Leading web hosting company, 123-reg is launching a high-profile outdoor advertising campaign this summer on London buses, capitalising on the increased numbers of visitors to the capital during the 2012 Olympics. The promotion, launched on the 12th July will be supported with an extensive social media campaign.
123-reg is the UK’s leading domain registrar, with over three million domains in the UK, and responsible for registering one in every four .uk domains. The company’s promotional campaigns to date have focused on targeting potential customers online, and for the first time this activity takes it offline to reach a wider audience.
The creative focuses on conveying the key message to businesses of all sizes and sectors that setting up a website is as easy as 1, 2, 3. It alludes to the number of different companies represented by passengers on the bus, and how anyone can purchase a .com web address at a special price of just £9.99. Over 160 ‘streetliner’ advertisements will appear on 160 different vehicles on bus routes throughout Greater London for four weeks throughout July and August.
Social media activity will be aligned to the outdoor campaign and across 123-reg’s Twitter and Facebook channels. Fans and followers will be invited to take part in weekly picture competitions to guess the location of a bus while submitting their favourite bus-related stories. In addition to this branded Oyster Card holders are being produced and given out at key Underground locations, to drive potential customers to the bus campaign and to the 123-reg site.
Thomas Vollrath, chief executive of 123-reg comments: “This summer, there will be an increased number of visitors from all over the UK visiting London. This campaign is all about raising brand awareness and extending our consumer outreach, and this summer is the perfect time to do this. As a primarily online company, we felt it was worthwhile to move our advertising ‘offline’ in order to gain traction, and we look forward to measuring the results.
Anyone, whether an established business person or an amateur blogger, can set up a website with 123-reg and can even do so via their smartphone. There is a huge buzz around London and the UK as a whole at the moment, and this campaign gives us the opportunity to shout out about our credentials as the country’s number one and reach out to new audiences.”