Des Moines is a cool city. It serves as a state capital and in the spring, its skyline is punctuated with a lush greenery for as far as the eye can see. Its Metro Area is the home to Nearly 700,000 people and is the home to many prominent U.S. business, and thousands of other local and regional ones.
Some people say it’s name is French for “the Moines”… We don’t know about all that, but what we do know is that it’s made even cooler by DART, the amazing transit authority serving the Des Moines area, and the eye-catching ads that dress the more than a hundred buses that drive through the community all day every day as a valuable public service, that also builds marketing awareness like nothing else can.
Like we’ve featured before, in recent years it seems like a large amount of colorful and vibrant fully wrapped bus campaigns have taken over the streets of Des Moines. A big part of that change is thanks to the Transit Advertising guy of Des Moines: Parker Anderson.
Meet Parker, the Transit Advertising Guy
Parker Anderson has been Adsposure’s out-of-home advertising expert in Des Moines for the past three years, specializing in making the process as easy as possible for hundreds of business, agencies and marketing departments to get exactly what they need.
But only does parker have experience helping businesses, many clients continue to convey how Parker brings a creativity and marketing knowledge that adds value to any campaigns that comes his way. No more is this true than with long time Advertiser Golden Rule Plumbing Heating and Cooling. A company with an entrepneurial history which includes having a respect for branding and what it means for a campaign to make an impact that continues to create new business and establish them as a leader in the industry, especially in Des Moines and the greater Iowa region.
“It was a little intimidating getting into it, because we just didn’t know anything about it,” Bobby Johnson with Golden Rule said. “Working with Adsposure, and specifically our rep Parker has been super easy and great!”
And no one could blame Bobby for being intimidated, there’s a lot of options when it comes to transit advertising. He even has a fleet of vehicles already branded, because he already knew the impact that being seen on city streets make. But with bus advertising comes a whole lot of possibilities that can be considered. That’s where Parker steps in.
“So, we’ve got 34 ad types in total, all of which have these wacky names that are industry standards, like your King Kong, for example,” Parker said. “I could show them all 34 ad sizes by dropping a huge rate card in their laps. But people appreciate it more when I pick and choose the campaign that I think is going to give them the best bang for their buck. I’m going to choose the right ad types to give them the most estimated impressions possible.”
He is the expert after all. Not only does Parker know the formats, but he has seen first-hand when campaigns seem to resonate in the market and make more of a buzz, he knows that the right campaign on the right format can make all the difference.
Some of the most popular formats
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Working with and Supporting DART
You can’t have great transit advertising without a great transit authority, and we definitely have that with Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority, or DART.
DART continues to provide valuable services to the entire region that enable the city to function and grow.
With a fleet of 150 buses, that travel thousands of miles every day, not only do they keep the community moving, but the advertising that they leverage is seen across the market at the same time.
“We are very fortunate in Des Moines to have the public transit authority that we do have, the buses are clean, they are air conditioned, they’re heated, they’ve got Wi Fi, and the ridership is all over the board,” Parker said.
You can tell that just by visiting their downtown transit center, a beautiful modern building with fully wrapped buses going in and out all day. The center shows the effort and importance of public transit, and how big of a task it is to keep functioning efficiently and effectively.
“We’re actually the largest public transit system in the state of Iowa. As such, our role is really to connect people to where they need to go,” Erin Hockman with DART said. “We really want to be good community partners, and we know that this is an effective, affordable means of advertising, for a wide variety of organizations.”
And many different organizations have taken advantage of this partnership, like the team at Broadlawns Medical Center, because it fits directly into their mission.
“We are proud to partner with Dart and Adsposure to provide our advertising and consistent messaging on the buses that are here in Polk County,” Jenna Knox said. “As the Community Hospital, we serve the urban population, and we are very committed to making sure that they are aware of what is available to them at their community hospital.”
Making an Impact
For us at Adsposure, the Des Moines market stands out because advertisers have really embraced the fully wrapped buses that we offer.
“We love full wraps in Des Moines,” Parker said. “As soon as one company takes part in enjoying the benefits from having a fully wrapped vehicle and understanding the impact that comes with that, we’ve seen a lot of advertisers follow suit.”
But a bus is different
“It very much is an extension of the fleet,” he said. “However, we’re not going to purchase a city bus or have something of that size. So, it just lends a magnitude, more of a presence and really, in my opinion, more of an authority within our industry.”
What you’re leaning on with transit advertising is just the sheer number of potential impressions you can make. A bus is driving around all day, sitting in traffic and picking up thousands of passengers. Because of that, every ad we have has a way to make an impact
“Sometimes I’ve got 15 to 40 vehicles behind that city bus who get to take in that message, whether that be job recruiter, or maybe someone in education or a public service announcement. They’ve got a lot more time they’ve got a lot more time to take in that message on the rear of the vehicle,” Parker said. “The side of the vehicle is great for just general brand awareness. And when I’ve got all four sides of the vehicle, it’s just a winning combination.”
What you’re leaning on with transit advertising is just the sheer number of potential impressions you can make. A bus is driving around all day, sitting in traffic and picking up thousands of passengers. Because of that, every ad we have has a way to make an impact
“Sometimes I’ve got 15 to 40 vehicles behind that city bus who get to take in that message, whether that be job recruiter, or maybe someone in education or a public service announcement. They’ve got a lot more time they’ve got a lot more time to take in that message on the rear of the vehicle,” Parker said. “The side of the vehicle is great for just general brand awareness. And when I’ve got all four sides of the vehicle, it’s just a winning combination.”
In Des Moines, you can trust Parker to help walk you through that planning process of picking the right ad.
But that’s not unique to Des Moines. We have experts in nine markets and all of them can help with the specific needs of the communities they live and breathe.
Supporting Des Moines and Looking Forward
Not only can you make an impact in your advertising, but an impact in your community.
That’s because transit advertising funds your area both directly and indirectly.
“Just by advertising on a DART vehicle, you’re already giving back to the community, checking that box for community involvement,” Parker said. “What a lot of people don’t realize is that half of the media cost for each of these buses goes right back into the city. That helps to keep our taxes sustainable, that helps to keep our air cleaner, these are things that everybody can enjoy, and people really appreciate seeing these on city buses, as opposed to a private billboard company.”
We work hard to support DART and the area community, and that effort is recognized.
“One of the reasons why we chose to work with Adsposure several years ago, is that it allows us to focus on what we do best, which is delivering transportation solutions to get people where they need to go and allows Adsposure to do what they do best, which is selling advertising and administering that whole process,” Erin said. “It’s just been a really great partnership, where we can bring both of our areas of expertise together for the betterment of Our entire community.”
What we’ve got going on in Des Moines has been a process that has taken a little time. But now that we’re seeing it come to fruition, we’re seeing a lot of happy advertisers who keep coming back who keep renewing with us and we really care about all these people.
If you’re in Des Moines and want to share in the success of these other brands and give back to your community, reach out to Parker!
And if you have needs in any of our other markets, our transit experts there will be more than capable of helping out.