The ambient marketing term includes all non-standard advertisements. If a particular advertisement is to be remembered in a wide range of advertisement materials, it is necessary for the advertisement to be uniquely creative and able to effectively use the placement space. In its forms and formats, ambient marketing is based primarily on precursored solutions and surprises by novelty. Its potential lies in interaction with the surrounding space and context, in which it emerges[1]. It reaches after the most varied communication tools, advertisement carriers, and placements, innovatively using their advantages, connecting them. Afterwards, it secondarily utilizes the benefits of the dissemination support of other media and marketing strategies[2]. The borderline meaning of the ambient marks a creative form used only once without the possibility of repetition, even though with future realizations, its value will be compared and identified with other iterations.
Ambient marketing faces various problems, for example the possibility of misunderstanding and controversy, and to an extent, even illegality. Adequately prepared, expressed and directed ambient marketing, however, has potential to be one of the strongest marketing tools available[3]. The common traits of all ambient marketing activities should be novelty, attractivity, diversion from the standards we usually see in classical marketing approaches, the element of surprise and capture of attention, that must be further retained.
In the last years, during which there have been strong trends of diversification and convergence of media and their parametric technological capabilities, as explained by H. Pravdová, (2016)[4], it is in the creators’ interest (and in their clients’ interest) to perpetually look for adequate approaches in various areas, as the old techniques and approaches register decreasing effectiveness. Tools of mass communication, as we know them in traditional forms, have lost a significant portion of their power. There are strong differences in active and passive use of the traditional media between the older and the younger generations of the recipients.
Ambient marketing uses non-traditional media, for example shopping carts, big surfaces on buildings, trash bins, street lamps, benches, and others. The main objective of an advert realized and exposed this way, in an unexpected place, is to speak to people and pique their interest. The selected position should be, however, clearly connected to the message of the advertisement, as the selection of the non-traditional marketing place should have its own reasoning, creating a complex meaning between the message and its placement. This way, the probability of success in capturing interest can be further enhanced, as it can pique media interest, and thus free media support.
A significant example of these principles is a campaign, that aimed to capture attention for a pharmaceutical product from the Jelfa company – a special pill, that should be able to reduce the effects of alcohol on an organism[5]. The realization of this campaign was referred to in 49 media, 3 of which were television reports – these media supporters, including major televisions, joined a large-scale media campaign without being aware of it. At this time, more than 7000 internet links and references emerged, while media costs of this campaign were at zero[6].
Even though these are just one-use-only kinds of realizations, connecting various types of sub-line and above-line media, they have been able to increase the efforts to create TTL (Through the Line) marketing approaches, crossing the division of sub-line and above-line activities, as their synthesis occurs naturally.
The English word ambient means surroundings or as an adjective, it describes natural conditions in the surrounding area. According to S. Luxton and L. Drummond[7], the first time the term ambient was used in the context of marketing communication was in 1996 in the Concord Advertising firm, a british agency specializing in outdoors campaigns. The name ambient became clear in its meaning after an increasing number of clients expected the agency to bring new elements that could be implemented in their campaigns. At the same time, it was necessary to create a term that would be able to unite a wide spectrum of various marketing activities under a single category.
Marketing agencies set the term for ambient communication in order to fittingly label their portfolio for efficient communication with potential clients. Clients pressed the agencies for new unusual solutions to such an extent, the agencies had to look for new placements for their advertisements. At the age of this genesis, there were places not considered for realization of advertisement communication – sidewalks, escalators, floors, elevator doors, inside doors of toilet stalls, sometimes even whole spaces or cycle paths (see Nintendo DS gaming console and Cyclepaths).
It was not possible to connect the campaigns designed this to previously existing categories, and so this new category had to emerge. Every term/label has their own etymology or genesis, and so we could use dictionaries as the first clue about their emergence. The ambiens term comes from Latin and means the surroundings. According to the Webster’s Dictionary, the word ambient is also an adjective, meaning surrounding from all sides. Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary offers a similar explanation, placed in the surrounding terrain. The Encarta World English Dictionary explains the word ambient as placed in the surrounding area. In relation to the marketing communiqués, it means that advertisements can emerge everywhere in the marked location, and it is not possible to avoid them or actively defend against them. It is assumed that the recipient will be exposed to the influence of the information contained in the advertisement communiqué in an unexpected moment, as it is not possible to avoid this advertisement as it is with the standard forms of marketing communication[8] – one could go to the cinema a bit later to avoid trailers, they could change the channel on television, refuse to take leaflets, block ads on internet websites et cetera. Consequently, such is the definition of ambient media by the Chartered Instytute of Marketing – a communication platform surrounding the consumer in their everyday lives, initially known as the lemming media, ambient media are communication platforms that surround us in our everyday lives – from the ads at gas stations to ads projected on buildings, ads on tickets to theaters, on the cricket playground or even on payrolls[9]; the term ambient media is most commonly related to the term ambient advertising. Hatalska[10] in one of the texts dedicated to non-standard forms of advertisement writes: “Ambient media are an alternative carrier, different from print, television, radio or internet. At the same time, ambient media are all non-standard actions realized via classical media and other communication channels.” Similarly, M. Węgrzyn underlines the problems of defining the term and especially the content the term ambient marketing should contain. Western authors explain the term as alternative carriers for advertisement, different from the known ones. At the same time, they are generally considered as unconventional marketing activities realized with omitting traditional media like print, television and radio[11]. M. Jurca et al.[12] the form followingly: “Ambient advertising refers to creative forms of out-of-home advertisement, mediating direct context messages via a change of element in the environment of the target group, that surprises the recipients.” We can therefore conclude that ambient marketing is a partisan type of classical outdoors marketing form, accounting with the fact that these types of advertisement are placed at unusual places, primarily in the lived environment of the target group[13]. According to J. Barnes[14], the characteristic trait of ambient advertising is to surprise the consumer with a confrontation with incongruent stimulus placed on an unusual background. The consequenting surprise is a result of the difference between the perceived and the expected[15].
As we can see, the term is hard to define and even the experts of media houses have had troubles with it[16]. Often, outdoors activities are labeled as ambient, connecting it to the Out of Home marketing practices. Furthermore, the implementation of interesting ideas via the classical media can be labeled as such. Ambient marketing must therefore utilize unconventional placement of provocative, but also common contents in lived environments[17], and that is why it is also possible to encounter the term street marketing in Spanish literature (Olivares, 2009)[18].
Based on these, we can conclude that ambient is based on unconventional, new and surprising ideas of execution of communication[19]. Ambient is therefore characteristic for its one-time use, individuality and the positive connotation of being borderline, placed on the periphery of marketing communication. Wożniak[20], the director of the Polish Dom Sprzedaży Mediów ARBOmedia, insists that the term presents non-standard advertisement activities that are realized in spaces where the recipients least expect it. Anna Nowakowska– Godun,[21] the director of marketing at Clear Channel Poland, who focuses on outdoors marketing, thinks that ambient is the form of propagation aiming to surprise the recipient with a connection between context, atypical surroundings and unusual carriers via quantity or intensity of presence. She also underlines the importance of placement factor, realization and time aspects for execution of ambient advertisement. We can consider these to be the basic factors offering the starting points for definition presented by S. Luxton a L. Drummond[22]: „Advertisements placed at unusual and unexpected places (locations), often realized with unconventional methods (realizations), new or the first of their kind (timing).” We conclude that ambient media belong to the gallery of marketing terms that strongly avoid narrow definitions in a differentiated field of marketing communication and advertisement. Problems with differentiation and clear bordering of the term are also influenced by the fact, that underneath its meaning, there often are normal, usual activities from significantly distanced fields[23]. That is why simple drawing on sidewalks, placing advertisement on cashier belts, changing colors of fountains of a frequented square (see The True Blood series and The Sopranos series or The Dexter series), organizing of fake manifestations or protests in the streets, or performing interesting choreographies in Flash Mobs, all of these belong to wide the family of ambient marketing techniques.
The influence of ambient on recipients is instantaneous. It creates a connection, resonates within the viewers and generates commotion with potential for a viral effect. What connects all of these activities is the fact that the medium is not only the carrier, but in itself becomes the communiqué, as according to McLuhan’s The medium is the message[24], which is one of the fundamental dimensions of ambient advertisement.[25] Samborski[26] adds to the explanation, that ambient does not exclude any media, and as such utilizes all of the possible (and impossible) methods and tools to reach the recipient. Ambient is an approach to advertisement, it is a way of thinking. It is the same advertisement, just more oriented towards the recipient and speaks to them where they live, eat, work, go, and seek entertainment. Ambient and sensation both impress the viewers in their home environments[27].
Ambient communication does not a priori reject any other form, but predicts the expectations of the recipient. Just like the typical outdoors marketing, ambient also uses the connection between advertisement activities and only rarely opts for individual strategy[28]. Ambient and Out-of-Home advertisements require a higher measure of creativity, as their exposition times are usually very short. These activities must also offer invention, fulfilling their roles and increasing the value of the used space, so they can leave a lasting impression[29]. Ambient media have to power to redirect the attention of viewers, forcing the to focus at unexpected realizations and their placements (Tahir, Ewing a Newton 2006)[30]. While the traditional advertisement only creates surprise by its content (for example, text or imagery of communiqués are unexpected or incongruent), the ambient media also use the ingruent element of the media itself – as it strongly contrasts with the surroundings, being surprising in the emergence itself.
Tools of ambient marketing also underline the measure of similarity in placement, realization, timing characteristics, material design or technologic support. We can therefore assume there is a certain coherence, thanks to which these techniques might be all categorized as ambient. The summary included in Scheme 3 explains it further. The scheme was published for the first time in our publication (Wojciechowski, 2016 b), but it was later revised with reflections on current case studies. Different from the previous version, in which the ambient marketing approach was categorized strictly as part of the guerilla marketing approach, the current version counts with the possibility of ambient exceeding guerilla (for example in costs, but also in disregarding other characteristics of guerilla marketing). We are aware that even this version is not a full summary and at some points, it might be insufficient in labeling all of the categories only in accordance with their respective material designs.
Scheme 3: The scheme of relations of guerilla marketing forms, revised version[31], authored design.
Ambient communication techniques have their downsides[32]. If they are displayed in a way that does not meet the viewpoint of target recipients, and their results may be impossible to measure. In order to make ambient approaches more successful, able to compete, they should meet the following requirements st by
S. Luxton a L. Drummond. It is a list of key factors that distinct ambient media from the other forms of marketing communication[33]:
- Places stronger importance on tactics such as surprise, humor, creativity, and consequently, engagement of the audience (engaging the recipient strengthens the message, Shiffman and Kanuk, 1997)[34].
- Enables a more significant engagement than just the out-of-home approach, and thus fewer losses. On the contrary to billboards, it avoids selective perception (meaning paying attention to advertisement from favorite brands and disregarding advertisement outside of the preferred sample), because this kind of advertisement cannot be selectively ignored (East, 1997)[35].
- It is more intensively built on an incomplete message than the out-of-home approach. Unusuality supports interest of the consumer, thus increasing the consumer’s willingness to make cognitive effort to process the message.
- The referential group, opinion leadership, and resonance with the target group have a higher significance – one likes the advertisement, one likes the brand – for example the word-of-mouth principle.
- The way the consumer discovers the ambient in relation to the effectivity is of importance. Ambient partially works via mediating the surprise and creativity, but also through the consumer’s discovery that they are being spoken to. A recipient is prone to believe they have discovered something, and so the possibility to identify with the experience is strengthened. This creates a deep relationship with the target group.
- Ambient insists on the target group that is more specific than in case of the out-of-home approach. Creators of ambient campaigns are generally young (up to 30 years old, Generation X members) and they target audiences of their age. It is considered to be generally difficult, reaching the target group of Generation X (AdNews 1999)[36], as this segment of the audience is less trusting than their parents from the generation of Baby Boomers , while they also consider themselves to be educated in media and able to see through advertisements.
Another important demarcation is the nature of connection between the consumer and the medium. Semiotics and symbols are a meaningful part of the transfer, especially in situation where lower cognitive processes take place (Fiske a Hartley, 1989)[37]. Adequately selected imagery, colors and context are able to carry meaning more effectively and faster than the text itself. In case of ambient advertisement, a symbol can be considered a medium. A symbol itself might predict innovation, sharpness, even arrogance or energy. An English company Posterscope, which includes various services from the ambient marketing approach in their portfolio, created their own authored taxonomy of localization and targeting of ambient communication[38]. This categorization is the only one we are aware of with this kind of selection process, in which the place of distribution correlates with the basic targeting of the audience, along with regard for the macro-environment (a city) with the micro-environment (a store). Authors therefore distinct between the following kinds of ambient marketing:
- On the move: reaching the consumers on their way (advertisement on mailboxes, on gasoline pumps at stations, on television panels on city buildings, on mass transit tickets, on postcards),
- On site: reaching the consumers in their everyday lives (advertisement on vehicles, on beer undercups, on toilet stalls, on theater tickets, at festivals, on illuminated shop vitrines, in telephone stands),
- In connection with children: using sponsored schoolbooks, placing advertisement at amusement centers, on school trash bins,
- In connection to stores: communicating in the area surrounding shopping centers (advertisement on shopping carts, on flooring, on shop receipts, on billboards inside the stores),
- The strange category: including everything else that is not fitting for the other categories (huge leathery taxis, ads on bicycles, advertisement using humans, bagvertising…).
This categorization is followed by Hatalska[39], suggesting that ambient media tools should be categorized in five groups, reflecting on the way the communiqué reaches the recipient:
- Group 1: Advertisement witnessed during commuting (advertisement on mass transit tickets, on postcards, on gas pumps at stations, on sidewalks, on surface of big entry halls at transit stations),
- Group 2: Advertisement witnessed during entertainment (advertisement on beer undercups, on postcards in pubs, on boxes of matches, on theater tickets, on toilets, at festivals),
- Group 3: Advertisement witnessed during learning and recreation (advertisement on school books, on trash bins and other carriers in schools, on pads for computer mice, in sports halls, at swimming pools and other recreational spaces),
- Group 4: Advertisement witnessed during shopping (advertisement on buses, on shop flooring and outside of the shops, at places dedicated for caring for babies, on shopping carts, on shop receipts, on shopping bags),
- Group 5: Other advertisements that are impossible to categorize among the previous (advertisement placed on bicycles, advertisement using humans, oversized mascots, laser presentations on buildings (video-mapping), on zeppelins and balloons, advertisements including actors…)
This categorization is prone to being criticized for a certain inaccuracy, as Hatalska in her second group mentions the entertainment time while she mentions the recreation time in her third group. According to us, these two categories are not sufficiently separated, and as such should not be considered disparate. Additionally, in the third group, the author connects learning with recreation, which we deem unfitting. Learning is a difficult mental activity, while recreation is, on the contrary, based on the situation of leisure, often without doing any specific activity at all. In the fourth group, the author includes the advertisement placed on buses, which we think could be counted alongside in the commuting category.
Both the Posterscope company and Hatalska establish their last categories as the most ephemeral, the final categories with everything that cannot be placed in the previous ones.
There has been an idea that non-standard creative advertisement is usually ineffective, while the effective advertisement is flat and based on cliché, even though both of this notions are easy to counter[40]. A creative and at the same time effective advertisement could be one that is not ambient and uses usual, standard and verified techniques. Many earned awards and accolades prove this, for example the categories of creative eCommerce, creative effectivity, outdoor, social influencers, creative innovations, creative data or creativity in PR campaigns along with many others (see for example the winners of the Slovak competitions Effie or Zlatý Klinec, who were definitely able to connect creativity with effectivity; but also international awards, such as Advertising Creative Circle of Great Britain, American Advertising Awards, American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame, British Television Advertising Awards, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Clio Awards, Cresta International Advertising Awards, Cristal Festival Europe, Digital Media Advertising Creative Showcase, Epica Awards, Eurobest European Advertising Festival, Galaxy Award, Golden Drum, Gunn Report, Summit Awards, The Loeries, Women’s Image Network Awards, Young Guns International Award).
Even existing research[41] confirms the relationship between the classical advertisement that is not ambient and creativity.
It still stands, however, that it is the ambient communication and ambient marketing that primarily relies on connecting creativity of campaigns with effectivity, making this connection one of the fundamental conditions and requirements. We dare to insist that it is one of the key, determining characteristics during the integration of an installed communiqué and redefinition of used environment. That is why we can conclude that this is a completely new look at ambient advertisement that regards use of traditional media and previously untouched public space.
[1] WILCZEK, P., FERTAK, B. (2004). Ambient media, media tradycyjne – konkurencja czy współpraca?
[2] AZHARI, A.G., KAMEN, J. F. (1984). Study shows billboards are more effective than recall, attitude‐change scores indicate.
KING, K., TINKHAM, S. F. (1990). The learning and retention of outdoor advertising.
[3] HATALSKA, N. (2009). Niestandardowe formy promocji.
KASZUBA, Ł. (2014). Ambient media w Polsce. Zastosowanie Ambient Mediów dla celów promocyjnych na przykładzie wybranych kampanii marketingowych w Polsce. Dostupné na internete: <http://www.slideshare.net/ukaszKaszuba/ambient-media-w-polsce>
[4] PRAVDOVÁ, H. (2016). The convergence of traditional and internet media – challenges and pitfalls.
[5] WOJCIECHOWSKI Ł. (2016). Guerilla marketing – Ambient.
[6] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALOqDo5FBm0>
Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJZKxYo8Q_0&feature=relmfu,>
Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89LFQyLy3BQ&feature=relmfu>
[7] LUXTON, S. a DRUMMOND, L. (2000). What is this thing called ‘Ambient Advertising’?
[8] PETRANOVÁ, D. a VRABEC, N. (2013). Persuázia a médiá.
[9] Dostupné na internete: <http://www.cim.co.uk/Resources/JargonBuster.aspx>
[10] HATALSKA, N. (2002). Niestandardowe formy promocji.
[11] WĘGRZYN, M. (2002). Wyróżnić się za wszelką cenę. Dostupné na internete: <http://www.gazetaprawna.pl/dzialy/1.html?numer=846&dok=846.1.14.2.21.1.0.3.htm37>
[12] JURCA, M. A. a PLĂIAȘ, I. (2013). Schema Congruity – A Basis For Evaluating Ambient Advertising Effectiveness.
Available at: < http://steconomiceuoradea.ro/anale/volume/2013/n1/187.pdf>
[13] KRAUSACK, D. (2008). Ambient media-how the world is changing.
[14] BARNES, J. (1999). Creating a difference with ambient media.
[15] HUTTER, K. a HOFFMANN, S. (2011). Guerrilla marketing. The nature of the concept and propositions for further research.
[16] KAŁDUNEK‐SOROCZYŃSKA, M., MAŁKOWSKA‐SZOZDA, A. a PREWĘCKA, K. (2002). Burza mózgów, czyli ambient media.
[17] LUXTON, S. a DRUMMOND, L. (2000). What is this thing called ambient advertising?
SHANKAR, A. a HORTON, B. (1999). Ambient media – advertising’s new media opportunity?
[18] OLIVARES, F., (2009). The advertising pollution in the cities.
[19] PAVEL, C. a CĂTOIU, I. (2009). Unconventional advertising for unconventional media.
LEE YUEN, M. a DACKO, S. (2011). Ambient marketing – towards a modern definition.
[20] PALUCHOWSKI, W. J. & MARCINIAK, M. (2005) Dostupné na internete: <http://yadda.icm.edu.pl/yadda/element/bwmeta1.element.ekon-element-000150326446>
[21] PALUCHOWSKI, W. J. a MARCINIAK, M. (2005). Dostupné na internete: <http://yadda.icm.edu.pl/yadda/element/bwmeta1.element.ekon-element-000150326446>
[22] LUXTON, S. a DRUMMOND, L. (2000). What is this thing called ambient advertising?
[23] WILCZEK, P. a FERTAK, B. (2004). Ambient media, media tradycyjne – konkurencja czy współpraca?
[24] MCLUHAN, M. (1967). The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects.
[25] DAHLÉN, M., FRIBERG, L. a NILSSON, E. (2009). Long live creative media choice.
[26] SAMBORSKI, R. (2001). Ambient – myślenie o reklamie.
[27] HUTTER, K. a HOFFMANN, S. (2011). Guerrilla Marketing: The Nature of the Concept and Propositions for Further Research.
[28] AZHARI, A. G. a KAMEN, J. F. (1984). Study shows billboards are more effective than recall, attitude‐change scores indicate.
[29] KING, K. a TINKHAM, S. F. (1990). The learning and retention of outdoor advertising.
[30] TAHIR, T. EWING, T. M., NEWTON, F. J. (2006). Using Ambient Media to Promote HIV/AIDS. Protective Behaviour Change.
[31] A revised version of the scheme from page 38 in WOJCIECHOWSKI, L. (2016). Ambient marketing: + case studies in V4.
[32] BHARGAVA, M. a DONTHU, N. (1999). Sales response to outdoor advertising.
[33] LUXTON, S. a DRUMMOND, L. (2000). What is this thing called ambient advertising?
[34] SCHIFFMAN, L. a KANUK, L. (2009). Consumer Behaviour.
[35] EAST, R. (1997). Consumer Behaviour: Advances and Applications in Marketing.
[36] GOODSALL, J. (1999). Ruski goes feather for leather for Mardi Gras.
[37] HARTLEY, J. (1989). Understanding News.
[38] Posterscope Newsletter Issue 4 (2000). Dostupné na internete: <http://www.posterscope.com/>
[39] HATALSKA, N. (2002). Niestandardowe formy promocji.
[40] FICHNOVÁ, K. (2007). Kreativita a marketingová komunikácia.
[41] ibid.
KOVER, A. J., GOLDBERG, S. M. a JAMES, W. L. (1995).Creativity vs. Effectiveness?
EL-MURAD, J., a WEST, D.C. (2004). The Definition and Measurement of Creativity: What Do We Know?
KOVER, A. J., et al. (1995). Creativity vs. effectiveness? An integrating classification for advertising.