Sweet places for ads
Written by Shirley Lichti for The Record, June 16, 2004

When it comes to advertising, it seems that no stone has been left unturned in the quest to get messages to consumers. But just when you think you've seen it all, leave it to marketers to find ever new and creative ways of breaking through the clutter.

Sweet Ads
Capitalizing on the fact that Canadians drink more coffee per capita than just about any other country, one company has found a sweet opportunity for reaching coffee lovers - via advertising on sugar packets.

Toronto-based Sugar Media & Communications believed the industry needed a new medium to reach affluent urban masses.

The average consumer visits a coffee shop 3.5 times a week, allowing advertisers to reach same consumer an average of 14 times a month. Since consumers have to pick up the advertising vehicle - the sugar packet - the company knew the ads would be seen.

CBC used a Sugar Media campaign to promote its Canada Reads program in 98 Timothy's World Coffee Cafes across Ontario in February. Its message, also promoted on tent cards on tables and posters, was very well received by customers who appreciated seeing the link between Timothy's and literacy.

In-Store Programming
Chains such as Wal-mart and Best Buy have installed monitors playing in-house TV shows, complete with advertising. Since more than 70 per cent of consumers make buying decisions at the point-of-purchase, the value proposition is sound.

Coming this month, you will be able to view 15-second ads in between news, sports scores, weather and road reports on TV-style screens at Esso gas stations in Toronto. Test sites last winter showed that captive audiences, who spend between three to four minutes refuelling their vehicles, watched the screens and had very positive feedback.

TV monitors are being used in more than just retail environments. If you've visited a health care professional recently, you probably spent time idly waiting prior to your appointment.

Professional Health Services Network (PHSN-TV) delivers 90-minute loops of health related programming to waiting rooms areas in medical, dental and chiropractic offices. Ads run between segments changing the waiting room experience into an educational and potentially entertaining one.

Audio Ads
If you are dead tired when doing the grocery shopping, you might miss ads on the floor. But I suspect you may be jolted awake by new talking floor ads.

Floorgraphics, a New Jersey firm, has patented a talking advertising tag that is triggered when shoppers hit the right spot. A microchip emits a voice recording drawing the attention to and describing products to consumers.

Urinal ads are not new, and men have become accustomed to seeing ads strategically placed at eye level.

The latest technology places ads in the bowl of the urinal. Flashing lights draw attention to the ads, which can be activated either by a person's physical presence or by urinating onto a waterproof 3.5 inch screen.

The ad, which contains lenticular images, changes depending on the angle from which it is viewed. The screen can also deliver an audio message of up to 16 seconds.

I'm not sure how well this technology will be received in bars where patrons have been consuming alcoholic beverages, although it might have a sobering effect.

Motion-activated Ads
Another advertising innovation is motion-activated devices. Imagine walking past soft drinks in store refrigerators and having them light up.

A device called visi-strobe, by Connecticut-based Crew Design, detects consumers as they walk by and triggers individual beverage containers inside the fridge to turn bright green.

The technology was successfully tested in U.S. convenience stores last summer and a promotion is in the works for Pepsi-Cola Co.'s Mountain Dew.

Sticker Ads
You've probably seen sticker ads on fruit. The most recent campaign of note promoted the Finding Nemo DVD with well-placed stickers on bananas in grocery stores.

Well now there are ads on eggs. A Quebec firm, Les Affichages Egg Ads (Egg Ads Media) applies polymer labels directly onto eggshells. The average Canadian household goes through three dozen eggs a month. Each one must be handled, so consumers are sure to see the high quality ads which can be produced in an unlimited choice of colours.

Baseball Sell-Out?
Not all new advertising ideas go over well. To promote Spider-Man 2, scheduled to open in theatres on June 30, Major League Baseball, Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced a plan to feature ads on the bases in 15 stadiums of teams playing interleague games in June.

The deal was worth $100,000 each to teams like the Yankees and Red Sox. But the organizations backed off when polls showed more than 70 per cent of fans didn't approve.

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