STRATEGIC PARTNERS
Is ATM advertising finally starting to catch on? Yes, says an industry professional. Here he offers some suggestions for those of you who want to help advance the medium.by Gary Walston, president of ATM Advertising Solutions, Inc.
September 5, 2001
This is the first in a series of articles that can help you establish a profitable ATM advertising program. And yes, that is possible despite anything you might have heard or read -- and regardless of whether you have two ATMs or 20,000. However, it will require a little work. This article will provide an overview of ATM advertising and some of the early challenges that face this new and exciting advertising medium. Let's begin by identifying the many forms of ATM advertising: screen advertising (full-motion video, animation or static images); coupons (pre-printed, thermal or dispensed); display advertising (backlit topper, wrap, billboard or panel) and multi-media toppers with full-motion video and sound. Today, most companies are focusing on a combination of screen advertising with either a printed advertisement or coupon to act as a call to-action. This provides advertisers with a one-two punch that not only fills the need of image and brand awareness on the screen, but also provides a take-away piece to entice the consumer to act. Although this combination appears to garner most of the attention, you can't discount the other forms of ATM advertising. Recently, Diebold's "Advertise to Maximize" ad program announced a deal with Snapple that will place wraps on ATMs in seven states. Most of you are probably wondering, "Why hasn't ATM advertising taken off yet?" For years now many of us have been convinced: "ATM advertising makes so much sense, there is no way for it not to work." After all, what other medium can deliver all of these benefits in one package? • A captive audience • A consumer out of their home in the marketplace • A consumer with disposable cash in his hand ready to buy • Guaranteed message delivery • A very clean, uncluttered message • Multiple media message delivery (two forms of media, i.e. screen and coupon) When most people talk about ATM advertising, they are referring to big name advertisers like Coca-Cola consistently paying big-time money to advertise on ATMs. That isn't the only way to make ATM advertising pay off, but it does have the most sex appeal. However, the big-name advertisers have not joined the party yet for many reasons: • Not enough to sell -- Big advertisers are looking for depth and reach in a specific market(s). We currently lack enough big bank participants, which can provide the largest volume of transactions in the nation's biggest markets. • Fragmentation in the ISO market -- The independent ATM market is highly fragmented. Even the largest ISOs lack enough machines in key markets to actively sell as a single unit. Thus, it becomes necessary to band together several ISOs in a desired market to provide the advertiser with an attractive collective piece. This creates a logistical challenge, since every ISO has a variety of equipment and downloading challenges. • Pricing -- In cases where we can offer an advertiser a collective group of ATMs, our costs associated with doing so are at a level that is often too high for an advertiser to pay. We are considered a brand new medium with unproven results and no track record. The big advertisers want to see some success prior to dropping a million on an ATM advertising campaign. Also, fair or not, the ATM has been grouped into an "alternative outdoor" media category, which most media buyers associate with low-cost forms of outdoor advertising. As many of you know, there are two distinct groups that own and operate ATMs: financial institutions and ISOs (independent sales organizations). Banks typically have high-volume machines that may or may not be capable of delivering advertising messages. Banks also are generally more conservative and have been slower to jump onto the ATM advertising bandwagon. And some banks choose to use the ATM to promote only their own bank products and services. Yet the faster the big banks get on board, the quicker the big advertisers will come to the table. While ATM advertising may catch on without big bank participation, that participation sure would make things easier. ISOs, on the other hand, are much more aggressive when it comes to maximizing every ounce of revenue from their ATMs. Since ISOs first burst onto the scene about four years ago, many have newer equipment with good advertising capabilities. Unfortunately most ATMs in retail sites have low volumes, which creates a need for a lot more machines to achieve the transaction volumes necessary to appeal to a large advertiser. And, as mentioned above, even the largest ISOs lack enough machines to give advertisers the "critical mass" they desire in key markets. Every ISO has a variety of equipment and no consistent means to cost effectively load ads onto each ATM. This makes combining the machines of several ISOs to achieve an attractive network a real challenge. How do we move forward? • Utilize ATM advertising companies to sell for you. Why not? They are a free sales force that deals directly with an advertiser or agency. To work with an ATM advertising company, you must be willing to give up information about your network. Advertisers will not write a check without knowing where their ads can be seen. Don't worry; these companies are in business to sell ad space, not to deploy ATMs and steal all of your good locations. Most companies will gladly sign a non-disclosure agreement. ATM advertising companies can also combine the machines of several providers (ISOs and banks) to present a more attractive package to the advertiser. • Be prepared to say "yes" or "no" quickly. Most ad agencies want information within 24 hours even it the ad won't run for another six months. It's just a part of their business process of making a presentation to their client, waiting on approval, planning the campaign and actually making the buy. • Know what you've got in terms of number of machines per market, transaction volumes, advertising capabilities, venue type, etc. And make sure you can remotely download advertisements to the screens. You will not make money if you have to sneakernet it. Each ATM manufacturer has software that gives you this capability. All ad campaigns have start and end dates. It's much easier to meet these deadlines with remote download capability. • Lower your revenue expectations in the beginning. It's a brand new medium. Advertisers are skeptical and very conservative when it comes to investing in non-traditional forms of media. We must create demand. To do that, we cannot allow a high price to be a barrier. Prices will increase with demand. We have limited space, so demand will come quickly. Next time:Evaluating your network and choosing a selling strategy. Gary Walston is president of ATM Advertising Solutions, Inc., a privately-held company that develops, brokers and coordinates the sale of advertising distributed exclusively through ATMs. The company has access to financial institution and independent ATMs in key markets throughout the U.S. ATM Advertising Solutions, Inc. participates in research and development efforts within the industry, in addition to educating, consulting with and training all interested parties as to the opportunities and challenges that are inherent in the new medium. Contact Walston at 281-292-9100 or garywalston@atmadvertising.com.
