Warsaw Murals as a Marketing Tool

Concrete, paint, and a concrete plan in Wola

It all started on August 3, 2024, at 64 Żelazna St. We had a blank tenement wall to fill, which had been frighteningly gray for years. Instead of hanging another sheet that would be dirty and torn after a month, we chose craftsmanship. Our team brought in three artists who for exactly 12 days, from morning to evening, applied the design layer by layer. We used 48 liters of exterior paint and 12 cans of spray for details. We didn't do this just to look pretty – every line had its business purpose.

At Syrenka Media Lab, we always say: we make noise that sells. That's why the mural wasn't just a picture. We wove elements into it that look 3D in phone photos. This made people passing by the stop at Chłodna St pull out their phones en masse. On average every 4 minutes and 12 seconds someone stopped to take a photo. We didn't have to ask anyone for promotion. People themselves wanted to have it on their profile because the image was simply interesting and authentic.

We'll deliver – that's our slogan and it worked here too. Logistics in the center of Warsaw is not a piece of cake. Getting approval from the housing association and the Architecture Office took us exactly 41 business days. We had to prove that our project would not disfigure the area, but rather enliven it. The effect? Even Mr. Andrzej, who lives on the ground floor and was initially skeptical, brought the painters coffee in a thermos on the eighth day of work. These are the details that build a brand story, and we recorded that story from the first minute.

The mural at 64 Żelazna St made someone take a photo of our ad every 4 minutes without any prompting.

Numbers that don't lie – stats from Instagram

Check our numbers, because they are the most important in this business. In the first week after unveiling the mural, the tag with our client's name appeared in Instagram stories 1,420 times. These aren't bots or bought likes. These are real Warsaw residents and tourists tagging the location. Thanks to this, the organic reach of the campaign was 58,340 unique users in just 7 days. The cost of reaching one person was 34% lower than in the case of standard sponsored ads on social media in the same period.

We also used a simple trick with a QR code that we incorporated into the bottom corner of the mural at eye level. It wasn't pushy; it looked like an artist's signature. Within a month, the code was scanned 867 times. Interestingly, 22% of these scans ended with visiting the store page and signing up for the newsletter. This shows that a physical object on the street can actually direct traffic on the internet. No fluff – this is pure math and crowd psychology in practice.

Additionally, we recorded the process of creating the mural in the form of a quick timelapse video. The post on TikTok with this video went viral in the local Wola community, gaining 24,100 views in 48 hours. People in the comments argued whether it was better than old graffiti, which only boosted reach. For the algorithm, it doesn't matter if the discussion is nice; what matters is that it's intense. We used this noise to show the client's brand as modern and supporting local culture.

How to bite into bureaucracy and not go crazy

Many companies are afraid of murals because they think it's a path of torment through offices. At Syrenka Media Lab, we have people who know which doors to knock on at Bankowy Square. The most common mistake is trying to bypass large-format advertising regulations. We play clean. Our process involves preparing full technical documentation and visualization showing how the mural fits into the urban fabric. In the case of Wola, we had to maintain appropriate colors so they wouldn't clash with the renovated facade of the neighboring office building.

The cost estimate of such fun must also be clear. The total realization at Żelazna was 22,400 PLN net. This included paint, renting a basket lift for 10 days, remuneration for artists, and administrative fees. If you compare this with the price of renting one large billboard in the center of Warsaw for a month, it comes out similar. The difference is that a billboard disappears after a month, and a mural stays in people's memories and on thousands of photos in Google Photos or iCloud.

An important element was also lighting. We mounted four energy-saving 50W LED floodlights each, which turned on at dusk. Thanks to this, the mural 'sold' the topic 24 hours a day. In the evenings the colors looked even better than in the day, which attracted walkers returning from nearby restaurants. It's such thinking about the whole that makes a campaign live and earn, rather than just looking good in a report at the end of the month.

Getting permits for the mural took us 41 days, but the ad will stay on the wall and in the web for years.

Influencers on the scaffolding

To make the mural really 'fire' online, we invited three local creators from Warsaw to cooperate. We didn't look for celebrities with millions of followers who don't know where Wola is. We focused on authenticity. Marek Kowalski, who photographs architecture, did a professional session at dawn. Kasia Nowak, known for recommending walk spots, recorded a vlog about how the district is changing. Their publications generated an additional 15,000 views among people who actually frequent the area.

We gave the influencers full freedom. There was no reading from a script with boring slogans. They could criticize the colors or tell about the tenement's history. This honesty meant their recipients didn't treat it as another pushy ad. This is exactly our 'we make noise that sells'. People trust people, not logos. When Marek showed on his story how he tried to paint a piece of the background under a professional's eye, engagement jumped by 200% relative to his average.

Cooperating with influencers cost us an additional 4,500 PLN, but it paid off in terms of quality visits to the client's profile. We noticed that 12% of people who came to us through Kasia's profile became regular followers of the brand. These are concrete results, not fluff about building awareness. We build a community around a specific point on the city map, which translates into loyalty that you can't buy with a regular radio spot.

Why this works better than standard media

Traditional outdoor advertising is dying. People have AdBlocks installed in their heads and simply don't see banners. A mural is different – it's functional art. Our study conducted among 200 passersby showed that 87% of them could name the brand from the mural two days after they saw it. In the case of a standard poster, this factor rarely exceeds 15%. This shows how powerful an instrument is that engages sight and emotions in a non-intrusive way.

Another issue is durability. A well-executed silicate mural will last 5-7 years without major corrections. Of course, a campaign online lasts shorter, but the object itself becomes a landmark. 'Let's meet under that colorful mural' – we heard this many times from people waiting on Żelazna. The brand becomes part of the city's life, not just an intruder blocking the view. This builds trust that cannot be valued in a simple way, but is visible in long-term sales results.

Summing up our realization in Wola: we delivered on time and with a result that exceeded the client's expectations. We increased the number of brand mentions by 312% month-over-month. If you're looking for a way for your company to stop being invisible in the Warsaw thicket, murals are a path worth checking. At Syrenka Media Lab, we know how to combine the old school of painting with the new school of TikTok. No scheming, but with a concrete hit.

87% of respondents remembered the brand from the mural two days later. Billboards can only dream of such a result.