Banner advertising is generally considered an effective means of outdoor advertising. It is often used for grand openings and special promotions, as well as holiday sales. Banner advertising is seen as an alternative to more rigid signs, which are more difficult to install and change. Banners are usually printed on PVC vinyl, with grommets or holes, punched for easy hanging. Because they move easily, they are more likely to catch the attention of a passing pedestrian or motorist than a solid, stationary sign. People often associate banners with grand openings or closing sales, so if they’re looking for bargains, they’ll be drawn to banner ads.
Another type of outdoor advertising is mobile billboards. These come in various sizes and styles. Some are small, like in cities in Japan, while others may be large billboards placed on flatbed trucks, like those you might see at major sporting and music events in the United States. Companies that specialize in these types of ads will track the best routes and the best time of day to drive around a specific city, and usually base part of their price on this knowledge. Some of these rolling billboards have sound and lighting systems, and may even offer product samples.
Buses are another form of advertising for businesses and public service announcements. They can be painted or wrapped in various promotions, and bus stations and canopies are also often used in advertising. On some buses, there are now product displays inside the bus and advertisements can be printed on the back of the bus ticket.
Certain companies now offer surround advertising to private citizens. People can choose to wrap their cars with vinyl promotional signs, which are easy to remove, or choose the more permanent method of painting signs on the car. The company pays the car owner to keep the ad on the car for a certain period of time, usually 1-3 months.
Some people consider blimp advertising to be the ultimate in outdoor promotion. The cost, which is around $300,000, puts blimp advertising out of reach for most people. However, if a company can afford it, it has been shown to be very effective. A company can put just about anything they want on a blimp and can even use it for illuminated nighttime promotion. Currently, there are only about 25 blimps that are used for advertising in the world.