Rohit Nautiyal
OOH

Grab eyeballs through shoe shine machines

Premier Office Media has launched a network of shoe shine machines in DLF commercial buildings

Getting the attention of the preoccupied working professional in a business complex is not an easy task for an advertiser. A number of business complexes have seen innovative uses of lift and stair stickers, building façades and also digital screens for advertising. Now, Premier Office Media, an allaboutoutdoor.com venture, is offering advertisers a chance to grab eyeballs while actually ‘holding’ people down by their feet!

Premier Office Media is a new office media owner offering advertising opportunities in business complexes. It has been set up by allaboutoutdoor.com, a web portal on outdoor advertising that is designed to support the business objectives of media owners, planners, buyers and users in the out of home (OOH) industry.

The company has installed 25 shoe shine machines at 15 premium DLF commercial buildings in Gurgaon, including DLF Cyber Greens, DLF Infinity Towers and DLF Plaza. These machines will offer free shoe shine facility to the visitors, while advertisers can use the static back lit ad displays of 36 inches X 18 inches for branding. The machines are installed at the ground floor atrium near the elevator lobby of the buildings.

Grab eyeballs through shoe shine machines
Ankur Rastogi, founder and chief strategist, allaboutoutdoor, says, “In current times of ad clutter, advertising space has to have a utility to attract eyeballs. Usually, any media present inside the office premise is not taken seriously unless it is engaging. We decided to become a media owner mainly because ambient media is tactical by nature.”

Sharing the insight for using shoe shine machines, he says, “Basic infrastructure facilities like well-made roads are lacking in some areas in Gurgaon. Thus, as people commute from one place to the other, it is impossible to avoid the dust present everywhere because of the ongoing construction projects.

“These machines will allow people to polish their shoes free of cost. Simultaneously, for advertisers, this represents an opportunity of reaching thousands of potential customers at a significantly lower cost than traditional outdoor advertising.”

Grab eyeballs through shoe shine machines
The stainless steel shoe-shine machine lets a person insert his/her foot with the shoe into it, while a soft brush rotates – removing dust from the shoe. The shoe stays in for 30 seconds before coming out polished and shiny, during which time a brand can effectively communicate with the user, up close and personal.

The machines, acting as functional media, will be leased for a minimum duration of 30 days at a price of Rs 1500 per machine per day. Premier Office Media has made an investment of Rs 1 crore for 25 machines. The company will also pay a monthly rental to DLF for use of space in its buildings.

Platinum Outdoor is the first outdoor specialist agency that has come forward to explore this media for its client, MetLife Insurance. It has taken up seven shoe shiner machines for branding.

Rahul Kakar, business director, Platinum Outdoor, tells afaqs!, “This format is new and something that taps the corporate clientele of MetLife well. A ready customer base is already present in these buildings and so our client chose to use the shoe shine machines.”

The DLF commercial buildings house about 550 corporate offices of various MNCs that receive approximately 3,50,000 walk-ins of working professionals in a day. Thus, advertisers including lifestyle, telecom and automobile brands targeting men and women from SEC A+ in the age group 24-50 years can employ this medium effectively.

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