Picture it… a freezing 6am that’s ruthlessly biting at your tarry lungs…
While you curse the day you lit your first fag, as you wait at the bus stop for your ride to work.
Wishing you could quit the emphysema sticks as you search your pockets for a breath mint, knowing that you’re probably gonna be stinking up the whole bus, regardless, you pray for mercy.
You’re just busy clearing your smokers throat when it happens…
A sexy-ass vape pulls up to get you, sleek and rainbow hued, not at all smelly, on the side of a bright red bus.
All that nicotine and no tar? Is it possible? An end to breath-stress and morning wheezes? A chocolate cookie-flavoured buzz-cloud enveloping you without any nagging feelings of guilt? Well, the only way to find out is to try…so, next stop for you: the vape shop.
What makes the UK a vaping industry leader?
I’m more than half a world away, in South Africa, as I’m writing this…a place where meeting another vaper is like reuniting with a long lost soulmate, a place where popular media does nothing to support or advertise vaping as a viable and healthier alternative to cigarettes.
When I get into situations where I’m being ostracised or called to task (by smokers and their associates) for my habit (on the imagined basis of ‘vaping being just as bad or worse than cigarettes’) …I usually look to the UK government and media for some trusted support, quickly Googling and presenting government statements and medical studies originating in the UK for backup.
This is because (and you may not realise it) the UK is an attitude, legislation and industry leader for the world vaping community.
How the UK is doing things differently:
It’s true that the UK considered banning vaping back in the day, in 2010, when people were less informed, but the fact is that (to the UK’s credit) backed by solid studies, statistics and open communication, the UK has since grown to become what is possibly the most vaper friendly nation on the planet.
The British public and the government have banded together to stay informed and make the right choices, resulting in the UK holding official status as the second-largest market for electronic-cigarette products globally.
Statistically, 2.8 million vapers (deliciously) cloud the streets of Britain, with that number growing on a daily basis and vapes already being twice as popular here than anywhere else in Europe.
What’s more, you’d be right to assume that with a rise in vape sales comes a drop in the sales of cigarettes. These are statistics that can be summed up in lives-saved and lifestyles-being-uplifted forever onward.
The ‘imagined’ scenario I opened this article with is not so hypothetical at all…because it’s the UK’s promotion of e-cigarette products, on the buses that most Brits use daily, that may hold one of the keys to vaping’s massive success at changing lives in your country.
Does bus advertising matter?
While bus advertisements mean very little in a place like SA, where we mostly drive cars to work: things work very differently in Britain where well over half the population get in or out of a bus an average of 4 times per work or shopping day.
Studies have actually shown that at least 61% of consumers reflect on seeing bus adverts, at the very least, within the last seven days.
They’re big, they’re striking, they move, they take you by surprise and, when relevant, these adverts actually matter.
And…considering the fact that ecig brands are restricted from advertising on many other mediums it only makes sense to assume that the majority of advertising-triggered sales could be the result of bus advertisements.
Bus advertising campaigns:
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)’s ruling to allow bus advertising of vaping gear and e-cigarette products, combined with the literal curb-appeal of this big, bright, memorable and moving medium, has encouraged massive bus-advertising campaigns by many (now) well-known vape brands.
So, smokers can now have the confidence (armed with they name they saw on their morning bus) to stop in at that local vape shop and make their first, hopefully life-changing inquiry.
The start of 2019 saw a massive spike in this bus-stop vape game, as the UK Vaping industry Association (UKVIA) launched its anti-smoke, “VApril” awareness and accessibility campaign.
On 8th of April 2019, UKVIA member brand, Innokin, unveiled moving billboards in Manchester, London and Birmingham, as well as being sponsors of Vape Jam who have also has adverts seen at bus stops in London.
“We are creating synergy with Vapril to encourage smokers switching”, said an Innokin executive. “With a bus campaign for the Endura T18.II we are able to promote a fantastic product and reach new customers in key cities across the U.K.”
Find out more about the Innokin Endura T18 II bus tour over at the Innokin website.
