WILD POSTING and Why It's Effective
Create citywide brand awareness and impact with wild posting advertising
Hype brand releases, stories, and events with street poster marketing
Tap a one-of-a-kind brand aesthetic with wheatpaste wild posting
Reach neighborhoods where people live, work, shop and play
Leverage posters as acquisition, engagement, and community drivers
Become part of the streetscape and city culture
Build your street cred with wild posting advertising
What is wild posting?
The definition of wild posting, by most companies, is the placement of promotional street-level advertising posters throughout cities.
This form of outdoor advertising is cited as wheat-paste posters, wheatpasting, sniping, flyering, street posters, and flyposting by individual companies or agencies.
There are two distinct ways to execute a wild posting campaign; traditional and dedicated.
Traditional, often classified as freestyle, is the way posters have been put up around cities for decades.
Dedicated is the site-specific placement of posters with guarantees to be visible for the desired duration.
Ask which approach is the right fit for your brand, cities, budget, and goals.
Large wheatpaste wild postings are placed outdoors on construction sites and other visible cityscape locations.
Small size, snipe-style posters are placed inside cafe bulletin boards, in shops windows, and on-campus as well as outside.
Companies primarily leverage street-level poster advertising to build brand awareness, promote events, highlight product releases, pique interest, branding, and for their brand to be in the mix with city culture.
Wild posting advertising is additionally used for branding, sharing stories, and activism.
Smart companies leverage wild postings to drive consumer engagement via a strong call-to-action, contests, and QR codes.
Wild postings offer the most value in cities where there are a continual flow of people walking from place-to-place (e.g., Chicago, Boston, Portland, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Washington DC, Toronto, NYC, London, etc.) compared to cities (e.g. Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, etc.) where people primarily drive to their destinations.
In cities where people primarily drive place-to-place, like Los Angeles, best to select large wheatpaste posters so they are visible to people traveling in vehicles.
In small-to-mid-sized cities where wheatpaste on construction sites isn't as prevalent or possible (e.g., Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Hudson Valley NY, Nashville, Raleigh, etc.), smaller snipe-style posters, placed on street poles, shop windows, and cafe boards, is the way to connect with people.
Wheatpaste wild posting campaigns available overseas in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona, and Milan although poster sizes and approaches are slightly different in Europe.
Similar to traditional billboards, wild posting advertising involves PDF proofs, printing, shipping, install, and proof-of-performance reporting.
Wild postings utilize recycled paper, soy-based inks, and zero VOC wall paste.
Wild posting advertising tips
1.) Street posters come in a variety of styles, sizes, and approaches; ask which is best for a particular city and your brand goals
2.) Snipe cardstock-style posters are excellent for promoting events as they are more versatile in terms of placement (e.g., indoor, outdoor, on-campus, etc.), providing considerably more reach
3.) Wheatpaste wild postings are commonly utilized for awareness, branding, and story sharing
4.) Freestyle posting provides more street cred while permitted provides location-specific visibility
5.) Wheatpaste posters have a wrinkly, textured surface in comparison to smooth snipe cardstock-style posters
6.) Design the artwork for your posters in a big and bold way, with minimal text, so people can easily comprehend brand intent and message while walking or driving by
7.) Each city, and often each neighborhood, have distinct poster cultures, defining where it is acceptable to post
8.) Posters are impactful when grouped, although best for each wild posting design to stand on its own
9.) If your campaign goal is consumer engagement include a QR code and an irresistible call-to-action
10.) Deploy two or more different types of wild posting formats to stand out in big cities
11.) Rollout new poster designs weekly to keep your initiatives fresh
12.) Integrate augmented reality (AR) element to your poster
13.) Leverage wild posting content on social media
Wild posting services
1.) Wild posting recommendations based on desired outcomes
2.) Poster proofing, printing, and shipping
3.) Placement of posters in target neighborhoods
4.) Weekly poster replenishment to ensure visibility throughout your advertising campaign
5.) Proof-of-performance reporting
6.) Content provided for social media
Is wild posting a good fit for your brand?
1.) Create eye-level brand visibility in big cities
2.) Reach people in specific neighborhoods
3.) Build up brand street cred
4.) Share your brand story, offering, and activism
5.) Generate consumer engagement
6.) Receive unique content for your social channels
7.) Become part of city streetscapes
If you desire three or more of the above outcomes, then, yes, wild postings will be a valuable contributor to your marketing mix.
Availability
Wild postings outdoor advertising coverage in the top 50 US cities including:
New York City, NY
Chicago, IL
Los Angeles, CA
Houston, TX
Phoenix, AZ
San Antonio, TX
Boston, MA
Philadelphia, PA
Washington, DC
San Diego, CA
Dallas, TX
Seattle, WA
Denver, CO
Portland, OR
Seattle, WA
Nashville, TN
Baltimore, MD
Austin, TX
Columbus, OH
Indianapolis, Indiana
Atlanta, GA
Miami, FL
New Orleans, LA
Milwaukee, WI
Raleigh, NC
Buffalo / Rochester, NY
Hoboken / Jersey City, NJ
In Canada, wild posting coverage available in:
Vancouver
Montreal
Toronto
European wild posting coverage includes:
Paris
London
Milan
Madrid
Berlin
Amsterdam
Leverage street posters to become part of trend-spreading neighborhoods:
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
DTLA, Los Angeles
Wicker Park, Chicago
Back Bay, Boston
Pearl District, Portland
Northern Liberties, Philadelphia
Capitol Hill, Seattle
Mission District, San Francisco
Little Five Points, Atlanta
Wynwood, Miami
Bushwick, Brooklyn
Hudson Valley, New York State
EaDo, Houston
RiNo, Denver
Venice Beach, CA
Please note different wild posting formats, sizes, and number of posters are recommended for each city.
Seasonality
Wild postings are the more impactful in the spring, summer, and fall in cold winter cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, Philly, and Washington DC when people spend more time outside, creating more brand impressions and engagement.
Conversely, certain cities like Houston, Miami, Phoenix, and San Antonio are more effective during cooler months.
Events & Holidays
Wild postings are particularly popular outdoor advertising choice during citywide events and holidays.
Events such as Pride, Miami Art Basel, Comic-Con, Fashion Weeks, and marathons increase your poster reach, and more importantly viewed by a special audience.
Holidays see an uptick in wild posting advertising as posters serve as a reminder to purchase a particular product or attend an event.
Why now?
Cities are getting bigger every year, making your poster marketing more impactful.
Wild postings bring your brand to the people in neighborhoods where they live, shop, work, and play.
Walking from place-to-place and eating outdoor is more popular than ever, increasing the influence of your wild postings.
People in cities see posters a a way to discover new brands, product releases, and events.
How to activate a wild posting campaign
1.) Ask what is best for a particular city and your brand goals (wild poster formats come in a variety of styles and sizes)
2.) Receive the standard rates and custom wild posting options
3.) Confirm wild posting dates, cities, and neighborhoods 3+ weeks before the start date
4.) Receive wild posting Specs & Tips for your designers
5.) Provide artwork 2+ weeks prior to desired start date
6.) Submit poster campaign deposit 1+ week before the start date
7.) Posters placed over one week, not all on the same day
8.) Receive 25+ wild posting photos three business days into your initiative
9.) Access weekly recaps with wild posting reporting pictures from each city neighborhood
Conclusion
Wild posting is the original outdoor advertising medium, and with the growth of cities, becoming more impactful every year.
Posters deliver on brand awareness, credibility, content, and engagement.
People look to street posters for event happenings and to discover new brands.
Reach ideal audiences with neighborhood-specific placement.
Choose from a variety of wild posting styles and approaches.
It's competitive out there, and wild postings give your brand a needed edge.
Connect
Connect with ALT TERRAIN for wild posting advertising ideas, strategies, prices, and examples.
Tap your wild side!
Wild Posting FAQ
Wheatpasting are 24″ x 36″ or larger thin paper posters adhered via wheat-paste.
Once pasted on walls, these posters have a wrinkly texture.
Wheatpaste posters can be placed throughout cities with or without permission.
Permission locations often consist of 16 to 24 posters grouped, surrounded by a metal frame, and attached to the side of buildings.
Permitted wild postings allow for you to buy out the entire location or be in the mix with other posters.
Traditional wild postings are primarily placed on construction sites, boarded up storefronts, and abandon properties.
These posters stay in place until they are posted over, cleaned up, or worn away by the environmental elements.
They often allow for 4 or more posters to be placed together, although singles and double posts are common.
Snipe Wild Postings are 11” x 17”, 13″ x 19″, and 18" x 24" cardboard paper posters placed in visible outdoor and indoor locations in target neighborhoods.
In Europe, Snipe Wild posting are known as boards or boarding.
Poster placement locations typically consist of construction sites, street poles, inside cafes, on campus, and in retail shop windows.
Snipe Wild Postings posters are placed via staples, tape, push-pins and/or magnets depending upon the location.
With Snipe Wild Postings there are no predesignated or “owned” locations, however, are placed in your target neighborhoods.
They are particularly effective for promoting local events, highlighting product releases and/or brand promotions.
Pull-Tab Wild Postings are 8.5” x 11” or 11" x 17" size posters with take-one, pull-tabs at the bottom, inviting consumer engagement.
Poster placement locations typically consist of, but not limited to; construction sites, street poles, inside cafes, on college campuses, retail shop windows, and public bulletin boards.
There are no preset or “owned” locations with Pull-Tab Wild Postings advertising medium although are placed in target neighborhoods selected by you.
Pull-Tab Wild Postings are particularly useful for tease-and-reveal, cause marketing, call-to-action, plus quirky and light-hearted advertising initiatives.
Pull-Tab Wild Posting advertising initiatives are available in Los Angeles, Houston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Seattle, San Francisco, New York City, Washington DC, Austin and many other cities.
Dedicated Wheatpaste Poster Installations are site-specific and highlight a single brand advertising campaign with 24 or more posters per location.
Dedicated wheatpaste wild posting wall installations often consisting of multiple poster designs.
This form of wild posting advertising is placed with permission of the property owner and often require city permits.
ALT TERRAIN solicits and secures wall space in target neighborhoods.
Wild posting is the oldest form of outdoor advertising.
It is defined as the placement of street-level advertising posters in public places to promote events, services, and a company's brand image.
There are several different approaches and styles of wild posting.
Get in touch with ALT TERRAIN for wild posting options, rates, and coverage.
Yes, wild postings provide better return-on-investment (ROI) than all other outdoor advertising formats.
In big cities, on average, each poster is viewed by 750+ people per day.
Posters are placed in target neighborhoods to ensure they reach desired audiences.
They are effective in providing brand awareness, interest, purchase intent, and often direct sales (via QR and promo codes).
They are particularly useful for promoting events, store openings, and as a complement to digital and other out-of-home advertising (OOH) formats.
They are purchased on a per-week basis making them more effective from a timing perspective than traditional print billboards, which are secured monthly.
Many brands view wild posting as effective from a street cred perspective as it aligns them with trendy neighborhoods and edgy marketing tactics.
Finally, wild postings are effective in providing unique content for social media channels.
Historically, wild postings are placed throughout cities without permission.
The word 'wild' refers to 'out in the wild' meaning outside standard locations.
Most cities have ordinances against placing advertising posters on public or private property.
Although in many cities, in specific neighborhoods, it is common practice to place posters on street poles, construction sites, and other cityscape objects.
It is possible to lease permitted street-level space for advertising posters, although this is not technically wild posting.
To ensure a wild posting campaign does not put your brand at risk, get in touch with ALT TERRAIN for details.
With traditional, freestyle wild postings, there are no preset locations.
You select target neighborhoods, and posters are placed in the best available locations.
Typically outdoor wild posting locations consist of construction sites, storefronts, street poles, and select buildings.
With permitted wild postings, you know, and can often select, the locations ahead of time.
Wild posting rates vary depending upon the city, poster size, coverage, number of posters, and few other factors.
For budgeting purposes, in most major cities, the cost to print and implement a noticeable one to two-week wild posting initiative is between $7,500 to $20,000.
Contact ALT TERRAIN for wild posting options and pricing for your cities.
Wild posting services available in:
New York State
Los Angeles
Chicago
Boston
Portland
Philadelphia
Seattle
San Francisco
Miami
Baltimore
Pittsburgh
St. Louis
Denver
Houston
Dallas
Austin
San Antonio
Atlanta
New Orleans
Minneapolis
San Diego
New Jersey
Washington DC
Toronto
Vancouver
Montreal
And, wild postings are available in overseas in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Madrid, Berlin, Tokyo, Melbourne, Sydney, Mexico City, Barcelona, Milan, and many other European and Asian countries.
With traditional wild posting, they stay in place until they are posted over, cleaned up by property managers, or worn away by the elements (e.g., heavy rains, sun, sleet, etc.)
Typically in big cities (e.g., NYC, LA, CHI, etc.), traditional wild postings they are in place for 2 to 3 days (and posting teams often revisit neighborhoods twice a week to refresh placements)
Permitted wild posting guarantee they'll be in place for a designated duration.
Here is a list of the best times for brands to leverage wild postings:
1.) Whenever you have a brand release, event, or happening
2.) If your goal is to connect with a city-centric Millennial and Gen Z audience
3.) When you desire a branding solution with a side of street cred
4.) When you're seeking a grassroots or activist vibe
5.) Seasons when more people are walking around cities
The most popular wild posting sizes in the United States are as follows:
Wheatpaste posters sizes are: 24" x 36", 27" x 39" and 48" x 72"
Snipe cardstock poster sizes are: 11" x 17" and 13" x 19"
European poster sizes vary based on country
