We plan the format and delivery around your dates and requirements, working with specialist operators and media owners where needed.

A recognisable city-centre example

Our archive shows Guardian-branded ad bikes outside Manchester Printworks. The photograph places the format in a recognisable local setting and shows the campaign creative on the bikes.

The example is useful when considering how a brand message will appear at street level. For your own brief, identify the relevant locations and the message people should take away, rather than selecting a route only for its landmarks. Explore The Guardian archive feature.

Gym promotion and repeated local schedules

Our historical PureGym project records include Manchester ad bike bookings in September 2016. The planned periods were 7–13 and 19–25 September, with one ad bike recorded for each period.

For a contemporary gym brief, start with the club catchment, the opening or promotion dates and the current membership information. If the message changes between periods, plan the artwork change as part of the production schedule. Historical booking dates illustrate the planning approach; a new proposal should define its own delivery and reporting.

Select a route, a placement or a combination

An ad bike campaign can be planned around agreed local locations and operating hours. Human billboards and promotional staff can support a different task on foot, such as carrying a display or distributing approved material.

A digital ad van needs a suitable road route and stopping arrangements. Billboard, digital screen and bus advertising proposals instead identify the available media inventory and booking schedule. No format guarantees permission to operate inside a particular venue.

Brief the important moments

List the addresses or postcodes and explain why each location matters. Include any event start, store opening or other fixed time. Distinguish the area you want to cover from a specific position you want the team to hold.

If the campaign combines city-centre activity with other areas, allow for movement between them. The quote should state the operating hours and logistics so travel is not mistaken for time delivering activity at a target location.

Agree the evidence before the campaign

Decide whether your team needs location photographs, operating records, placement confirmation or other available reporting. If you also want to assess response, prepare the link, code or enquiry process in advance. A photo of a branded bike is not a count of people reached or a measure of membership sales.

Send your Manchester campaign brief with the dates, locations, objective and preferred format. Compare the options if you are still deciding.