HotSpots let you get close to your audience. When you advertise in their neighborhoods, you are advertising where they work, eat, shop, and live.

“We do other forms of advertising, and unlike them, you seem like you truly care about the results.”

— Michael, Chicago

Hyperlocal Dream

HotSpots are the bread and butter of hyper-local outdoor advertising. For companies looking to use their ad dollar wisely, HotSpots are the most versatile format. Depending on your goal, we can set you up with multiple locations, different creative, and even a paired social media campaign that will make your brand stand out.

HotSpots are small format outdoor displays that form a network of 200 hyper-targeted billboard panels across 40 Chicago neighborhoods. 

Neighborhood Approach

People spend most of their time in the neighborhoods where they work and live. That’s where they buy their groceries and run errands. It’s where they eat dinner and go out for drinks. It’s where they take their dog for a walk.

When we talk about the neighborhood approach, or the hyperlocal approach, we mean exactly this: reaching your audience where they spend most of their time. You’re guaranteed to get repeated exposure on the same ad spot.

This is part of the versatility of outdoor advertising. While billboards can reach a large number of people, HotSpots provide the opportunity to reach a smaller group of people but at a much higher frequency.

Specific Demographics

By targeting neighborhoods, or even specific streets or intersections, you’re doing much more precise work than a simple billboard near a highway. Rather than reach large amounts of many different people, you’re targeting a specific demographic many times, which can be more effective when it comes to turning your audience into life-long customers. 

In a place like Chicago, we can tell you the exact demographics of a city block. This gives us the power to make ad copy that pertains directly to that audience. In some Chicago neighborhoods, for instance, we have ad copy in Spanish. 

In the end, it’s much more effective to target customers that are more willing to buy into your brand. It’s no use to reach thousands of people who will not use your brand, and HotSpots help you avoid this inefficient spending.

Affordable

Because HotSpots are smaller than our other formats, they are often our most affordable option for businesses looking to advertise. 

The affordability of HotSpots is one of the reasons why small businesses love to use this format. A HotSpot a block away from your business that leads customers to your location is not going to break your budget but it will provide you with more business.

National brands also like to use HotSpots because they can buy multiple locations and saturate the market with their branding. Since their budgets are bigger, national brands can control who has the best presence in any given neighborhood.

Versatile

Due to their size, cost, and availability, HotSpots are our most flexible format. When it comes to advertising with HotSpots, the sky's the limit. 

We can always do simple campaigns that display one creative in one or multiple locations. But there’s so much more—we can change your ad copy mid-campaign depending on your results, or we can use HotSpots to lead your customers to specific landing pages on your website. Some customers begin their campaign with teaser ad copy, creating high expectations for their product and ensuring they get the attention they need.

The end goal is to reach your results. We like crafting creative campaigns that reach audiences in new ways, so it’s always best to speak with us and brainstorm together.

Which strategy benefits from HotSpots?

HotSpots can really work with any approach. In Chicago, for instance, a well-placed HotSpot does much of the work by itself because there are many people who cross by that ad spot each day. However, even in less dense areas, HotSpots can be used to provide directional awareness, like a jewelry shop telling it’s customers they are “One Block Ahead”.

How are HotSpots competitive with digital options?

Social media and online advertising are effective in specific instances. But what happens when a customer swipes your ad away? HotSpots and outdoor advertising in general have a great benefit: they can’t be turned off. In fact, HotSpots and digital options work better together, and we can help you craft a meaningful marketing campaign that has both approaches.

Which businesses benefit from HotSpots?

Any business can benefit from a hyperlocal approach. From real estate agents to lawyers, to hospitals and universities, to tech brands and retail shops—the options are endless. If your business wants to get people through the door or you want people to visit your website,

What does the process to set up a HotSpot campaign look like?

Our goal is to get you the results you want for your business. Depending on your objectives, we craft a personalized campaign for your business with your input. Our team of experts is not only knowledgeable about our formats and locations, but they also provide excellent customer service to all of our customers, no matter the size of the account.

The Adidas campaign is a great example of how you can really tie in outdoor advertising with a big splash on social media in order to get the most effective campaign. As part of the new campaign, Adidas created ads that were directed to specific influencers, peppered around Chicago. After the influencers were engaged, they switched to a more mainstream creative. The beauty of HotSpots is their flexibility—they can be adapted to any environment, any campaign, and any goal. 

Dr. Consalter began with one outdoor ad for medical cannabis. It worked so well he decided to expand his billboard campaign across Chicago. His appeal to Hispanic audiences and his targeted approach worked: now he's the #1 clinic for medical marijuana in Illinois. HotSpots work because they target audiences where they live, eat, and shop. Through repeated engagement with your creative, your audience develops a stronger loyalty to your brand.

OkCupid’s brazen yet playful “DTF” tag line is creative advertising that demands attention. The colorful painted mural is also an awesome, complimentary backdrop to this street-level HotSpot ad located in befitting Wicker Park. The campaign has boosted social mentions of OkCupid by 50 percent, according to the OK Cupid CMO Melissa Hobley.

CHICAGO

HotSpots are the perfect format for the hyperlocal approach in Chicago. Learn more about how this format can help your brand stand out in the Windy City.