Trolley advertising revenues have rocketed from pounds 400,000 in
1996 to pounds 4.5 million this year, according to a report from poster
specialist Outdoor Connection.
Considered by some to be an unprofessional ’cottage industry’ until
recently, the total number of trolley sites has climbed dramatically,
rising from 471,336 in 1997 to 1.4 million in 1999. Outdoor Connection
predicts the rise will continue and that trolley ad revenues will hit
the pounds 7 million mark in 2000.
This upturn has been driven mainly by The Media Vehicle, which has
invested heavily in smartening up the medium. It also persuaded Tesco
and Safeway to start using trolley advertising - something which neither
supermarket had done prior to 1998. Tesco is only trialling ads on
trolleys at half of its stores, but it is considering a national
roll-out.
Jessica Hatfield, founder and chairman of The Media Vehicle, said:
’Trolley advertising was always very badly run - Happy Christmas
messages in June on peeling sites. We think we have elevated the
medium.
’We have 250 fully trained fitters and use high-quality inks. We don’t
stick one ad on top of another and we actually police the trolleys to
ensure that doesn’t happen. The result of our professionalism is that
national advertisers and big brands want to get involved, and that makes
it attractive for the retailers.’
Seven of the top ten trolley advertisers come from the UK’s top 30 ad
spenders, according to Outdoor Connection’s report. And Hatfield said it
was not now out of the question that one advertiser could spend as much
as pounds 1.5 million on the medium.
Kellogg’s, Mars, Nestle, Van Den Bergh Foods and Walls Birds Eye spend
pounds 3.2 million between them, accounting for 71 per cent of trolley
adspend.
Drinks advertisers take second place, spending pounds 900,000, while
cosmetics and toiletry advertisers account for another 7 per cent of
adspend.
The report is also bullish about the medium’s future, pointing out that
tests show trolley ads deliver as much as 20 per cent sales uplift. The
Media Vehicle is so confident that it offers advertisers money-back
guarantees.
The Media Vehicle is hatching plans to expand its trolley advertising
scheme onto the Continent. Although other contractors now want to muscle
in, Hatfield pointed out that she has signed up the retailers on
long-term contracts. ’We are never complacent,’ she said.
’We constantly look for ways to improve our service. But I am confident
those contracts will keep rolling over.’
