The Windy City is one of great industries and innovations in American history. It is home to a number of top executives, tourist culture, and has a great reputation for food and music. On top of that, its proximity to the water makes it a hub for all kinds of culture and industry. It’s a rich market for businesses wanting to advertise their products on Chicago billboards, street signs, and more. But it can be tough to break into, especially if your business doesn’t have a local presence. If it does, the job ahead may be much easier than it would be for businesses outside of the city. Still, the advertising market in Chicago is one of the best in the world, so check out these six tips for tackling the advertising scene in one of the midwest’s most famous cities.
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Food
Chicago is a huge food city, and any advertisement for local food establishments is bound to have some kind of impact on locals and commuters alike. These advertisements can be effectively placed on subway cars, buses, street signs, and on billboards to promote a new restaurant or sale being held at an existing one. Food is one of the best ways to get customers in the door, and it may be a good idea to collaborate with local food vendors for company events that you can advertise and draw more clients in.
Marine Industries
Chicago also has robust shipping and water side industries due to its proximity to Lake Michigan. Industries related to marine based businesses are also bound to do well with advertising in Chicago. For these kinds of businesses, cities like Chicago are great hubs for drumming up direct business sales from the industry itself. Consider advertising near these locations if your company has applicable industry experience or products.
Target Executives and Business Leaders
Chicago is a great place to target advertising campaigns towards executives and high level business owners. The Windy City is home to multitudes of office buildings and corporate level entities that companies can sell their higher end products and services to. These are great to put in eyesight for commuting workers going to and from their downtown offices. This is another great way to take advantage of transit advertising as well.
Sports Fans
If any city is a sports city, it’s Chicago. Placing advertisements at stadiums and arenas is a great way to target a large number of people at one time, and a wide variety of businesses could have success targeting this audience. Especially for food and drink companies, advertising at stadiums could lead to larger future partnerships with venues and places that host large crowds for events.
Partner With Local Businesses
With any local community, it’s best to try and collaborate with local businesses to get your foot in the door of their advertising community. Partnering with local restaurants and event spaces can get you in the door to gaining a wider audience in any city. It would be smart to explore the possibilities of potential collaborations within your industry and start networking to make connections. You never know what opportunities may come up.
Research Your Target Audience
Whoever you are trying to reach and whatever community you are trying to break into, make sure you do research on your target audience to understand them on a deeper level. Young audiences, for example, move through the world in different ways than generations older than them do. The way they consume media is different and the things they are gravitated towards in an advertisement are different.
Market research can illuminate what kinds of ads younger audiences are more likely to click on and what kinds of content they respond to the most. This will make the job of reaching your target audience a lot easier and make it less of a mystery in the future when your ads don’t go as far as you wanted them to.
Conclusion
Breaking into any city’s advertising circle takes time, effort, and networking. In general, make sure you know what the city is known for and what kinds of products or services would do well in that community. In Chicago, you have a bustling city life of busy executives mixed with waterfront industries along the lake and a huge culture for food and nightlife. All of these things are prime opportunities for businesses to market toward, it just takes some detailed market research to understand what different audiences will respond to in different communities.
