Flyposting (also known as bill posting) is a

guerrilla marketing Guerrilla marketing is an Advertising, advertisement strategy in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a Product (business), product or Service (business), service. It is a type of publicity. The ...

tactic where advertising

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

s (also known as flyers) are put up. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, these posters are also commonly referred to as wheatpaste posters because

wheatpaste Wheatpaste (also known as flour and water paste, flour paste, or simply paste) is a gel or liquid adhesive made from wheat flour or starch and water. It has been used since antiquity for various arts and crafts such as bookbinding, ''Decoupage, ...

is often used to adhere the posters. Posters are adhered to construction site

barricades Barricade (from the French '' barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denote ...

, building façades and in alleyways.

Advertisement posters

The posters used are typically made of a lightweight paper and printed using

flexography Flexography (often abbreviated to flexo) is a form of printing process which utilizes a flexible Relief print, relief plate. It is essentially a modern version of letterpress, evolved with high speed rotary functionality, which can be used for ...

, digital printing and

screen printing Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen in a "flood stroke ...

. Modern printing techniques enable the posters to feature full-colour designs, halftones, and photographs, making them popular for advertising concerts, political messages, commercial advertisements and special events. An increasing number of posters do not advertise anything at all and instead feature artwork, inspirational or positive messages, and religious messages. It is an advertising tactic mostly used by small businesses promoting concerts and

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

groups, but there have been occasions where international companies

subcontract A subcontractor is a person or business which undertakes to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract, and a subcontract is a contract which assigns part of an existing contract to a subcontractor. A general contractor, prime ...

ed local advertising agencies for flyposting jobs in order not to get caught in illegal behavior, as a form of

. In 2004,

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

and BMG were threatened with anti-social behaviour orders by Camden Borough Council for illegal flyposting.

Legislation

In many countries, it is illegal to place such posters on

private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...

without the consent of the property owner, or to post on

public property Public property is property that is dedicated to public use. The term may be used either to describe the use to which the property is put, or to describe the character of its ownership (owned collectively by the population of a state). State own ...

without a sign permit from the local government. Some areas, however, have public

bulletin board A bulletin board (pinboard, pin board, noticeboard, or notice board in British English) is a surface intended for the posting of public messages, for example, to advertise items wanted or for sale, announce events, or provide information. ...

s where notices may be posted. In an effort to discourage illegal flyposting, surfaces at risk of it are sometimes permanently signed ''Post No Bills'' (US), ''No Flyposting'' (UK), or ''Défense d'afficher - loi du 29 juillet 1881'' (France), a reference to a law passed in 1881 that regulates the display of advertisements in public spaces. While flyposting is commonplace, it is often viewed as a nuisance by

landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

s and they can take

civil action A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. T ...

to protect their

property right The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership), is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typicall ...

s. A particularly noteworthy incident of this type occurred in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. In the case of the

2007 Boston Mooninite panic On the morning of January 31, 2007, the Boston Police Department and the Boston Fire Department mistakenly identified battery-powered LED placards depicting the Mooninites, characters from the Adult Swim animated television series ''Aqua Tee ...

, advertisers had placed electronic signboards without notifying local authorities, prompting a costly reaction by the

Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1854, the BPD is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. It is also the 20th largest law enforce ...

bomb squad when the signs were mistaken for bombs.

Web banner

With the rise of the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...

, much of advertising has been shifted online. Some

advertising agencies An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

have drawn similarities between flyposting and certain types of

adware Adware, often called advertising-supported software by its developers, is software that generates revenue by automatically displaying Online advertising, online advertisements in the user interface or on a screen presented during the installatio ...

, which are more invasive to

consumers A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or use purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. Th ...

References

{{Graffiti-stub Graffiti and unauthorised signage Spamming Marketing techniques

Advertisement posters

Legislation

Web banner

See also

References