesting formats are also common: at urinals, advertising on hand dryers, monitors mounted on the wall right in front of the urinal, etc.
Let's calculate the estimated cost of an advertising campaign in St. Petersburg for a company that sells electric hair curlers. Advertising in restrooms is a win-win for these types of organizations for three reasons. Firstly, 100% hit the target audience. Secondly, this is a product that is used mainly in bathrooms. Thirdly, such companies have a small turnover, so the advertising budget is usually limited. We will place the advertisement in a shopping complex with an average traffic of 200,000 people per month, since this is where the product sales point is located. on each floor there is one women's toilet with 15 stalls. The cost of a poster for one booth is about 4,500 rubles. The price for placing advertising posters on each toilet stall will be 67,500 rubles. The cost of a contact will be 2.25 rubles, which is much cheaper than advertising in other places.
Advertising in toilet rooms- a non-standard type of placement that attracts the attention of visitors. The most commonly used media are interactive mirrors, stickers on doors, and branding of vending machines. Visitors spend quite a lot of time alone with advertising and have time to remember it, so such advertising is an original solution for conducting your