What’s the best place to advertise your tourist destination? It’s hard to find a better location than the highway they’re driving on. If your attraction is located on the famed Route 66, it makes sense to advertise along Route 66. Another great place to advertise is within 25-50 miles of the state border — close enough to make actionable travel decisions. Gas station advertising is the ideal way to reach those audiences in both of those places.
In recent years Americans’ time in their cars has increased by more than 30{7dd1416ee44d296125d5309095d205871b45e29241d016cbe67a952aece7c226}, and the U.S. Department of Transportation predicts highway miles will continue to climb. Better yet, the U.S. Travel Association reports 4 out of 5 domestic trips are taken for leisure purposes, such as to the beach or visiting other tourist destinations. Since gas stations are everywhere on the road, they’re perfect places to reach consumers with your marketing message.
Here are 4 ways gas station advertising can drive traffic to your tourist destination.
1. Use Gas Pump Toppers
Gas pump toppers are framed, full-color advertisements that are placed on top of the gas pump. Since consumers spend at least 5-minutes filling up — and pump toppers are located at eye level — you have a captive audience for your advertising message.
Pump toppers are the perfect solution to direct travelers to their next port of call, especially if they’re new to the area and looking for their next adventure.
2. The Road Ahead Is Beneath Your Feet
Road trippers often stop to fuel up with snacks, making more in-store visits than most gas station customers. Catch their attention by advertising on vibrant, durable floor graphics. These prints are a perfect way to advertise tourist destinations, theme parks or other entertainment venues.
Floor graphics are colorful, eye-catching. and reach your tourist consumer while they’re browsing the aisles or waiting in line at the gas station.
3. Restroom Captive Audience
When road-weary travelers answer the call of nature, it’s often at a gas station restroom. For advertisers, that’s the ideal spot to break through consumer distraction.
With restroom advertising, your marketing message can be targeted to males and females differently. Furthermore, research has shown some of the highest recall rates are associated with indoor advertising. 64{7dd1416ee44d296125d5309095d205871b45e29241d016cbe67a952aece7c226} of consumers recall seeing one or more indoor ads. And most ads have the undivided attention of consumers for up to 5 minutes.
4. Consider a Frozen Billboard
When planning an advertising campaign for your tourist attraction, don’t forget about all the ways your target audience interacts with their environment, especially when they are away from home and out on the road. When consumers visit a gas station, they typically look around while waiting at the pump. Wrapping your big, bold message on ice boxes, bins, and coolers makes it impossible to ignore.
A gas station ice box can become a striking 3D frozen billboard, perfectly depicting your tourist destination with visibility from over 50 yards away. The ice box wraps with a big, bold image that effectively captures your audience’s attention. It’s a 24-hour medium, available day or night.
Whether you represent a casino, convention visitors bureau, or stand alone attraction, creatively using advertising at gas stations near and on the way to your tourist destination is a smart and effective move for your next advertising campaign.
