How to advertise in Lifts and Office Buildings
Key Takeaways:
Make the Short Journey Count: The average lift ride is incredibly brief. To get your message across effectively, your advert needs to be highly visual and easy to read in a matter of seconds before the doors open.
Match the Building to Your Audience: Do not just book space in any corporate block. Look at the types of companies working inside the building. You can target financial districts for wealth management services or creative hubs for media software.
Work with an Agency like One Day to Navigate Landlords: The commercial property market is split across hundreds of different property managers. Working with an integrated media agency like One Day takes away the stress of planning and buying, making it easy for businesses of all sizes to run smooth campaigns.
Commercial office buildings offer a completely distraction-free space to reach high-value professionals. This guide explains how brands can use lift screens and lobby displays to capture attention during the daily commute, turning the corporate nine to five routine into a highly targeted advertising channel.
The Marketing Value of the Daily Office Routine
A basic marketing fundamental is that getting your advert seen multiple times builds strong brand recall. In the modern world, achieving this level of frequency is difficult. However, the physical layout of an office building offers a brilliant solution for marketers.
Think about the natural behaviour of a person stepping into a corporate lift. They experience a brief moment of pause in a very busy day. With their mobile phones often tucked away in a pocket or losing signal, they have a short window of time to simply look around. Because the space is small and quiet, any digital screen placed on the wall naturally draws the eye.
This presents a fantastic opportunity. Furthermore, the daily working routine guarantees high frequency. A professional will walk through the lobby and ride the lift in the morning, travel down for a coffee break, return for afternoon meetings and leave at the end of the day. This routine ensures your clear, punchy message is seen multiple times a day by the exact same high-value demographic.
Best Screen Formats for Commercial Buildings
Understanding how to advertise in these business spaces means selecting the right screens for the right areas. You need to adapt to the fast-paced flow of foot traffic.
Digital Screens Inside the Lift
The most popular format for office advertising is the digital lift screen. Positioned at eye level within the carriage, these high-definition displays offer dynamic video and static image capabilities.
Because the people inside are enclosed for a very short duration, usually averaging 15 to 30 seconds, your visual execution must be flawless. Complex messaging will be lost the moment the doors open. Instead, you must rely on bold imagery, a distinct brand logo and a single Call to Action. This striking clarity is exactly what makes an advert memorable. This format is perfect for B2B software companies, local luxury retailers or financial institutions looking to engage a wealthy demographic quickly.
Reception and Lobby Displays
Before a professional even reaches the lifts, they must pass through the ground floor lobby. Large-format digital screens in these waiting areas command a huge amount of authority. These screens are often placed near security turnstiles or reception desks where people naturally stand still for a few moments, allowing for a slightly longer brand narrative.
A major advantage of these lobby screens is the ability to use day-parting technology. A local coffee shop can advertise a morning pastry deal until 10:00 AM. A local restaurant or gym can then take over the screen from 3:00 PM to capture the post-work mindset. This relevance ensures your budget works efficiently throughout the entire working day.
How to advertise in Lifts and Office Buildings
Reaching the Right Business Districts
Effective office advertising relies on understanding the broader business landscape of a city. You are buying access to key professional hubs and the demographics that work there.
By using location intelligence, marketers can select buildings in the right commercial zones. If you are a B2B financial software firm, we can place your adverts in major office blocks situated in the heart of the City of London or Canary Wharf. If you are a local coffee brand or a gym, we can target high-footfall commercial buildings in busy city centres like Manchester or Birmingham. This location-based approach ensures your advertising budget reaches a dense population of relevant professionals, avoiding wastage on areas that do not match your target audience.
Tapping into the Corporate Mindset
Another crucial marketing fundamental to consider is the psychological state of your audience. When you advertise inside an office building, you are reaching professionals when they are actively in a work mindset.
For B2B companies, this is incredibly valuable. If you are selling business software or corporate finance services, reaching a decision-maker while they are standing in their office lift is far more effective than reaching them while they are relaxing at home on a Sunday. In the office, they are already thinking about business efficiency, team management and company growth. Your advert simply offers a solution to the problems they are currently facing.
This environment is equally powerful for consumer brands that solve daily workplace problems. Food delivery services can target the pre-lunch hunger rush, while local gyms can advertise stress-relieving evening classes to workers heading out of the lobby. By matching your creative message to the mood of the working day, your advertising becomes a welcome suggestion rather than an annoying interruption.
How to Track Footfall and Campaign Success
To prove a return on your investment, office advertising must be measurable. We rely on solid data to plan and track these corporate campaigns.
Building management teams and security turnstiles provide highly accurate footfall data. This tells us exactly how many professionals enter and exit the building each day, giving you verified audience numbers. When you combine this footfall data with a clear, scannable QR code on your lift screen, you create a campaign that drives immediate action. A professional can scan your advert on their way to lunch and visit your website instantly, allowing you to track direct responses from specific office locations.
Book Your Office Advertising Campaigns with One Day
The commercial real estate market is heavily fragmented across different property managers, independent media owners and private landlords. Trying to negotiate access across dozens of buildings is a huge logistical headache.
This is where an integrated media agency like One Day Agency provides a clear advantage. We act as your single point of contact, handling all the planning and buying across the UK without the stress of managing multiple contracts. Whether you are a local independent firm with a modest budget or a global software provider executing a nationwide corporate takeover, we make high-impact B2B marketing accessible and hassle-free.
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