Urine no longer stinks for a long time
Ambient advertising One company offers not only WC advertising space, but entire urinals that count their own contacts - and function without flushing.
Ambient advertising A company offers not only WC advertising space, but entire urinals that count their own contacts - and work without flushing. How fortunate that FC Basel will not have to play a ghost match at its championship home game against FC Servette on March 8 after all, but will only have to lock out a small number of its fans. The FCB treasurer is not the only one to be relieved. It has also been received with joy at Bluewin. For the Internet provider, every fan who is locked out is one contact less, and Bluewin has decided to address as many men as possible at 66 of the 200 St. Jakob Park urinals for six months starting in March: By means of a display on the upper urinal rim. The scramble for advertising in the quiet restroom is inventive: during the average 40-second pee phase, Bluewin has the opportunity to bring an advertising message to the relieving man. To ensure that the advertising really catches the eye, the display lights up thanks to a sensor as soon as the user approaches the urinal. "The attention for your advertising message is enormous! Zapping and looking away impossible!!! No one can avoid the advertising on the Urimat-Info," advertises the urinal manufacturer Urimat Schweiz AG, based in Tann, Zurich, on its homepage.
130 McDonald's stores
Advertising in restrooms is nothing new; other companies have been doing it for some time (WW 1/03). But Urimat doesn't just offer luminous advertising panels whose contacts can also be counted thanks to the sensor. No, the company sells entire urinals that work without flushing or chemicals. This is not only ecologically but also economically interesting: McDonald's Switzerland, for example, has equipped its 130 branches with Urimat urinals and now saves around 30 million liters of drinking water per year. That alone is a lot of money. But the fact that revenue can also be generated with each rented display is a welcome tip for the fast food chain - and an additional selling point for Urimat, the company founded in 1998 by graduate engineer Hans Keller.
Apparently a successful one: In Switzerland, 1700 systems with advertising displays have already been installed in airports, freeway service stations, hotels, fitness centers or stadiums.
Urimat aims at the EM 2008
In addition to St. Jakob Park, the new Basel ice rink and the Stade de Genève, which opens on March 16, are also equipped with such urinals. And that's not all. Negotiations are underway with the developers of various other new stadiums in Switzerland and Austria. There is a strategy behind this: "Urimat wants to offer a pool of urinals in all Swiss and Austrian stadiums for the 2008 European Soccer Championships," says Marcel Näpflin, who is responsible for marketing and sales at Urimat Switzerland.
Compared to other providers of WC advertising, occupying the existing Urimat advertising spaces is not cheap at first glance: the 250 displays at McDonald's, for example, cost 200 francs per month each. But with 1.125 million 40-second male contacts, the customer then comes to a thousand-contact price of 44.40 francs. The downside to the setup is that only peeing men can be contacted - but not for long. Because Uridam is already in development - a model for women that also works without flushing.
Urimat is also active abroad. Apart from Austria, it is also active in Germany, Mexico and Dubai. In addition, negotiations are currently underway with McDonald's Europe for the total conversion of all branches throughout Europe. In Germany and Austria alone, 2500 additional urinals are being installed.
Expansion into non-German-speaking countries is also a headache for the company, which expects sales of 4 million Swiss francs this year and aims to be in the black for the first time. For one thing, Urimat only wants to install its systems in countries where it can also guarantee impeccable service. To ensure that the current eight employees are not faced with a logistical tour de force, they want to expand only slowly, despite their success. After all, all the advertising sales still have to get off the ground. "We are looking for suitable canvassers for Germany and Austria - and later for other countries," Näpflin confirms.
In Basel's St. Jakob Park, Bluewin is now advertising on the toilet surface for six months.
140 euros a monthAt Urimat, advertising sales are still in their infancy. "At first, we sold urinals with advertising space that each owner could rent out himself. Now we sell advertising space in the form of environmentally friendly urinals. And we now want to bundle these into a network. If we acquire advertising centrally, it's easier than if each individual Urimat urinal owner does it," explains Marketing Manager Marcel Näpflin. An advertising department has been set up since August. In addition, the company works exclusively with Mediabox in advertising sales. Those who lease Urimat the space receive between 35 and 140 euros per month, depending on the location. National campaigns from Swisscom Mobile, Walt Disney, Buena Vista and Bluewin have already been won for the urinal displays (mk).
Markus Knöpfli
130 McDonald's stores
Advertising in restrooms is nothing new; other companies have been doing it for some time (WW 1/03). But Urimat doesn't just offer luminous advertising panels whose contacts can also be counted thanks to the sensor. No, the company sells entire urinals that work without flushing or chemicals. This is not only ecologically but also economically interesting: McDonald's Switzerland, for example, has equipped its 130 branches with Urimat urinals and now saves around 30 million liters of drinking water per year. That alone is a lot of money. But the fact that revenue can also be generated with each rented display is a welcome tip for the fast food chain - and an additional selling point for Urimat, the company founded in 1998 by graduate engineer Hans Keller.
Apparently a successful one: In Switzerland, 1700 systems with advertising displays have already been installed in airports, freeway service stations, hotels, fitness centers or stadiums.
Urimat aims at the EM 2008
In addition to St. Jakob Park, the new Basel ice rink and the Stade de Genève, which opens on March 16, are also equipped with such urinals. And that's not all. Negotiations are underway with the developers of various other new stadiums in Switzerland and Austria. There is a strategy behind this: "Urimat wants to offer a pool of urinals in all Swiss and Austrian stadiums for the 2008 European Soccer Championships," says Marcel Näpflin, who is responsible for marketing and sales at Urimat Switzerland.
Compared to other providers of WC advertising, occupying the existing Urimat advertising spaces is not cheap at first glance: the 250 displays at McDonald's, for example, cost 200 francs per month each. But with 1.125 million 40-second male contacts, the customer then comes to a thousand-contact price of 44.40 francs. The downside to the setup is that only peeing men can be contacted - but not for long. Because Uridam is already in development - a model for women that also works without flushing.
Urimat is also active abroad. Apart from Austria, it is also active in Germany, Mexico and Dubai. In addition, negotiations are currently underway with McDonald's Europe for the total conversion of all branches throughout Europe. In Germany and Austria alone, 2500 additional urinals are being installed.
Expansion into non-German-speaking countries is also a headache for the company, which expects sales of 4 million Swiss francs this year and aims to be in the black for the first time. For one thing, Urimat only wants to install its systems in countries where it can also guarantee impeccable service. To ensure that the current eight employees are not faced with a logistical tour de force, they want to expand only slowly, despite their success. After all, all the advertising sales still have to get off the ground. "We are looking for suitable canvassers for Germany and Austria - and later for other countries," Näpflin confirms.
In Basel's St. Jakob Park, Bluewin is now advertising on the toilet surface for six months.
140 euros a monthAt Urimat, advertising sales are still in their infancy. "At first, we sold urinals with advertising space that each owner could rent out himself. Now we sell advertising space in the form of environmentally friendly urinals. And we now want to bundle these into a network. If we acquire advertising centrally, it's easier than if each individual Urimat urinal owner does it," explains Marketing Manager Marcel Näpflin. An advertising department has been set up since August. In addition, the company works exclusively with Mediabox in advertising sales. Those who lease Urimat the space receive between 35 and 140 euros per month, depending on the location. National campaigns from Swisscom Mobile, Walt Disney, Buena Vista and Bluewin have already been won for the urinal displays (mk).
Markus Knöpfli