Get wild & clingy with your client Guerilla signage that comes down without a trace By Kathy Prentice Products used in guerilla marketing are evolving as the method of reaching consumers grows in popularity. Be wild but clean up after yourself might be the evolving motto. Wild postings can now be printed on static-cling material that comes down as easily as it goes up, leaving no impressions except the desired ones--on the eyeballs of consumers. To find out how to get your client’s message posted in the most unlikely spaces, read on. This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly. Fast Facts What Ads printed on unique static-cling posters and distributed as a form of wild posting or guerilla media. Who Alt Terrain LLC, headquartered in Boston. How it works Ads are produced on static-cling material and posted in guerilla fashion in areas that are often traditionally restricted from media. They’re called static-cling posters or stickers. Static-cling posters are made of a thin plastic material that holds a strong static charge so that they will adhere to any flat surface for an extended period of time. Brick, wood and cold metal are all usable surfaces. If left untouched they can remain on the surface for several weeks or even months without leaving any residue. Most static-cling programs are placed without authorization throughout metro markets and college campuses on poles, walls, kiosks, construction site walls, student lockers and in restrooms. MSN8 launched in New York City in a blaze of butterflies that appeared on buildings, storefronts, statues and subway exits. The flocks, comprised of 17,000 static-clings, appeared over a 12-hour period and included a trail that lead consumers to Central Park for a kick-off concert. The New York Times and 166 other papers covered the butterfly barrage. TV news in 50-plus markets also caught it. The cost to Microsoft for littering? A $50 fine issued by New York City. Typically cleaning crews or consumers remove static-cling stickers six to 12 hours after they’re posted, says CEO Adam Salacuse. They make great office and apartment art, Salacuse says. “About 10 percent are collected and re-used, depending on what creative is used.” Advertisers provide creative. Creative can be interactive. “For instance, you can write on each one. Use them as bracket sheets for a b-ball game.” Salacuse says. Essential creative elements include color, using die-cut images when possible and presenting several different images in one campaign, Salacuse says. If the advertiser has a well-known symbol or logo, it often can be used. In the case of MSN, the butterfly is their symbol. Alt Terrain put them in flocks and let them fly all over the city. Off-the-shelf sizes are 11 inches by 17 inches and five inches by six inches, but posters can be printed in any size and cut into any shape. Posters are die-cut into the shape of products and logos. Creative placement is an essential item in the creative plan, Salacuse says. “Sometimes an overall media plan ties back into the creative concept and the placement is what will make the campaign stand out.” Posting ads on top of competing companies’ posters is one of the hottest branding tools on the streets targeting young adult consumers. Static-clings are perfect because they only highjack the ad space for a short period of time, Salacuse says. Branding and new product launches including events, new TV shows, movie premieres and video games targeting young adults are the primary uses of static-clings. Alt Terrain recommends using several media pieces and marketing channels with static-clings to bring the advertiser’s message to the public’s attention. Static-clings are almost always part of a larger marketing effort, Salacuse says. “It all goes together. It has everything to do with creative and implementation of what you’re doing in conjunction with the other pieces of the campaign. The whole is better than all the parts put together.” Campaigns often take place across multiple markets. Advertisers are typically large, national companies. Markets Static-clings are available in the top 25 metro markets and on large college campuses. In Northeast and Midwest markets it’s best to implement campaigns in the spring, summer and fall, Salacuse says. How measured? On average, static-cling posters provide 350 to 850 impressions over a six to eight hour period, Salacuse says. Market placement is a factor. When consumers collect and display them, exposure is increased. What product categories do well? Anything from magazines to movies to tech does well, Salacuse says. “It’s B to C, or business to consumer rather, than business to business.” Demographics The program can be designed to be relevant to any age. Specific consumer groups can be targeted by location. “To reach certain demographic profiles static-clings can be placed in certain neighborhoods frequented by that target,” Salacuse says. Making the buy Lead-time is 30 days from approval of creative. Factors that affect cost include size of poster, number of pieces, number of markets and any variables in the execution of the campaign. “For example, putting up 17,000 posters in one night costs more than posting 17,000 over a period of two weeks,” Salacuse says. Cost range from $2.99 to $4.99 per piece for production and placement. A minimum order is 5,000 pieces, which can be spread over three markets. There is no maximum order. Who’s already on static-cling stickers? “Since we classify static-cling posters as guerilla media, we keep our clients’ work confidential,” Salacuse says. (See the attached illustrations.) What they’re saying “This is one component of what guerilla media is all about. It can be placed in locations that are unreachable for other media. Consumers know the difference between traditionally placed media and guerilla-placed media. They know that the type of placement lends to the personality of the brand and that cooler companies or brands go against the grain and do something maybe not so legitimate and that lends to the credibility of certain brands. The message stands out. Media that’s guerilla-placed stands out ten times more than traditional media.” - Adam Salacuse, CEO of Boston-based Alt Terrain Web site info Alt Terrain at www.altterrain.com January 12, 2004© 2004 Media Life -Kathy Prentice writes about out-of-home advertising  for Media Life, penning her stories from the resort town of Traverse City, in the upper reaches of Michigan.