Ambient Advertising and its role in the digital world

A popular idea in the advertising world is the notion of a fully integrated marketing campaign (IMC). The essential idea behind this is that no communication should exist on its own. That is to say that an advertisement should not only appear on television or in a newspaper but it should be communicated over several different mediums. This is the best way to generate maximum exposure for a campaign and hopefully generate more sales. 


More and More are we seeing traditional forms of media interacting online and other non-traditional mediums. We will now explore how an non traditional ambient campaign can be its most effective when it interacts with an social media campaign and user generated content.  


Firstly, let us understand what ambient advertising is, ambient advertising is a relatively new form of advertising that uses non-traditional means to communicate a brand, product or even an idea. 


Ambient advertising is often mistakenly referred to as guerilla marketing or ambush marketing, this is a misconception, as one of the key differences is the lack of human interaction.  Wehleit (2003), a marketing academic highlights this notion  claiming that,  “ambient advertising exists in non-traditional media formats without direct interaction.” 


Ambient advertising interacts with the external environment that is not used for advertising in a traditional sense.  for example, coaster, petrol pumps, even the back seats of taxi's can become avenues for brands to communicate with the public. However, if this form of advertising becomes mainstream it loses its ability to be strictly classified as 'ambient'. 




Below is an example of how the 'Quit' foundations highlights its message of smoking causes blindness. 

As we know a major part of using digital media involves the use of social media and user generated content. 

The connection between social media and ambient advertising is highly relevant as the success or failure of an ambient campaign can be determined by measuring the digital success of the advertisement in terms of online 'Buzz.'   

If the ambient campaign is highly creative users are likely to either video, or photograph the advertisement and share it on  social media networks or even write a blog about it. This enables the advertisement to reach far more people, as the advertisement is viewed not only by people passing in the street but potentially an entire world. 

Whilst to some extent companies are able to post pictures of their campaign on the internet, like any other form of advertising it is its most effective when it is striking and highly creative. 

For more information on ambient advertising please feel free to read Jono and my blog on ambient advertising @ ambientjn.blogspot.com