Wild Posting is defined as a guerrilla marketing tactic placing advertising posters or flyers in legal or illegal places. Years ago there were more illegal than legal places where wild posters were displayed. Fines, the increase in value of urban commercial property creating less available locations and the internet, providing ease of information exchange, thereby exposing wild posting in illegal spots, (loosely defined as without permission of property owners) wild posting has become less effective as the legal placements are in more expected and fewer highly visible areas than years ago. The legal wild posting location is more conventional and less disruptive, losing its surprise and guerrilla effect in the traditional sense it once owned. We are no longer caught off guard by the message because it’s placed, well, where they have always been placed.
When one looks at the Guns N’ Roses posters, see the video, Guns N’ Roses, the designs have all the characteristics of rebellion and defiance, its great creative. From an initial blush, one might think, a perfect wild posting fit. However, the consistent, legal placements no longer carries the impact they once did. When we drive or walk past a wild posting today, it is typically in a place where one comes to expect another ad message. It loses part of its unique and outrageous effect. Not so guerrilla like.
Who is surprised? How many notice?
Remembering and forever grateful to the origin of Outdoor Advertising, ‘take me home’ to the earliest days of Out of Home posting when the circus was coming to town. Posters were pasted on nearly any ‘open’ board in a city, regardless of where the ‘bills’ could possibly be legally posted. Hence, the term Billboard.
How does wild posting reclaim and capture its big surprise or eye-opening wonder?
As much as OOH Today has firmly advocated creative as the number one attribute in #OOH; In the case of #wild posting, if we can not return to the bombshell effect of illegal locations, a different Outdoor format could be more effective. If the guerrilla effect is less, should one consider a 672 square footer (standard bulletin) or 300 square feet (standard poster) to provide greater impact?
What do you think?
Has wild posting lost its startling effect? Is surprise necessary? Are you still caught off guard and noticing the ads?
We will give mention of a company who executes the art of Wild Posting as well anyone we are aware of in the Industry, Dash Two. Check out their website, click here ⇒Dash Two
As an aside. Looking at the finished GNR poster, one thing to share from our experience in the not so old days of posting paper, when creative has a black or dark background, and the paper substrate is high gloss, the posters must be completely wiped down with a clean, wet sponge to remove the paste streaks.
Make the black, the copy and art, POP! off the poster!
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OAAA does not recognize wild posting as part of the OOH ecosystem. As an industry, we should never promote potentially illegal activities.
Wild Posting is a cross beteeen creative street art and billboards. Love it! Keep on posting.
Good points Mr Coston. WP is a unique breed of OOH. While its not recognized by the OAAA, its been around a long time, arguably over 100 years.
Given the right creative and venue, WP effectiveness, especially in this new era of social media influence, can be as substantive as any other OOH format.
Thank you for your comments.
Stephen Freitas, thank you for your comments.
Embarrassingly, we must confess, we had no idea wild posting is not recognized by the OAAA. Thank you for the illumination.
Can you please clarify what the issue is? What is driving thought with regards to not recognizing its existence in the OOH Ecosystem?
Is it the lack of permission by land or building owners? Is it the lack of permit by municipality?
What makes wild posting unacceptable to the OAAA? Thank you for sharing.
Wild Posting for the youth is a way to keep up with what is new and popping.
For older people we like to stick the traditional Billboards.
Wild Posters are fashion, film, music.
Billboards are netflix, hulu, big box office movies.
To say each medium does not have it’s place is not doing your job as a Outdoor Expert.
Mr Sesto,
We appreciate your comments and sharing your point of view on the WP format’s audience, demographic and strengths by vertical.
Given the product like Guns N’s Roses music, creative and venue, WP effectiveness, especially in this new era of social media influence,
can be as substantive as any other OOH format.
We look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.
Thank you for your comments.