City Advertising

Engaging with an urban audience is key in modern-day advertising. Out of home advertising is now recognized as a powerful and cost-effective tool of conveying a brand’s message to thousands, if not millions, of potential consumers. But what does appeal to trendy urbanites living fast-paced lives and who are constantly on the go?

It can be tricky to get the right balance when it comes to urban audience engagement. To get an advertisement just right requires a thorough understanding of your target audience and an experienced team behind you. 

Location is key when it comes to out of home advertising - big advertising requires big spaces. However, choose an area that’s too busy and congested and your ad will get lost in its surroundings, choose a quiet, suburban area and your ad will look isolated and out of place. Top advertising agencies have identified that and recognized that there are pockets of hot spot advertising locations in every city worldwide.

Take London, for example. The past decade or so has seen a huge rise in East London’s popularity. It’s now home to the trendiest of urbanites who can be seen bargain hunting on Brick Lane and socialising in Shoreditch. This up-and-coming area which is now home to geek chic and vintage fashion is also a prime location for advertising campaigns. Unlike Central London which is cramped with shops and offices that go on as far as the eye can see, East London still has vast open spaces and many disused buildings and warehouses; many of which are perfect to use as advertising spaces. Anything and everything goes in East London and the same can be said for advertising in the area. From huge building wraps to traditional poster advertising, nothing looks out of place. With its growing reputation as one of the most creative hubs within the UK, if not the world, brands would be foolish not to take advantage of this and create engaging advertising campaigns that target the coolest of urban audiences.

And many brands have already done so. Microsoft’s painted buildings, Absolut’s ‘blank canvas’ bottles at Old Street station and Wreck-it Ralph’s pixelated street at Truman Brewery on London's Brick Lane are all testament to the growing popularity of creative advertising in these areas. blowUP media’s giant poster campaign for Daft Punk on a particularly prominent building in the area was also a huge success, connecting with the local audience who went on to bring others into the conversation through social media.

The great thing about advertising in an up-and-coming area full of creative people is that the advertisements placed in that area can fully reflect their surroundings, providing much scope for creativity when creating your ad. This format of advertising is effectively an extension to the ‘Banksy’ feel or the area - the catchier the slogan and edgier the look, the greater the results in urban spaces. If you get it right, advertising in these urban areas can go a long way to help you build a brand successfully.