Executional Guide · Professionals
Five moments in a working day when professionals can be reached, and the hours each one works best.
The morning commute
The commute brings professionals through a handful of places at predictable times: the stations, bus stops and car parks they arrive at, and the streets between there and the office. Teams can meet that flow at the entrances and on the walkways leading to the business district.
Where a town has no busy station, the streets that feed the offices do the same job, especially the stretch past the coffee shops and newsagents where people pause on the way in.
Station sampling works well first thing, because a free drink or snack needs no explanation. Without a sample, leaflet distribution can still stand out with a strong design, costume characters or a competition that rewards a second look.
People are focused on getting to their desks on time, so a morning conversation is short. If the offer needs explaining, it may land better at lunch or on the way home. Best hours: 7 to 10am.
At work
Inside the working day, the audience is easier to define: you can choose by sector, by size of business or by area. Offices, business parks, industrial estates, retail parks, sports centres and garages all hold a captive audience at set times.
Office sampling takes the offer to people at their desks, in breakout areas and in reception, where a healthy snack or a treat lifts the afternoon. Business districts in city centres let a team visit more workplaces in less time; spread-out estates take longer between stops.
The best window runs from late morning into mid afternoon. Avoid the first hour, when people are planning the day, and the last, when deadlines bite.
Make it memorable, even for a complex product: a giveaway, a snack, something that brightens the day, and a simple way to follow up, such as a sign-up or a code to redeem. Best hours: 10am to 4pm.
Lunch
Lunch is the most relaxed part of the working day, and the busiest streets in the business district fill up quickly. Roaming sampling teams can follow the crowd between the coffee shops, sandwich bars and supermarkets rather than waiting at one spot.
The offer does not have to be food. Lunch is when colleagues talk about things other than work, so it suits events, new ranges and online offers that people can look up back at their desk and pass round.
A fixed stand gives more visibility than a roaming team, but it is usually booked for the whole day, so the quiet hours either side of lunch cost the same as the busy one.
Many people eat at their desks after a quick trip out, so give them something to check online and share, not a leaflet that stays in a pocket until the evening. Best hours: 12 to 3pm.
After work
After work, professionals head for the bars, pubs and restaurants around the business district. Roaming teams work well here too, following the footfall to the busiest streets and the doors of the most popular venues, with a team leader moving the team to wherever the crowd is. Early evening leaves room for a proper brand message, before the drinks start to dilute it.
Inside a venue, tastings and themed evenings bring something different to an ordinary night out, and they suit bar promotions where a brand wants the product in hand. Data capture and content for social media can run alongside. If you run the venue, ask what would bring a group to you instead of their usual place.
Choose the day carefully. Thursday and Friday are far busier for after work drinks than Monday or Tuesday.
Give groups something to use straight away: a voucher for the venue they are walking into, a sample, or a competition they can enter together. Best hours: 4 to 8pm, stretching to 10pm at most. After that the crowd turns from after work drinks to a night out.
The way home
The evening rush passes the same stations and streets as the morning, but the mood is different. Nobody has to be home at a set time, so people will stop for a moment, take a sample and listen, and the journey gives them time to read what you handed over.
The way home also passes supermarkets and high streets, where people pick up dinner or do some late shopping, especially near Christmas and towards the weekend. That is a chance to sway a last-minute choice, and in store tastings catch shoppers at exactly that moment.
The 3 to 4pm hour catches early finishers, including parents on the school run; the peak runs from 4 to 7pm. Friday finish times are scattered, with many people home by 4pm, so midweek evenings give a steadier flow.
This is the time for offers that take a little thought: a holiday, a dinner idea, an event at the weekend. Give people something to talk about at home. Best hours: 3 to 7pm.
The day at a glance
| Slot | Hours | Suits | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning commute | 7 to 10am | Samples, simple leaflets | Short attention, people in a hurry |
| At work | 10am to 4pm | Office visits, treats, sign-ups | Avoid the first and last hour |
| Lunch | 12 to 3pm | Events, ranges, online offers | Fixed stands cost the whole day |
| After work | 4 to 8pm | Venue offers, group competitions | Quieter early in the week |
| Way home | 3 to 7pm | Considered buys, dinner ideas | Friday finishes are scattered |
Plenty of campaigns pair two slots or more, such as a morning sample followed by an evening offer at the same station, so the same people see the brand twice in a day.
Before you brief anyone
- The audience, by sector, role or area
- Which part of the day fits the offer
- The stations, streets, offices or venues involved
- What people take away, and how they follow up
- The days of the week, checked against footfall
How to pick the audience, the timing and the places for a campaign aimed at students.
Our teams cover commuter, office, lunchtime and evening campaigns across the UK, matched to your brief and briefed on your offer. See our promotional staffing for the roles we fill.
