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 is often used to adhere the posters. Posters are adhered to construction site barricades, building façades and in alleyways.

Advertisement posters

The posters used are typically made of a lightweight paper and printed using flexography, 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 groups, but there have been occasions where international companies subcontracted 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 without a sign permit from the local government. Some areas, however, have public bulletin boards 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 to protect their property rights. 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, 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.

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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 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

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See also

References