MARKETERS HOP ON THE BUS WITH CO-OP ADVERTISING

LISA A. TIBBITTS

EASTON, Pa. -- Five brand marketers have hopped onto the newest retail marketing vehicle to hit the streets -- bus murals.

The cooperative-funded rolling ads are the brainchild of Laneco here, a subsidiary of Supervalu, Minneapolis. Frito-Lay, Borden, Procter & Gamble, Associated Hygienic Products and Hatfield Bacon products are all participating.

Full-length murals on the sides of two public buses rumbling through the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania show the products of the five companies tumbling out of a paper bag. They inform consumers that they can "save in the fast lane" with Laneco.

Passengers can still see out the windows because of a sophisticated vinyl covering that allows light to pass out from the inside but does not allow people to see in. The vehicles are owned by the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority.

The messages will stay in place for one year. During this time, the brand marketers also receive simple board advertisements on the side panels of two other LANTA buses. The company has estimated that viewership of the two special buses alone amounts to more than 1 million impressions per month.

Laneco is a group of stores corporately owned by Supervalu, which operates 14 Laneco supercenters, nine Food Lane supermarkets and 13 Ultra/Price Slashers supermarkets.

Sally Schulte, Laneco's director of sales and advertising, said they eventually plan to install coupon dispensers on the buses or to have drivers hand out coupons to riders.