Ambient marketing for those who are bored with advertising
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2025 8:42 am
That is, the answer to the need to break established patterns, and thus surprise people. Because ambientising is primarily supposed to shock in various ways , that is its trick to attract attention. It shocks with creativity and originality, uniqueness and unrepeatability. What forms does it take? I could say that it is very diverse, but that would not be the best answer. So far, ambient marketing is known for buzz marketing (word of mouth), e-mail marketing, guerilla marketing (guerrilla marketing) or viral marketing .
What is used in the implementation of such creations? Literally everything. Every surface in the urban space (billboards, walls, apartment blocks), buses, taxis and cars, metro, tram and bus stops, as well as interior spaces - there are people everywhere. And where there are people, there are ambient ads. Usually, it is only about one-off actions - if something is repeated, it is perceived as permanent, and ambient media should have nothing to do with such features. If the creation of the ad is to scare, then let's agree - no one will be fooled the second time. And even less so the third or fourth time.
It is possible that at this stage you still do not see the difference between regular advertising creative and ambient marketing. It is best if I simply show you examples.
I'm not a series freak, I only know binge-watching from hearsay, but thanks to Netflix's actions, I know all the titles of popular productions available on their platform. I think the ones that stick in my mind the most are "Stranger Things" and "Money Heist." Why? Netflix made sure of that by organizing non-standard promotional campaigns.
Strange things in Warsaw
Stranger Things - Ambient marketing
In October 2017, something happened at one of the bike stations in Warsaw, which really aroused the curiosity and anxiety of people passing by. There is a sticky mess on the racks and no one knows where the city bikes have gone. In their place, there are well-known models from the 80s, namely Wigry and BMX bikes. What's more, they are all entangled in cobwebs and turkey telemarketing data tree branches. Imagine people like me, who live in a world without TV series. They don't realize on the fly that such scenery is typical of a specific production. Zero associations that could solve this riddle. So they start asking questions, checking the Internet, posting photos on InstaStory, calling friends who are known for falling asleep at 3 a.m. watching Netflix. There is a commotion, gossip, gossip and voilà - buzz marketing like a painting! And those who understood the action right away are beside themselves with delight and are crossing out the next days until the premiere of the second season.
Hey, who put that Dali sculpture here?
Paper house - Ambient marketing
Another situation in which it seems that everyone understood, except me. Well, and the Krakow officials, but more on that in a moment. It's July 2019, in the Krakow Market Square, tourists are looking at a sculpture by Salvador Dalí, which is lying next to Mitoraj's head. For some time it was considered an art installation, but after quite a storm on the Internet, the officials understood that it was an ambient action by Netflix and their "Money Heist" . I will only mention that on the sculpture you could find quite a large inscription with the title and the platform's logo. Netflix had to pay a fine of several thousand for this undertaking, but it was worth it - the news spread. Again, the same situation as with "Stranger Things" - fans delighted, me (and others) aware of the existence of such a production.
Are you afraid of nuns?
The Nun - Ambient Marketing
Let's stay on the subject of cinema for a moment. It doesn't matter whether you like horror movies or avoid them, but "The Nun" should be familiar to you. If you used YouTube in 2018, then even more so. The producers decided to invest in unskippable YT ads as part of the ambient . Everything is great, but the creation was so terrifying that those who considered it to be so made quite a fuss. It got loud, YouTube banned "The Nun" ads for sharing shocking content and promoting violence. A failure? Well, not entirely, because it turns out that banning publication is a pretty good way to reach people. The box office, which reached almost $356 million, speaks for itself.
Golden Globes for Water Bottles
Fiji - Ambient Marketing
What do you associate the Golden Globes with? Of course, with awards, actors and actresses, great films and a great celebration of cinema. There is one exception - namely the 2019 ceremony.
It was then that the Fiji brand, which distributes water, decided to steal the show. Fiji's Girls, or hostesses, appeared at the event. Although Fiji has been the official water of the Golden Globes since 2015, it was last year that they decided to invite her to the red carpet. No big deal? It may seem so, but the girls, dressed in purple dresses, appeared "accidentally" in many photos from the event. This is how Fiji water was seen in photos with Dakota Fanning and Jim Carrey. What's more, the whole thing was stirred up on Twitter, which was filled with posts on the subject. There were memes, jokes, an investigation to discover the girls' identities, and many other things that stamped "SUCCESS" on the whole event.
Who are you and why are you inviting me to the cinema?
Red swallow - Ambient marketing
In 2018, the film “Red Sparrow” premiered, produced by 20th Fox Century. Can its promotion be called standard? No. Around the premiere, 20 women dressed and made up exactly like Jennifer Lawrence in the role of a Russian spy took to the streets of Toronto. Their task was to hand out business cards to people they met, with the dates and times of the film’s screenings. Of course, all sealed with red lipstick.
I think I asked you halfway through the text for a moment of patience to stay on the subject of film. It turned out that my first associations with ambient marketing are precisely with film and series productions, which is why all the examples ultimately concern such campaigns. However, you can trust me that ambient marketing is not just about cinema!
What is used in the implementation of such creations? Literally everything. Every surface in the urban space (billboards, walls, apartment blocks), buses, taxis and cars, metro, tram and bus stops, as well as interior spaces - there are people everywhere. And where there are people, there are ambient ads. Usually, it is only about one-off actions - if something is repeated, it is perceived as permanent, and ambient media should have nothing to do with such features. If the creation of the ad is to scare, then let's agree - no one will be fooled the second time. And even less so the third or fourth time.
It is possible that at this stage you still do not see the difference between regular advertising creative and ambient marketing. It is best if I simply show you examples.
I'm not a series freak, I only know binge-watching from hearsay, but thanks to Netflix's actions, I know all the titles of popular productions available on their platform. I think the ones that stick in my mind the most are "Stranger Things" and "Money Heist." Why? Netflix made sure of that by organizing non-standard promotional campaigns.
Strange things in Warsaw
Stranger Things - Ambient marketing
In October 2017, something happened at one of the bike stations in Warsaw, which really aroused the curiosity and anxiety of people passing by. There is a sticky mess on the racks and no one knows where the city bikes have gone. In their place, there are well-known models from the 80s, namely Wigry and BMX bikes. What's more, they are all entangled in cobwebs and turkey telemarketing data tree branches. Imagine people like me, who live in a world without TV series. They don't realize on the fly that such scenery is typical of a specific production. Zero associations that could solve this riddle. So they start asking questions, checking the Internet, posting photos on InstaStory, calling friends who are known for falling asleep at 3 a.m. watching Netflix. There is a commotion, gossip, gossip and voilà - buzz marketing like a painting! And those who understood the action right away are beside themselves with delight and are crossing out the next days until the premiere of the second season.
Hey, who put that Dali sculpture here?
Paper house - Ambient marketing
Another situation in which it seems that everyone understood, except me. Well, and the Krakow officials, but more on that in a moment. It's July 2019, in the Krakow Market Square, tourists are looking at a sculpture by Salvador Dalí, which is lying next to Mitoraj's head. For some time it was considered an art installation, but after quite a storm on the Internet, the officials understood that it was an ambient action by Netflix and their "Money Heist" . I will only mention that on the sculpture you could find quite a large inscription with the title and the platform's logo. Netflix had to pay a fine of several thousand for this undertaking, but it was worth it - the news spread. Again, the same situation as with "Stranger Things" - fans delighted, me (and others) aware of the existence of such a production.
Are you afraid of nuns?
The Nun - Ambient Marketing
Let's stay on the subject of cinema for a moment. It doesn't matter whether you like horror movies or avoid them, but "The Nun" should be familiar to you. If you used YouTube in 2018, then even more so. The producers decided to invest in unskippable YT ads as part of the ambient . Everything is great, but the creation was so terrifying that those who considered it to be so made quite a fuss. It got loud, YouTube banned "The Nun" ads for sharing shocking content and promoting violence. A failure? Well, not entirely, because it turns out that banning publication is a pretty good way to reach people. The box office, which reached almost $356 million, speaks for itself.
Golden Globes for Water Bottles
Fiji - Ambient Marketing
What do you associate the Golden Globes with? Of course, with awards, actors and actresses, great films and a great celebration of cinema. There is one exception - namely the 2019 ceremony.
It was then that the Fiji brand, which distributes water, decided to steal the show. Fiji's Girls, or hostesses, appeared at the event. Although Fiji has been the official water of the Golden Globes since 2015, it was last year that they decided to invite her to the red carpet. No big deal? It may seem so, but the girls, dressed in purple dresses, appeared "accidentally" in many photos from the event. This is how Fiji water was seen in photos with Dakota Fanning and Jim Carrey. What's more, the whole thing was stirred up on Twitter, which was filled with posts on the subject. There were memes, jokes, an investigation to discover the girls' identities, and many other things that stamped "SUCCESS" on the whole event.
Who are you and why are you inviting me to the cinema?
Red swallow - Ambient marketing
In 2018, the film “Red Sparrow” premiered, produced by 20th Fox Century. Can its promotion be called standard? No. Around the premiere, 20 women dressed and made up exactly like Jennifer Lawrence in the role of a Russian spy took to the streets of Toronto. Their task was to hand out business cards to people they met, with the dates and times of the film’s screenings. Of course, all sealed with red lipstick.
I think I asked you halfway through the text for a moment of patience to stay on the subject of film. It turned out that my first associations with ambient marketing are precisely with film and series productions, which is why all the examples ultimately concern such campaigns. However, you can trust me that ambient marketing is not just about cinema!