The power of street furniture allows you to target specific demographics and remind them of your message multiple times per day or week. In any industry, repeated ad exposure is vital to the success of a marketing campaign. Chicago bus shelter ads are key in unlocking that ongoing presence in your audience’s routine.
Why Street Furniture Advertising?
Street furniture encompasses any advertising installed on structures for public transportation. Oftentimes installed on bus shelters, this format gives you a unique touchpoint with traffic traveling by foot, car, and public transit. For travelers waiting on their bus, sitting at a red light, or walking along sidewalks, there is an extended period of time spent with your ad.
Unlike an online ad that is gone in the blink of an eye, street furniture is a lasting fixture and 24-hour reminder of your brand, service, or product. In the age of smartphones, it has never been more difficult to keep consumers’ attention. Street furniture is a unique approach to creating a personal connection in an unobtrusive way. Our standard bus stop ads are placed at eye level, measuring at a sizeable yet approachable 4 feet by 6 feet. This size and format are designed to be seen up-close or across an intersection. Whether you plan to promote a simple tagline and QR code, or more complex custom imagery, this is the place for your message to shine.
Because they are outside city limits, street furniture ads are one of the lowest-cost forms of out-of-home advertising. They allow you to reach the untapped commuter, traveler suburban resident populations in a budget-friendly way.
Many different types of campaigns can succeed in the street furniture format. From the national corporation trying to cover the market to a small business searching for ways to attract foot traffic in their neighborhood, there is truly a strategy for everyone. Some of the common industries we work with on street furniture include realtors, tech services, dentists and orthodontists, home services, restaurants, and alcohol and liquor brands, but any business can find success with street furniture ads.
1. Boost Your Hyperlocal Presence
When you think of outdoor advertising, billboards may come to mind. But, billboards lack the suburban coverage that street furniture can offer. If you are a national brand looking to create a hyperlocal impact, or a more local company looking to increase awareness and sales in your backyard, street furniture is the way to do just that. Our Chicagoland bus shelter ads are the solution for reaching suburban populations where there are few other opportunities. Our street furniture is located near popular commercial areas and along highly-traveled roads for maximum impact.
Covering 350 miles of suburban Chicago, our street furniture ads alone yield 37,000,000 weekly impressions. Combined with our downtown inventory, we provide bus shelter ads throughout 94% of the Chicago designated market area so that you can have an influence in the most opportune areas.
Street furniture gives you the ability to create location-specific ads. Simple messages like “ice cold drinks one block ahead,” or “find us on Main Street” direct travelers and build awareness of your brand. Another way to use your location’s strengths is to change your ad based on the neighborhood or street. If you are advertising in a Spanish-speaking area, you could swap out the ad copy for a Spanish translation. The options for targeted reach are endless.
2. Meet Your Demographic Where They Are Every Day
When you think of Chicago, you might envision the bustling streets of the city and high-rise office buildings. But, the spirit of Chicago trickles into 52 suburbs. Many Chicagoans who work or play in the metro area actually live in the surrounding suburbs and commute daily, and on the other hand, many city dwellers commute to jobs in the suburbs. More than 600,000 commuters make one of these two journeys to get to work.
Whether they’re traveling by car or public transit, the average commuter in the Chicagoland area has a one-way commute of about 30 minutes. Longer than the national average, this is plenty of time for bored travelers to take note of their surroundings and the street furniture ads that become a part of their daily routine.
3. Own Chicago’s Suburbs with Bus Shelter Ads
Choosing the location of your bus stop ad placement gives you the ability to choose what types of populations will be viewing your ad on a daily basis. All of our locations have been strategically planned along high-traffic routes and near landmarks and popular retail areas.
Through the data we’ve collected on each of our suburban locations, we’ve made targeting your ideal demographic simple. Whether you would like to focus on a market within a certain household income bracket, marital status, cultural background, or age, we can help you find those ideal sites. Here are just a few of the most popular areas where we place street furniture.
Berwyn
A population-dense suburb, Berwyn is family-oriented and contains notable landmarks and parks. Over 55,000 individuals call Berwyn home, with a median age of 35 and an average household income of about $75,000 annually. Berwyn is 20 minutes from The Loop, and attracts visitors to its Route 66 Museum and 16h Street Theater.
Cicero
Neighboring Berwyn, Cicero is a vibrant and diverse community with a strong Hispanic presence and over 82,000 residents. Its median age is 30 and the average household income is about $62,000. Major landmarks include a busy race track and the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.
See more information on Cicero demographics.
Des Plaines
Just north of O’Hare International Airport and traversed by two interstate highways, I-90 and I-294, this suburb has almost an urban feel. Advertising in this area guarantees you an audience of both travelers and residents. The population of Des Plaines is over 58,000, with a median age of 43. Its average household income is $90,000 annually and 52% of residents are married.
Find out more about Des Plaines.
Lincolnwood
If your goal is to reach retirees and older, more affluent individuals, Lincolnwood is a great option. It is a smaller suburb with just over 12,000 residents, many of whom are over 40 and married. The buying power is strong here, with the average household income at about $124,000. Lincolnwood borders the city and has many recreational areas, parks, and shopping and dining attractions.
Find more on Lincolnwood here.
Morton Grove
With significant commercial and industrial areas and an affluent population, Morton Grove is a rare and highly sought-after market. It boasts easy access to Northwestern University and the rest of the Chicago metropolitan area. The median age of Morton Grove’s 23,000 residents is 47 and the average household income is $101,000. 59% are married.
See more on Morton Grove here.
Park Ridge
Located near O’Hare International Airport and only 15 miles from downtown, Park Ridge is a scenic area with an affluent population. Its many historic landmarks include the Pickwick Theatre. Ads throughout Park Ridge give you access to a high-demand demographic. The population is over 37,000, and the average household income is $161,000.
Find more about Park Ridge here.
Rosemont
Reach travelers with street furniture throughout the suburb of Rosemont. It’s located at the intersection of 3 major highways, adjacent to O’Hare Airport, and is a thriving destination for tourism, entertainment, conventions, and trade shows. Rosemont’s entertainment district, hotels, museums, and arena have a constant flow of car and bus traffic.
View our other available bus shelter locations in the Chicago suburbs here.
Not sure where you should advertise? Get a custom location report here.
5. Street Furniture Amplifies Your Digital Efforts
Many major international brands use out-of-home and digital advertising simultaneously, for good reason. OOH is the most effective offline channel for driving online activity, according to a Nielsen study. Furthermore, the study found that “online activations including search, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram activity generated by OOH indexes at about four times the expected rate given its relative ad spend.” Out-of-home ads have been found to increase the potency of online campaigns by 40% and TV ads by over 300%.
The ability to target users in specific neighborhoods exists in street furniture and online advertising, meaning that you can reach your ideal audience on multiple levels. This reinforces your brand’s message, making it significantly more likely that viewers will make a purchase or contact you for services. We recommend creating your marketing campaigns with a cohesive message across your paid search, social media, and outdoor advertising for this reason. Consider adding a QR code, social media icon, or weblink to your street furniture creative. A QR code can be quickly scanned with a smartphone by any passerby or commuter waiting at their bus stop. Social media icons and website links give your viewer the next step to take if they see your ad and want to learn more about what you have to offer.
Getting Started
Reaping the many benefits of Chicago bus shelter advertising is within your reach. We’ve made the process of getting started simple and convenient and will be here every step of the way to make sure you are getting the most out of your advertising package.
Creative
You may have an on-staff designer to help you with the artwork for your ad. If you are a smaller company without a designer, we can assist you in creating an ad that reflects your brand, grabs your audiences’ attention, and generates a return on your investment.
Budget
If you are ready to get started with planning your street furniture ad budget, keep in mind that the final cost will depend on many factors, but here are the three principal ones:
1. Quantity of Locations
We have 700 individual displays throughout Chicago’s suburbs ready to display your message. Choosing the best number of ads and ad locations is up to you, but we are here to help you form a winning strategy for your business. You may want to pair your suburban street furniture with hotspots or wallscapes in the metro area for maximum coverage. Ad packages are completely customizable to your budget and marketing goals.
2. Length of Commitment
To decide how long you would like your ad to be displayed, consider the ongoing and seasonal marketing campaigns you have planned. We usually rent advertising for 4 weeks at a time. However, the longer you keep your ad running, the more cost-effective it may be as we can provide more deals
3. When You Would Like to Start
Due to the nature of outdoor advertising, it is best to reserve ad space as soon as possible. If you are looking for a rush job, expect a slight price increase because of the added expense to set up an ad in hurry. Also, keep in mind that a summer campaign in the Chicagoland area will cost more than a campaign in the winter months when people are spending less time outdoors.
Generally, our street furniture panels in the suburbs surrounding Chicago are priced in monthly terms. This means that if a billboard is priced at $2,000, for example, that cost covers four weeks. Street furniture can range in cost from $400 - $1,000 per month depending on your chosen location(s) and time commitment. You should also factor in costs for the design of your creative and the installation of your ad. If you would like to receive a custom pricing quote, contact us today.
To learn more about Chicago suburb bus shelter ads, download our free e-book, Street Furniture: Expansive Coverage Across Chicagoland.
Interested in learning more about showcasing your brand in Chicago’s suburbs?