If your school has been considering bus stop advertising as part of your next open evening or recruitment
campaign, the timing has never been better. Clear Channel UK has just announced that its Adshel Live digital
out of home (DOOH) network has reached 3,500 screens across the United Kingdom — making it the largest
digital roadside network in the country.
For schools, academies and multi-academy trusts looking to reach parents in their local catchment area, this
expansion means more screens, more locations and more opportunity to get your message in front of the
right people at the right time.
What Is Adshel Live and Why Does It Matter for School Campaigns?
Adshel Live is Clear Channel’s national network of digital bus shelter screens, launched in 2015. Since then,
DOOH advertising revenue has more than doubled — growing from 32% of total OOH revenue in 2015 to
65% in 2023 — which tells you everything about how effective digital out of home has become as an
advertising format.
For school advertising campaigns specifically, Adshel Live offers something that traditional printed bus
shelter posters cannot: the ability to update your creative instantly, run your open evening message at
specific times of day, and target locations closest to your school without being locked into a long print
production cycle.
Impressive Reach Across the UK
The Adshel Live network now covers 350 UK cities and towns, with 205 locations that are exclusively served
by its digital roadside screens. The headline figures are hard to argue with:
• 628 million impacts nationally
• 36 million people reached every fortnight
• 66% coverage across the UK population
• 32% more reach than all other roadside digital 6-sheet networks combined
For a school running an open evening advertising campaign, this level of reach means your message isn’t
limited to one or two bus stops near the school gates — it can follow parents through their daily routine,
whether they’re commuting, shopping or doing the school run.
Screens Placed Where Parents Actually Are
One of the biggest advantages of bus stop advertising for schools is the strategic placement of Adshel Live
screens near key retail locations. The network covers twice as many Boots stores and top four grocery
locations as its nearest competitor, with screens positioned within 500 metres of twice as many key retail
sites.
This matters enormously for school advertising. Parents aren’t sitting at a desk waiting to hear about your
open evening — they’re in Tesco, walking past Boots, or waiting at the bus stop after the school run. Adshel
Live puts your school’s message in those moments, in those locations, right in the heart of your catchment
area.
Screens near supermarkets and high streets mean you’re reaching parents during their weekly routine — not
just commuters. This is why bus stop advertising for schools consistently outperforms many other formats for
open evening campaigns.
A Sustainable Choice for Schools That Care About the Environment
Sustainability is increasingly important to schools, and it’s worth noting that Clear Channel’s network
expansion comes with a genuine commitment to reducing environmental impact. New Adshel Live screens
are 50% more energy efficient than previous generations, run entirely on 100% renewable energy, and are
switched off daily between midnight and 5am — reducing energy consumption by 16%.
For schools that include sustainability in their values and communications, being able to reference these
credentials as part of your campaign can only be a positive.
Supporting Communities, Not Just Brands
Beyond commercial advertising, the Adshel Live network plays an important role in community
communication — acting as a public notice board for important local information and enabling fast, reliable
dissemination of messages to all communities. The OOH industry as a whole returns 46p of every £1 in
revenue back to local communities, and in 2023 Clear Channel donated £20 million worth of advertising
space to charities and social causes.
For schools — which are at the heart of their local communities — advertising through a network with these
values is a natural fit.
How Focus Media Can Help Your School Use Adshel Live
At Focus Media UK, we’ve been helping schools, academies and multi-academy trusts plan and book bus
stop advertising campaigns for over 20 years. We know which Adshel Live screens sit closest to your school,
which locations deliver the best results for open evening campaigns, and how to make your budget work as
hard as possible.
Unlike general advertising agencies, we work exclusively with the education sector — which means
completely impartial advice and no pressure to book formats that don’t suit your campaign or your budget.
Want to find out which Adshel Live screens are available in your catchment area? Get in touch with the Focus
Media team today and we’ll put together a no-obligation proposal tailored to your school.
