Riding adverts

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Suzanne Campbell was in New York City, USA, a year ago when she saw her future business riding past.

"I saw two men ride by me with an advertising billboard towed behind them. I thought 'Cool - is anybody doing this is Jamaica?'," she told Automotives.

A year and a few clients later, Campbell's Cycle Media Jamaica is taking advertising into the thick of traffic in the capital city of Jamaica. Her recent project was QD & Ace's 'March Mania Sale' and previous clients have included Hi-Lo (for their Portmore Pines outlet opening), Ellis International's 'Christmas Comedy Show', Sting and, in Montego Bay, a supermarket opening.

Before sending out the riding teams, Campbell said: "I did some research. What is clear is that advertisers are looking for new and exciting ways to capture their markets". And ahead of Cycle Media's official launch in September last year, Campbell also designed the mobile billboards.

"My first design was more rectangular. I showed it to some advertisers, who liked it," she said.

Billboards

Over time, she has modified the design to put some "curves" into the billboards, which are made up on demand and can be built in a day.

To recruit riders, Campbell placed an ad, 'Bicycle Riders Needed', in the newspapers.

"I got a lot of calls. I am very proud that I can employ youth and men who would otherwise be considered unemployable in our society. They are generally from the inner city; I find myself going into places like Waterhouse and I am not afraid," Campbell said.

She also has to understand the roadways and traffic flow, then design the best route for the specific product.

"I map the route as to when the riders should be at a particular location and when they should move. They are monitored and they have been positioning themselves where they are supposed to be," Campbell said. Among the designated stops are traffic lights at major intersections and areas with heavy vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Taking the advertisement to the target audience is a key Cycle Media Jamaica advantage. Campbell said: "I told an advertiser you can advertise in the newspaper and you can expect 400,000 people to see it, but how many are your customers? If you know where they live and what time they move out, we can be there."

So, for the QD & Ace campaign, for example, the riders went into Barbican, St Andrew early in the morning.

Preferred thoroughfares are Constant Spring, Shortwood and Waterloo roads, as well as the area where Half-Way Tree Road intersects with Oxford Road. Also, in the Sunshine City, the large roundabout where Portmore Mall is located is a hot spot in St Catherine.

Although morning and evening peak traffic are no-brainers for maximum product exposure, Campbell said there is still an effort to measure Cycle Media's impact.

"Once we are in peak traffic, we try to count the number of vehicles passing. We can't measure in terms of impact, but you can try to measure the density," Campbell said.

"A lot of people think that direct marketing is very expensive. This is a way to do it without it being very expensive. It is not a scattershot approach, instead it is really direct," Campbell said. "Wherever they live, work, play, we can go there."