Could Waiting for the Bus be as Entertaining as Watching TV Ads?
As the saying goes, you wait ages for the bus and then two come along at once. In those moments of waiting, bus shelter advertising emerges as a strategic masterstroke, perfectly positioned to captivate the attention of waiting passengers and passersby alike.
While waiting for the bus may not be the highlight of anyone’s day, these ad placements have the potential to transform mundane moments into unexpected sources of entertainment. Through clever design and compelling messaging, bus shelter advertisements can offer a refreshing break from the routine, turning transit waits into positive experiences that leave a lasting impression and capture consumer engagement.
However, I understand your scepticism. It does sound almost too good to be true. In reality, despite boasting a broad reach (98%) and frequent exposure (an average of 12 times), outdoor advertising typically holds viewers’ attention for just 2 seconds on average. According to System1’s metrics—such as Star-Rating (indicating long-term brand-building potential), Spike-Rating (measuring short-term sales impact), and 2-second Fluency (the percentage correctly associating the brand)—outdoor ads generally achieve only modest performance levels.
This nuanced analysis, conducted in collaboration with JCDecaux, underscores the complex landscape of outdoor advertising effectiveness. While bus shelter ads have the potential to create memorable moments, the reality of fleeting attention highlights the ongoing challenge for marketers to maximise engagement in outdoor campaigns.
The Road to Success
Though findings like these might seem discouraging for advertisers, akin to waiting for a bus, there’s still reason for optimism. A recent analysis of past month bus shelter creatives, tested through System1’s Test Your Ad platform, revealed promising insights. The top 20% of bus shelter ads achieved an average Star-Rating of 2.9 (Star-Rating uses a scale of 1.0-5.9 Stars), surpassing the UK outdoor advertising average of 2.2 Stars and even outshining the UK TV advertising norm of 2.4 Stars. These results highlight the potential of well-crafted bus shelter campaigns to not only break through the clutter of outdoor advertising but also to rival the emotional impact of television ads, offering advertisers a compelling avenue for effective brand communication.
Upon deeper exploration into brands that excelled in 2-second brand recall, the findings were equally compelling. The top-performing brands were recalled by a staggering 20% more consumers compared to the average outdoor campaign. This dual strength in creating lasting awareness and driving heightened long-term commercial outcomes highlights the transformative potential of bus shelter creatives in the outdoor advertising landscape.
So how can brands capitalise on this potential?
Five Features to Stop Commuters in their Tracks
Using insights from System1’s Test Your Ad platform and JCDecaux’s VIM attention tool, which pinpoints the features that attract and hold attention in outdoor campaigns, we dissected the top-performing bus shelter ads to uncover the key elements that resonated most with consumers. As the saying goes, you wait ages to get to the insights, then five come along at once!
1. Make them laugh
Humour emerged as a powerful tool among top-performing creatives. Brands like Strongbow and FulFil used wordplay, while Specsavers crafted humorous scenarios, leading to significant boosts in positive emotion. Despite the challenge in static outdoor ads, humour can be effectively integrated into campaigns.
Specsavers’ “Don’t Let Your Specs Get in the Way” campaign, depicting young lovers unable to kiss because of their glasses, suggested contact lenses as a playful solution. The call to action, “Try Contact Lenses Free,” was tested in various sizes when the campaign launched last year. Increasing its size made the punchline clearer, driving more dwell time and positive engagement.
2. Keep it simple
With only 2 seconds to make an impact, it’s crucial not to overwhelm your audience. Creatives with a maximum of three items (e.g., product, logo, call to action) saw greater emotional impact and faster brand recognition.
Ads with minimal copy also did well, with higher happiness levels for ads with up to 10 words. Nike’s Euros 2024 campaign with Phil Foden shows this simplicity, achieving 82% average view time on System1’s attention trace and an above-average Star Rating.
3. Brighten their day
Vibrant colours demanded more attention, and brands using bold, distinctive colour cues had a pronounced impact. For example, Extra’s “Be One With Your Gum” campaign, with its bright blue backdrop, achieved the highest attention score. Similarly, brands like Strongbow and Heineken saw greater positive emotion by leveraging bright colour palettes.
4. People engage with people
Including expressive faces or characters drove higher levels of positive engagement. Extra featured a smiling boy, Nike showcased sporting talent Phil Foden, and Specsavers depicted two characters kissing, all of which ranked among the top assets for positive engagement. These features, as identified by Orlando Wood in his books Lemon and Look out, are known to enhance attention and engagement.
Previous research by System1 and JCDecaux has shown that including people in ads increases Star Rating on average by +0.25, highlighting the effectiveness of such strategies in capturing viewer interest and fostering emotional connection.
5. Land your brand
Chloe achieved top performance in 2-second brand recall by prominently featuring their brand logo twice, ensuring recognition among 81% of viewers. In out-of-home advertising, where audio cues are absent, visual prominence is crucial—larger logos attract more attention, while distinctive brand assets enhance engagement and brand recall. Consistency in campaigns, exemplified by Specsavers, also proves beneficial in the long term, fostering familiarity and positive associations among consumers.
Bus shelters are just one of many strategic placements for outdoor advertising. In their “How to Create the Perfect Poster” report, System1 and JCDecaux explore various placements, including rail and mall environments, to uncover best practices for advertisers.