One of the most common and modern – yet seemingly strangely odd – ways of offline marketing has become the sponsorship of roundabouts.
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This involves getting your brand and name and contact details emblazoned on a sign on a roundabout in your local area.
So why do it?
According to the specialist agency Sponsoraroundabout.com which facilitates the sponsorship of roundabouts, “Britain’s highways provide vital support to business and industry, and to the lives of millions of people every day. But it’s their roundabouts that serve as the gateways to cities, towns, business parks, shopping centres and airports.
“By sponsoring a busy highway roundabout in your area you have a unique opportunity to engage with people while they’re on the move. Our sponsors have all seen the benefits that come with roundabout sponsorship. Your business’ name beside a beautiful landscaped area, filled with vibrant floral displays offering bursts of seasonal colour, will help.”
According to the agency, sponsoring a roundabout will:
• Enhance your local environment for residents and visitors alike
• Gain a valuable reputation for benefiting your local community
• Build a working partnership with your local council.
So how has it worked in practice? Eastbourne-based Spa vendor Arctic Spas decided to take the plunge and sponsor a roundabout near to its base in the Sussex seaside town.
It created an impressive and bold design upon a very busy roundabout close to the company’s Eastbourne showrooms. Arctic Spas’ emblem, a white polar bear, was situated within a sunken hot tub that, when filled with creative planting spilling over the edge, provided an attractive aquatic effect.
The unique central polar bear and hot tub was accompanied by purple and white Osteospermum planting in both patterned landscaping features, with floral planters completing the dramatic effect.
Due to its eye-catching nature and busy location, Arctic Spas’ roundabout sponsorship gained immediate public interest and was the subject of a BBC Television News report.
Arctic Spas’ Director Ross Morris, speaking during the report, says: “We saw it as a fantastic opportunity, and when I saw the finished roundabout for the first time I thought it was absolutely fantastic.
“About 40,000 people come around this roundabout everyday and they’re seeing it twice a day – on their way out and on their way back, and we’ve seen a lot more people now coming into the showroom. It completely outweighed my expectations.”
On a visit to the roundabout site and the company’s showrooms the then Mayor of Eastbourne, Graham Marsden, said: “It’s always pleasing to be able to support local businesses and Arctic Spas is no exception. We are most grateful to them for their contribution in ensuring that Eastbourne’s townscape and scenery is the envy of most other towns.”
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