Billboard Impact

Outdoor is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance at the moment with high demand, improved formats and a greater array of digital options, particularly in Auckland. Outdoor not only provides impactful brand extension, but can also be targeted to best reach your audience.

Getting your running shoe brand in front of thousands of passionate runners, all at once, is near impossible – right? Especially in Auckland with countless potential running routes available. There is however, one rather large annual event that occurs every year in Auckland – where passionate runners unite in a quest to run over the harbour bridge. Much like all popular, prolific events, becoming a sponsor or even a sub-sponsor – comes at a phenomenal price.

There is a building however, that is positioned in the exact right place to be seen by the marathoners at a point in the race where you are around the 17km mark and you’re starting to wonder what you were thinking entering – or at least that you should have upgraded your 3 year old shoes. Despite the aforementioned building only having company signage on it, and generally not available for marketing other brands, after much negotiation, Blackfoot managed to come to an agreement to have a New Balance billboard up for a few months – conveniently around the time of the Auckland Marathon.

This is a huge outdoor media space, providing exposure to 160,000 vehicles every day and measuring in at a massive 22.7m x 4.7m (a standard billboard is 6m x 3m or 12m x 3m). Around 16,500 people run in the half and full marathon, with around 45,000 spectators. This is ideal placement with exposure, to both runners and also the general population commuting in metropolitan Auckland leading up to and during the event.

– Kirsty Heywood, Senior Media Planner/Buyer