Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising can be highly impactful if done correctly. There are many options and platforms for brands to venture into OOH advertising which often promotes creativity and unconventional.
Perhaps one of the more overlooked media in OOH is toilet advertising. While it is regarded as unusual, this platform can be hugely successful.
Understanding toilet advertising?
In a recent study involving toilet behavior, it was found that more than 40% of the respondents spend an average of 3 to 4 minutes in the toilet every visit. This represents the average time of a YouTube video today. Toilet advertising involves brand messages communicated across the many areas of a public toilet. Getting around with toilet advertising can be challenging and at times tricky. This is because not every brand would resonate well in the public toilet and not every consumer is comfortable with such an arrangement as it is in a space known for waste and unwanted stuff. Toilet advertising generally covers all the public toilets operating in spaces such as shopping malls, hospitals, F&B outlets, commercial areas and others.
Reaching the target market
If you own a brand and are looking into placing ads in public toilets, the target market is crucial. It must first be noted that every person who walks into a mall will be a potential target market. Every person in the mall would most likely need to use the toilet at one time or another. Hence, the target market of the mall becomes the main segment for the advertiser. The same principle must be applied to other spaces whether the toilet ad is in the hospital, a university or in a restaurant.
Where are the toilet ads?
Toilet ads can be found in various locations including:
- At the entrance – Posters or light boxes in front of the male and female doors into the toilets. This will usually involve ads from popular retail brands like drinks, alcoholic beverages and others.
- Vending machines – Vending machines are ideal advertising platforms for brand owners such as Durex (condoms), Kotex (sanitary pads), Premier (tissue paper), etc. These are often regarded as essential items and can enhance brand awareness.
- Behind doors of toilet cubicles – Common in both male and female toilets. It was found that the average time spent in the toilet cubicles are 6 minutes among males and 8 minutes among females. Staring at an ad (behind the door) when they are in the cubicle will give the ad a lot of focus time.
- Top of urinals – Specifically meant for the male toilets, the target customer spends an average of 2 minutes staring at the ad during every session.
Brand messaging in toilets
When an ad appears in the toilet, the message that it carries must be relevant to the viewer. This is highly dependent on which toilet it belongs to.
- If it is a hospital toilet, brand messaging here must be mindful of the readers as their mindset can be more mellow and peaceful. A person who reads an ad in the toilet cubicle would appreciate the need for privacy. Awareness about mental illness, sexual harassment and sensitive situations would be suitable for such settings.
- If it is a shopping mall toilet, ads by retail brands operating in the mall could enjoy some mileage. Patrons are in the toilet for a quick refresh and a last-minute reminder of the brand would give it a lot of recall.
- If it is the toilet in a club or pub, ads by the alcoholic or tobacco brands would be seen whether at the entrance, in the toilet and in the cubicles. Such ads are there for top-of-mind recall and for future purchases.
- Toilets in universities The target market here are university students who are in their late teens and early 20s. As such, they are all about lifestyle, sports, enjoying life as well as studying. Rooms for rent, books for sale, stationeries and shopping are some of the common ads seen in these toilets.
- Toilets in corporate offices would usually be posted by certain agencies or bodies. This is the space where the viewer will have some form of privacy. Hence, calls for reports of sexual harassment, stress-related illnesses or anger management can be advertised here that prompts the viewer to respond with a call, text or email.
