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Here in New Zealand we’ve been working with some insanely talented artists to create one-off murals that support our clients’ campaigns.

It’s been fascinating to see how New Yorkers are getting in on the act, too.

American shave brand Harry’s absolutely smashed its sales targets with their recent, award-winning collaboration with monstrous artist Kevin Lyons.

So what’s the appeal of the HPA format, and how do you create a showstopper?

The clue is in the name: Hand-Painted

Whether you’re selling shave kits, an indie film or a beer brand, Hand Painted
Advertising (HPA) is about bringing a human touch to the world of commerce. You need accomplished artists to bring these ideas to life. (Spoiler alert: Phantom knows where to find them.)

Then you need to give your artist a canvas – which is another way of saying, a public space with the scale and visibility to capture a lot of eyeballs. Phantom has a selection of super sites that will get you tens of thousands of views per day.

But if you stop there, you’d be missing a trick.

Smart marketers leverage the impact by connecting their HPA installation to other touch points, from product merch to social media. That’s where Phantom’s poster frames add to the story. They complement your mural, and you can use them to carry the more specific details and value-adds that turn awareness into action.

In the case of Harry’s New York campaign, the custom artwork on the wall mirrored their capsule collection’s packaging. Then there was a QR code that sent viewers to the brand’s online store.

Here’s how it all came together, courtesy of US ad publication The Drum:

“This campaign is an example of how place-based OOH can be leveraged to generate powerful metrics in the digital sphere. This single-wall, content- driven, artist-collaboration campaign garnered significant engagement on-site and online, ultimately resulting in the limited-edition set selling out completely and becoming a collector’s item.

“This campaign outperformed social media metric expectations with a 7.3% engagement rate on a mural campaign recap video, reaching 7,500+ accounts, garnering 8,000+ views, and securing 500+ post engagements. And that was all from Colossal’s Instagram metrics.”

Like the look of those numbers? We do too.

‘Flora for the concrete jungle’ is what Phantom is all about. With our brand and creative partners, we bring art to walls, and deliver the sales that make everything viable.

If you’ve got a big idea for your brand, we’d love to take it to the street.

Late last year, we launched a one of a kind competition.

Nope, not the data harvesting, Instagram sharing kind that we’ll all unfortunately been accustomed to.

Something a little more celebratory, something bigger.

Little old Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud, at the edge of the world, boasts way more than good food, good wine and good people. Whilst the epicentre of creativity can often be linked to London and New York, New Zealand undoubtedly holds in own.

As a nation, one thing we don’t always do well is to celebrate our wins, a la Tall Poppy Syndrome.

We wanted to change that, with 100s upon 100s of epic brands and businesses based out of, and producing in New Zealand, we wanted to give them the opportunity to showcase their brands on our network. Labs style.

The rules?

Be an NZ owned business and pitch us your dream campaign idea that would feature in large scale, as part of our epic Labs builds.

We were inundated by entries, from all industries.

Small to big, the ideas we saw took us days to work through. Multiple full scale team meetings ensued, fuelled by coffee and passion and a few heated discussions.

In the end, we came up with 3 winners. Hand picked by the team.

The judging criteria came down to this; which entrant took what Phantom Billstickers does, and implemented their idea seamlessly onto our network.

Christchurch Winner: Garage Project.

Garage Project provided us with a detailed pitch, focussing on our network in Christchurch.

They showed a clear understanding of how best to utilise what Phantom does best.

With the focus on the growing market for their brand in Christchurch, they took full advantage of proximity mapping (we put you where your target audience is).

Audiences, and marketing aside. They came in HOT with the creative. Utilising all aspects of the Manchester Street site to work together in unison to convey a clear message.

Using the landscape billboard up top to feature what can only be described as one of your mates pouring out a cold one, they blended the bottom frames, utilising clear, on brand typography and an image which has us grabbing the nearest beverage to quench our thirst.

As a final touch of magic, and really bringing it all together, GP utilised our recyclable pop-out material to showcase the beauty of the pour from the can, adding both impact and depth to the overall campaign.

Job well done GP, this ones a beast.

Heading to the nearest GP dispensary to grab a 0% thirst quencher.

2023, you had your moments.

The summer break beckons, with family fun and beach days. But before we say goodbye to 2023, let’s take a moment to look back at some billsticking highlights.

You helped make them happen. So, thank you.

We turned posters into poi-sters.
Phantom helped promote kapa haka by collaborating with Potiki Poi to place real poi on our poster frames in the days leading up to Te Matatini. Every day, the poi were replenished.

Pretty soon, social media was buzzing with rumors about the timing of the next poi drop. It was a rare day when they lasted more than five minutes.

The power of the poppy.
Lest we forget, graphic red poppies stood proud in our poster frames in the days leading up to Anzac Day. And there was a QR code so you could donate on the spot.

Free posters for NZ Music Month.
To celebrate Kiwi music and help lure audiences to gigs, we offered 41 free posters for every musical act staging a show during Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa | New Zealand Music Month.

We collaborated with Olivia Rodrigo.
Her latest album was a worldwide smash. In Aotearoa, her team printed four unique QR codes to reveal Olivia’s lyrics on four Phantom street posters. All you had to do was point your phone at the poster.

Our burnt-out car was a global winner for The Boys.
The Phantom Labs team helped create the imaginative installation complete with laser eyes and a burnt-out car. Then the jury at the World Out Of Home Congress voted it runner-up in the category of Best Creative Classic Poster. The gold medal would have been even more awesome but we were still pretty stoked.

Matariki to the max.
In deep, dark midwinter we ran Matariki campaigns for a host of awesome clients. It was fantastic to see brands like ANZ, Te Papa, the Auckland Philharmonic, and Hutt City celebrating the holiday – and embracing the creative possibilities of posters.

National Poetry Day took poetry to every corner of Aotearoa.
…helped by Phantom Billstickers. We sponsor this event because we love printing poems on posters, and we want to see people indulge their love of incredible words.

Hand Painted Art stepped out of the shadows.
People around the world have woken up to the power of a giant piece of public art. Phantom has been on it for ages, and we have the sites and connections to deliver some really exciting murals. Case in point: the new Mac showstopper in Auckland.

We created winners.
Phantom believes in the power of creativity so we wanted to see what some unsung brands could do given the chance to take over a prime site. We were blown away by the results. Link to a page with some of the site takeover competition winners.

Thanks for an epic year,

See you in 2024.

Superfans are the most precious asset any brand (or band) can have.

They’re your repeat customers, your ticket buyers and frequent flyers. They’re the 20% of your customer base who drive 80% of your sales. The people who engage with your social posts. The people who write your 5-star reviews. The people who power your most effective marketing channel – word of mouth.

If only there were a cost-effective way of engaging them even more.

There is.

Super sites for Superfans.

Something special happens when people who love your brand see your poster.

They stop. They smile. They might even take a photo and post it on their socials.

That’s because street posters create emotional connection. There’s some clever psychological research behind this, but the gist is that fans feel they’re encountering a friend in a public place. It’s a sweet little surprise.

On a practical note, you’re also giving them shareable content. If your poster is creative enough, it might even go viral worldwide.   

At Phantom Billstickers, we’ve got hundreds of sites where your fans can find your brand. We’d love to put you guys in touch.

Street posters are brilliant for new entrants to a market. With street presence and the ability to dominate a local market, they’re a great way for feisty newcomers to announce their arrival. 

Then when it’s time to scale, posters are even more essential. Here’s why:

Awareness that translates into sales. Old thinking is that awareness (the currency of brands) is only loosely connected to sales performance. But with outdoor media, you get the best of both worlds. One study found that internet searches out of home are 38% more likely to lead to a sale than those conducted at home. 

Digital native brands need to live outside digital, eventually. Many new brands have a huge advantage in being digitally native because they don’t have to go through the digital transformation of legacy brands. That said, at some stage, they need to distinguish themselves from the other digital natives – and posters are a great way to show the flag.

The brand medium your future consumers love. Gen Z doesn’t watch mainstream TV and takes digital for granted. However, they love outdoor media – perhaps because of its creative scope and lack of adtech surveillance.

Create events that go viral. Phantom’s poster sites have dispensed kombucha, chocolate, books, and hot cross buns. With a little imagination and some help from our clever Account Managers and Phantom Labs team, you can get the public sampling, sharing, and raving about your up-and-coming brand. 

Sustainability is built in. With carbon footprints being scrutinized by consumers, your growing brand needs to watch its step. At Phantom, we’re onto it. Our operations are certified carbon-zero, and we’re committed to making street posters the most sustainable option in the marketing mix. 

Oh, and there’s the small matter of affordability. We understand that your marketing budget is not infinite, and you need to make every brand campaign work for its living. Phantom’s nationwide network of 6,500 poster frames gives you the ability to target your audiences and look big on a budget. 

Get in touch and find out how.