Roadside advertising banners part of council’s commercial strategy

IF you’ve found yourself yearning for a coffee or a large breakfast when you drive into Swansea but are not quite sure why, you’re probably not alone.

Although concentrating on the road, your eyes could well have been drawn to some not-so subtle visual clues.

Your brain then processes that data and, hey presto, your stomach responds.

The new advertising banners on Fabian Way include the familiar Starbucks logo and the red and yellow colouring of restaurant chain Denny’s, which has a diner in Parc Tawe.

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David has also got in on the act with messages about its new SA1 Waterfront campus.

Look closely and you’ll see Swansea Council logos at the bottom of the banners, which are part of the authority’s commercial strategy.
And new banners will be coming to other roads in Swansea.

A council spokesman said: “We have recently approved a number of key routes into and out of the city where commercial advertising on existing lampposts can have a very beneficial impact for local businesses.  “Sites include Fabian Way, Oystermouth Road and Carmarthen Road.”

The income generated from these advertising opportunities, he said, will be reinvested back into council services.

The spokesman added: “We are now looking at other routes in Swansea where we can expand this commercial operation further – sites include Samlet Road, Beaufort Road, the Liberty Stadium and Swansea Road, Garngoch.”

The council is constantly on the lookout for revenue-raising ideas – from leasing land it owns to raising parking charges for special events like the Wales Airshow.

Council chiefs say the authority faces an £18.3 million funding gap in 2020-21, despite a better than expected settlement from the Welsh Government.

A motorist who regularly uses Fabian Way said she had noticed the new banners but didn’t find them distracting. “I thought it was a bit of a genuis advertising strategy, if I’m honest,” she said.

But the commuter, who asked not to be named, said the banners would have more impact if they advertised festivals and big events in Swansea. “I would take more notice of those, 100%,” she said.