logo bench Prominently display your business on a logo bench in high-traffic areas

A logo bench is one of those savvy guerrilla marketing tactics that many people overlook, but could provide a tremendous boost to a business' brand from large to small.

And it doesn't have to be a park bench. You can get a similar benefit from a logo bike rack, commercial trash can or even an outdoor chair.

Here's why.

In essence, a custom bench is just like creating your own billboard. Even in this era of marketing on Google and Facebook, out-of-home advertising continues to be huge. It's a $7 billion a year business.

Think about it. According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, consumers spend 70% of their awake time outside of their house. Outside!

That means they are not sitting at home posting cat photos on Facebook or searching for Thai barbecue wing recipes on Google.

They're outdoors most of the day. Walking, driving, riding, standing and talking.

What better opportunity to capture the attention of these people than with a logo bench?

Logo bench messaging benefits

First off, consider the savings of a logo bench compared to other media. A national TV spot can cost from $35,000 to $2 million for 30 seconds. Sure, you can buy local spots cheaper.  But thirty-seconds! Your ad dollars then vaporize into thin air.

How about magazine ads? The cost for a full-page ad ranges from $3,000 to $25,000. That's generally for a month and then your money is thrown into a recycling bin.

A logo bench is similar to a billboard in some ways and in some ways it is not. One way it's not the same is in the expense. Billboards can range in price from $1500 to $30,000 on a busy metro highway. That's for a four-week period…and then your ad disappears.

You get the point here. With a logo bench, in essence, you own your own branding and advertising medium. You own a billboard.

And your brand message doesn't evaporate into never-never-land.

With a logo bench, you can display your brand name and a promotional message 24 hours a day, 7 days a week…forever.

That's right, for as long as you own that bench, you own your own medium.

logo bench options More options for a logo bench to promote your business, school or city

Out-of-home advertising is very effective

According to studies, seven out of 10 people say they viewed an outdoor ad in the past month.

More importantly, 70% say an out-of-home ad is likely to influence a purchase.

Street furniture is actually included in the categories for outdoor advertising.

Businesses spent $466 million advertising in 2012 on street furniture such as benches, bus shelters, kiosks, etc. That's 7% of total outdoor advertising expenditures. That's a serious investment of marketing dollars.

The beauty of owning a logo bench is that you only need to make a purchase one time. There is no annual contract or renewals every year. There are no annual rate increases. There is no need to change your ad copy or graphics.

Your message is visible for a long, long time.

Now, of course there are some limitations to a logo bench compared to a billboard. For one, you don't have the opportunity to put up a photograph of a model wearing a bathing suit or a cute dog chasing a ball.

Basically, with a logo bench you're restricted to a limited number of letters and an image.

But there are many ADVANTAGES to a logo bench compared to billboards and other outdoor advertising promotions as well.

For example, billboards are powerful. But your readers are generally occupied driving 65 mph and don't have much time to read your message while avoiding all those maniacs on the road, watching out for highway patrolmen and making sure they don't hit that busted tire in the center lane.

Same goes for ads on buses or taxis. Whoosh, here for a second and then gone for good.

A logo bench is generally positioned in close proximity to consumers. So they can clearly see the name of your business, logo, tagline or promotion.

Savvy business people would add their website address to a bench. How cool is that? Not only will potential customers see your company name, but you can promote a way for them to get in touch with you at any time of the day or night. Or you can add a phone number.

For distribution, you can place the logo bench in high traffic areas such as a sidewalk or street corner. Don't like the location or want to target another area? Then change it.

What's even better is that with a logo bench, you are offering a free service to a tired walker or a waiting spouse.

Everybody has to sit down at some point. Think of the subliminal benefit in the mind of a person when they get to actually rest on your bench. They're going to be grateful. They're going to have a positive image of your brand.

Sure, a custom bench may not be a fancy CGI (Computer Generated Image) commercial with special effects and funny banter featured during a timeout in the third quarter of the Super Bowl where the score is 36 to 3.

But long after the game is over and consumers have changed channels, your logo bench, your brand and your message will still be standing.  It can't be clicked away or turned off.

You can also search the site for logo trash receptacles, garbage cans, bike racks, chairs and other site furnishings.

You might also consider custom bike racks as a way to promote your business - add your logo and provide bicycle parking for bicyclists is a great way to gain brand recognition around town and let cyclists know you are bicycle-friendly.

To read the research about out-of-home advertising from OAAA, click here.