The importance of bus shelter advertising

Bus shelters are as old as their counterpart, the buses. They are very important because they make sure that travelling is as comfortable as possible. It allows a traveler to rest and take the load off their feet from rushing from place to place. And they are practically an oasis in the middle of busy cities. Often ignored and sometimes abused with graffiti, they are also at times glorified as a work of art and design. But now, they are anointed with the latest technology. This form of outdoor Marketing And Advertising is rediscovering and reinventing itself in the 21st century.

There are now an increasing number of bus stops that come with a bus shelter. It has become more than just a shade from harsh sun and torrential rains. It has now also become a valid source of income as an advertising and marketing site reaching hundreds of thousand each day. New bus stops are coming with the latest technology for navigating across town using the most basic of public transportation. In addition, they have also become a calling card and town attraction with innovative design and architecture. The next wave of bus shelter designs now incorporate options like bus cards, maps, mobile recharge options, GPS, vandalism protections, latest surveillance equipment, self cleaning technology, eco friendly advertising technology, etc.

There is also an increase in city authorities who are hyping the bus shelter design process. There are publicized design competitions before contracts are awarded. Bus shelters have become a statement of the money prowess, vision of future, inevitable commercial projects and viable revenue generators that are perfect for advertising and marketing.

They have become as much of a tourist attraction as the tourists they are meant to serve and benefit. Inspirations are as diverse as a bus shelter shaped as a goal post, a lemon, a barn, gigantic mushrooms, school bus, discotheque and a bedroom. Designing and building bus shelters are no longer a local affair. It has gone global with cost effective, innovative competition coming for counties as diverse as China, Germany and Eastern Europe. And the design process doesn’t stop there. There is a veritable trade in re-designing existing bus stops to modern designs with state of the art technology in making the commuters experience as exciting and as easy as possible.

As bus shelter designs got innovative so has the Bus Stop Advertising. Because commuters will be staring at these advertisements daily and at multiple times in the same day, advertising moguls have taken it to a whole new dimension. There are multi-color ads, plasma screens, and even video trailers. The frontiers are still being pushed to bring brands closer to the “common man”. Everyone is getting a piece of the action – food giants, telecom and broadband companies, movies studios, sporting clubs, government announcements, airline/tour and travel companies, etc. Bus Stop Advertisements offers mass marketing in a new garb and dimension. They are the most cost effective form of massive assault on the sense and psyche.