Perimeter Advertising in Sport

What is perimeter advertising?

Perimeter advertising is a marketing tool which uses strategically placed advertising boards to convey key messages of an organisation within events. These messages can be displayed in a number of ways, including slogans, images, logos and graphics. 

The use of perimeter advertising has been particularly effective in sports. Sports manage to capture the attention and engagement of viewers in ways which very few other channels can. 

Perimeter advertising has proved incredibly effective when being showcased alongside engaging sporting spectacles, as it allows spectators to consume both the sport and the advertisement, side-by-side rather than causing an interruption in the spectacle - often the case in contemporary marketing, such as TV-advertisements during sporting events.

How does perimeter advertising work in sport?

With sporting events often capturing enormous amounts of consumer attention and viewership, the most successful forms of sports marketing take place within or alongside the sporting event itself.

Perimeter advertising does just this. It typically runs along the outskirts, or the perimeter, of the sports field or playing surface. The first form of perimeter advertising were non-digital advertising boards placed around sporting venues. This form of perimeter advertising is referred to as static perimeter advertising and due to the low costs and high reach, it’s still in use today all over the world. 

Perimeter advertising has undergone significant developments in the last 30 years with digital advertising boards being introduced in the 1990s. Digital perimeter advertising boards are placed in similar positions to static boards, in view of television cameras, but provide brands with the opportunity to utilise video graphics when advertising. 

Digital perimeter advertising boards also allow brands to customise their messages for each sporting event. Throughout the event, brands’ advertising messages are evenly spread throughout the course of the sporting event, with most major leagues opting for 20-30 second slots, chosen to maximise brand exposure to the viewing audiences.

The benefits of perimeter advertising 

Customers have never had access to more information, and more entities competing for their attention. When competing for attention is the greatest challenge, an effective advertising medium becomes an incredibly powerful tool for brands to achieve cut through and return on investment. 

A 2019 Nielsen report on brand impact found that 69% of surveyed people close online videos as soon as they can, 80% of people aware of ad-blockers use them and 42% of people feel negatively about brands that interrupt their viewing experience.  

With contemporary forms of advertising facing greater and greater challenges in maintaining interest and engagement, the target audience is just waiting to click the ‘Skip’ button. 

Perimeter advertising offers a unique solution, as a platform which engages with its audience, where their content isn’t interrupted by the ads, but instead seamlessly incorporated alongside it. 

This provides brands with an unavoidable form of advertising which can work alongside sport, forming an emotional connection.