Reaching consumers between home and work

"In the past, marketers relied on traditional advertising campaigns to promote products and reinforce brand identity in consumers' minds," he says.

"They missed out on opportunities to reach consumers in destinations where they are amenable to interesting marketing communications - the 'third place'! These include hundreds of high traffic venues - cinema complexes, coffee shops, restaurants, nightclubs and healthclubs - all places consumers gather between work and home."

These overlooked environments motivated TLC, a Primedia Unlimited subsidiary, to introduce the concept of washroom advertising. Overseas this trend has been explored for some time and Kramer observes its rapid local growth.

"To compliment a topline campaign, a third place platform in a leisure venue through washroom advertising, offers opportunities to reach captive and receptive audiences in an otherwise advertisement-free environment," Kramer explains.

"Typically these lifestyle and entertainment environments engage the consumer when he or she is in a relaxed frame of mind and open to media messages. The advertising can be updated rapidly and cost-effectively and offers gender and age specific targeting."

Kramer advocates that media planners look beyond traditional media to overcome the sheer clutter of advertising in television, radio and print, he concludes. "Third place marketing, in the form of innovative out-of-home campaigns, opens up a host of extra communication channels between a brand and its target audience."