Custom Floor Decals: A Smart Marketing Tactic

Why did they do this? After the death of a teenager who ended up walking directly in front of a tram, city officials decided that having new lights located on the sidewalk would help keep pedestrians that can't stop looking at their phones when they’re walking near an intersection informed about the crossing signal. 

There's another example of this that comes from car-saturated Los Angeles. In 2019, over 236 people were killed in car accidents, more than 50 percent of those were from walking. This shows that there's a severe problem when it comes to human lives, and it shows how cities prioritize human foot traffic.

The whole idea might sound strange, but Augsburg is on the cutting edge of civil engineering when it comes to a new pervasive phenomenon of modern life: more people are spending the majority of their time looking down to pay attention to their phones.

Research has shown that it's nearly impossible to get people to look up from their phones. Sixty percent of adults prioritize their phones over walking, which links this phenomenon of "distracted walking" to the rise of pedestrian fatalities and injuries. We can complain about this phenomenon as much as we want, but every sign shows that distracted walking is here.

On the other side of safety concerns, there's a vital marketing trick that we can take away from Germany's efforts to keep traffic safe and flowing smoothly. The most underutilized spaces for advertising today are right under our feet. Here's why you might want to consider custom floor decals for advertising.

Customers Aren't Looking Up, So Market Down

Most Americans spend, on average, 4.7 hours per day looking at their phones. But they aren't just looking down at their phones; they're looking down while doing everything: walking, exercising, driving, commuting, eating, and more.

Competing with a phone for a customer's attention doesn't seem so daunting when you remember that the average person is used to multi-tasking with a phone in their hand. So, you can't expect them to look up all the time.

Custom floor decals aren't new products on the market, but they're now more useful and relevant than ever. If you feel like marketing your company on the ground lowly, it might be time to reconsider. With the rising possibility that your customers are looking down at any time, the ground might be the right place to get your company's name and floor graphic in a customer's line of vision.

Suppose you want customers to see your message. In that case, you should start brainstorming some custom floor graphics for your next advertising campaign. Custom floor decals are placed where your customers are going to see them.

Custom Floor Decals – from Indoor Wood to Outdoor Concrete

Honestly, custom floor decals marketing campaigns are only as good as the creativity. You want your campaign to elicit strong emotions – anger, disgust, joy, humor – but it all depends on your campaign's goals.

So, marketing campaigns are a combination of location + message + medium for the most significant impact. You have to think creatively and combine it with your campaign goals. With this being said, there are some tactical advantages to this method on the product site – namely cost and versatility.

Beyond working alongside customer phone habits, custom floor decals marketing campaigns can have many advantages.

Custom floor decals can be cut into most shapes and sizes, so they're versatile. Additionally, the unimposing 2D nature and low cost of floor advertising can make it possible to place large quantities and sizes in any space without obstructing foot traffic or breaking the bank.

This means that you can put your custom floor decals where people are walking, and not in a distant corner. They're also easy to install on smooth and textured surfaces and are just as easy to remove without causing any damage to the original surface.

Most custom floor decals are laminated with a slip-resistant coating, so there's no danger that a floor decal can cause accidents. Floor decals are also non-slip and safe enough to even be used on dance floors.

Concrete graphics and other floor decals might not last forever; the bright side is that the faster they get worn out, the better they're working.

Below are some custom floor decals examples and ideas to help get your creative juices flowing.

Floor Decal Marketing Ideas

You can use footprints as floor advertising to guide consumers to a specific product or location. Depending on how you look at it, there's something either mysteriously film noir or pleasantly poetic about following a trail of footprints.

Either way, footprint floor decals are engaging. If the first set is unnoticed, the second or third are bound to get people wondering where they lead.

Another great way that custom floor decals and concrete graphics can engage consumers is by fantastically taking them to a place of your choosing. Using floor decals, you can create a scene for an amazing vacation, then you let their imagination do the rest.

Consider custom floor decal marketing ideas that use an element of escapism and clever placement, especially when there isn't much else for your consumers to look at. A couple of great places for custom floor decals are waiting areas and public transportation because they have nothing else to do. 

Additionally, the nature of a 2D custom floor decal doesn't preclude the effects of 3D. If you’re creative enough and use perspective, a 2D floor decal can look like a 3D decal. If this is done correctly, the effect is visually stunning and engaging. 

So, say goodbye to customers walking right past your marketing message without actually seeing it. With a creative custom floor decals marketing, your customers will make a point to walk over them.

Experimental Marketing and Custom Floor Decals – A Dynamic Duo

A modern approach to marketing is called experimental marketing, which is the practice of submersing visitors in the product or brand through interaction, multi-sensory design, and storytelling. These events can create emotional and lasting connections between the brand and its customers. 

Experimental marketing campaigns can often be part of an event, such as a trade show, or can be enjoyed as part of everyday life, like in the city center for pedestrians to enjoy. If you make your decals engaging, as we talked about before, you can expect people to stop and look at what your decal has to say. 

Floor decals are only one part of experimental marketing and can be a cornerstone element, depending on the marketing campaign. It’s a marketing technique that hasn’t been touched by many people but could start to become a more popular technique to use. 

Floor Decals Have Selfie Potential

Perhaps you've noticed a new trend with photos that are shared on social media. Along with selfies, customers taking pictures of their feet have become more prevalent.

This isn't a big surprise due to the fact that people are on their phones, and their attention is usually pointed at the ground anyway. Still, this trend does work well with your custom floor decals marketing campaign.

For a customer, having a combination of clever floor decal placement and the right footwear can lead to several shares and likes. This is because clever floor decal ideas are ripe for sharing. Consider using floor decal advertising that is highly engaging and attractive. You might find that it ends up being photographed and shared.

Social Distancing Floor Decals

With the coronavirus in full swing, many stores are also resorting to using social distancing floor decals to help remind customers that they should be at least six feet away from others in the store. Many are also using them to guide customers through the store to help keep traffic moving in just one direction. 

Final Thoughts

There's something novel about a high-flying advertisement like large billboards or aerial banners. But with the fact that most customer's vision isn't concerned with what’s going on above the ground, these high-profile marketing techniques might be going out of style.

With the serious cost savings of custom floor decals and the fact that floor decals are a creative use of high traffic spaces, it only makes sense to give them a try. Remember that these spaces are often overlooked, especially since most marketing tactics require signs that could get in the way of foot traffic.

Think about Augsburg and how they've started to use the ground for traffic signals. They have managed to use the ground and the fact that people are always looking down at their phones and turning it into something great.

Suppose Americans could do the same thing with custom floor decals. In that case, marketing could be more effective and could reach more significant numbers of customers. We have to remember that more than 60 percent of Americans are looking down at their phones when walking, not up at signs.

Additionally, with more people taking pictures of their feet, your custom floor decals could be shared with thousands of people who could decide to look into your company. It's essential to make sure that your floor decals are engaging and creative to grab a customer's attention.