Covering the uncovered space in the advertising world

By Mara Budde

For WisBusiness.com

Cross any street and most likely you’ll walk over a yellow patch of concrete, plastic or steel with small bottle-cap-like bumps on it. Most people cross over these with ease barely even realizing their existence.

Now, imagine being visually impaired and crossing that street. How do you know if you are at the street edge? The sense of sound can only go so far. These safety barriers are detectable warning panels.

Madison-based Brandbumps is a small player in the world of detectable warning panels, but has created a way to boost city revenue and create a new outlet for advertising all while helping out the visually impaired and disabled communities.

The federal American with Disabilities Act requires these panels on sidewalks to alert the visually impaired of an upcoming intersection with a physical cue. Brandbumps is a new, innovative way to aid the visually impaired in their travels while maintaining a brand look in front of stores, stadiums and even on campuses.

While at the World of Concrete trade show in 2011, Gary and Chris Henshue, the founders of the company, were approached by a restaurant chain wanting the panels in their brand color. They thought about how the panels would be painted and what the custom work would entail.

“We came back from that show and started thinking about what we could do with the panels. And then we realized that this was a pretty good idea for branding promotion, ad, and facility-scaping,” said Chris, co-founder and vice president of operations.

With this, the Brandbumps concept was born. The product was launched in 2012 at the GlobalShop trade show in Las Vegas, as the first dual-purpose, value-added detectable warning panels on the market. There, it won second place in a product innovation contest.

The Henshues conducted a large market research study in advance of the launch. They called more than 350 cities in the U.S. requesting information on miles of sidewalk and number of intersections. Out of these 350 cities, 35 gave complete information. By using population numbers, miles of street and other factors, they were able to extrapolate that there are about 40 million panels required across the nation. Only 15 percent of the 40 million spots have actual panels.

Brandbumps naturally appeals to the municipal marketplace, but it is expanding its horizons by working with advertisers and retailers to place panels in stores or right outside their front doors.

“These retailers spend millions on end cap displays and point-of-sale promotion. The problem with that is, every customer does not walk down every aisle, but every customer goes through the front door,” Chris Henshue said.

When compared to other forms of advertising, the company says Brandbumps consistently rank the lowest in cost per thousand impressions, thus giving advertisers a cost-effective, new way to reach their markets.

“There’s a challenge right now among advertisers that is trying to find effective advertising. Anybody 35 or under, only 30 percent read the newspaper or magazines,” Gary said. “We call it the perfect storm. An effective way to advertise at point of sale, that gets noticed right outside the front entrance.”

Brandbumps has 50 installations to date, including installations around Madison at Culver’s, Capital Brewing and Warner Park. The Henshues are continuing to work with retailers and advertisers to cover more uncharted advertising space.

The company will present to potential investors Nov. 5 at the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium in Madison.

— Budde is a student in the UW-Madison Departments of Life Sciences Communication and Dairy Science.