And the 2009 Award in the Mobile Category Goes to… Sprint
Via Gesturetek.com
Recently, the closet artist and designer in me led to a growing interest in the art of Data Visualization. It turns the usual bland data and graphs that we all run into as business professionals day to day into artistic visuals that are far more pleasing to the eye as well as attention getting. They are all over our media these days, from TV to online, and now, in the digital out of home / out of home words.
When the first of the new Sprint Network advertisements came out this year, the ability to show many different data in a fun and exciting way; there was no doubt that Sprint understood the effectiveness of data visualization, and the capabilities of them. Sprint utilized motion graphics and data visualization as their basis for their campaign and used them incredibly well. They started to roll them out and blasted all the media with its goodness. “Welcome to the Now Network.” Some examples:
Of course, the discussion is not complete (at least in this site…), if it does not related it to the experiential marketing, mobile, out of home, and / or digital out of home world. The initial thought when these commercials aired on TV was “”how well or great this would work in these four medias…”
Well, it seems that Sprint and the agency thought the same way, as Digital Signage Insights covers in its Inwindow Outdoor Launches Sprint Interactive Storescapes, as well as well as GestureTek’s work. Between these two: the overall campaign is a culmination of what is possible today in the D / OOH, Mobile, and interactive worlds, and an absolutely stunning use of media, content, integration strategies, and ad planning and buying to hit us in all senses.
Whether Sprint and their Palm Pre can beat out the duopolies that are At&T / Verizon, and the IPhone / BlackBerry is yet to be determined (and probably still not doable at the end of the day unfortunately..), but with such a great campaign; there is no doubt Spint has turned some heads and gained at least some market share from the two-headed monsters.
So far, in 2009: the award in the mobile advertising category no doubt goes to Sprint and their agency.
Socially Conscious Meets OOH / Alternative Advertising
Image from Springise
Here is an example of how a brand can be socially conscious as well as take advantage of moment of crisis in order to generate a positive brand perception as well as some free PR. About the campaign:
Aircel’s billboard, erected by outdoor agency Primesite near Mumbai’s Milan Subway, bore a large, inflated dinghy along with the line, “In case of emergency, cut rope.” And on July 15, such an emergency did indeed arise when monsoon floods made the Milan Subway virtually impassable. The rope was cut on Aircel’s billboard, the boat was released, and stranded pedestrians were ferried to safety. The result? Near constant local media attention for Aircel, even including the headline, “Aircel did what [government agency] BMC did not.” Reportedly, Aircel now plans to implement something similar in Delhi and Kolkata as well, according to afaqs.
The interesting thing about this particular campaign is that it begins as a simple billboard / Out of home campaign, but the when the right moment hits; in this case, an expected monsoon, the full potential of the campaign is unleashed where the street team effects kicked in as well, and probably save some lives.
The thoughtful planning of the campaign resulted in receiving tons of positive coverage in print and online, and certainly a positive brand image for the telecommunication company in India. More details and pics on the campaign here: http://www.aircel.com/Mumbai_sails_through_aircel/
GOOGLE “Out of Home” at work
Various sites are buzzing about the new Google Out-of-Home advertising campaign which is focused on getting Microsoft Office users to switch to GOOG’s online business communications and applications. What seems pretty significant is that Google; notorious for its lack of marketing and advertising, seems to be starting to open up their Very large wallet slowly, but surely. Not sure if the lack of marketing and adverting strategy derives from their strong brand and market dominance; both of which were pretty much organically built up so far, but with their numerous applications / services, and factors such as the rise of Microsoft’s Bing, it is certainly good to think that Google can finally be perceived as an actual sales target instead of being an “untouchable.”
The campaign, themed “Go Google,” is being held in New York, Boston, San Fran, and Chicago markets, and will have daily creative switches (what a headache for AdOps 
). A great by-product is that the vinyl being used as the billboards will be recycled to make products such as shopping bags, which is good to know. This is not just an Out of Home campaign either; more of an integrated campaign, where online (https://sites.google.com/a/googleapps.com/go-google/), as well as Social media (@GoogleAtWork) are being combined in the overall campaign as well. Effective media integration / mix is always a welcome strategy here.
Whether Google will be able to take on Microsoft in the Office suite war is yet to be seen, but at least the least; Google’s marketing strategies seems to be shifting in a manner that is beneficial for the advertising, marketing, and branding worlds.
LEGO Augmented Reality: Totally AR; Totally DOOH/Retail Marketing
Growing up on LEGOs and still collecting them here and there; the LEGO brand has been some thing that is near and dear. The “Augmented Reality: My Kind of Reality” was one of the most read post in this blog by far in just a few days (thanks to all the readers!), and it’s pretty obvious that people really like this media technology in terms of how the content is delivered as well as its potential in many different fields of marketing and advertising.
Anyway, @metaioUSwas kind enough to tweet an Excellent example of the message the previous post tried to convey (thanks you very much also!), which was Augmented Reality’s potential in the Digital Out of Home / Out of Home spaces in addition to the other media / advertising spaces. Anyway, without further a due; watch how LEGO is utilizing AR in a retail store. Perfect example of Augmented Reality meets DOOH!
555 KUBIK: An Insane Example of 3D Projection Technology
The 555 KUBIK project by Urbanscreen utilized 3D projection technology to create what looks like a living and breathing building. The video below simply blew me away in terms of the Projection capabilities / technologies that are available in the current market. Quite amazing! and obviously relevant in terms of its potential in the Digital Out of Home and Out of Home media worlds.
Augmented Reality: My Kind of Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) campaigns have been popping up at a steady pace in the past year, whether they are ad / branding campaigns, apps, and even business cards; in fact, “rampant pace” may actually be the better way of putting it.
The first AR I witness and tried out was General Electric’s “Plug Into the Smart Grid” campaign where it immediately caught my attention, and I started to think it was one of the best thing created ever since the invention of sliced bread!
Being a natural fan of tech, this reaction was quite expected; especially considering how well the technology worked, but when the professional hat came on, I also realized the vast possibilities of advertising and marketing that was attached to this new technology, whether it be in the online, mobile, and indeed, in the out of home and digital out of home worlds. In fact, Augmented Reality could be one of the rare, “once in a blue moon” options that can really tie all these medias together. That is indeed a feat in itself.
There are 2 main components needed to pull off an Augmented Reality campaign:
1) The computer generated map (I believe a process called “Chroma-Keying”)
2) A digital display with a camera that can read the Chroma-Key, and a computer that can process and display the outcome / resulting 3D visual of the Key.
In staying on the theme of this particular blog, the 1st component could be delivered by mobile devices or simple handouts (whether by Point-of-Purchase, or street teams, etc.) The 2nd component also seems very viable in terms of the digital signage world as well (whether they are digital signage with webcams / media players with the necessary programs installed, or kiosks built for these specific purposes).
So far, Augmented Reality campaigns have been mostly delivered by web and mobile medias (and a bit by OOH media), but as stated above, there is no reason to think that this technology cannot be fully integrated into the digital out of home media space, and provide brands and agencies with a new and fresh way to capture and engage the consumers to develop lasting and memorable campaigns in addition to creating interesting content. Entertainment, product demos, branding, sweepstakes are some of the things that come to mind.
Of course, with many things in the DOOH, it will take some time and investment, but the ROI may just be all worth it. Until that day comes, here are some inspirations:
BMW’s Mini Cooper AR campaign
Transformers Movie AR Campaign
Experience The Enterprise – Star Trek Augmented Reality
United States Postal Service AR Campaign
*Update*
Coraline (Movie) Out of Home / Digtial Out of Home AR Campaign (thanks to @stephenrandall!)
YrWall: Interactive Digital Graffiti Wall
Graffitti jacked from yrwall.com
It’s Friday, and time to close out the week with something fun, yet relevant and interesting; YR Wall.
This blog is all for Digital screens that people can interact with as interaction generally results in better engagement and more impressions for the money. YR wall, though they seem to market themselves to the graffiti / art crowd more than anything; with such technology, the real monetization probably lies in using it for consumer marketing. Nike ID on a big screen where people can color in their own versions; something like that comes into mind. Anyway, another cool tech and have a cool weekend!
LocaModa Teams Up with Viacom for Another “Ridiculously” Fun Time Square Campaign
via "Prof. Karolow"
One of the newer LocaModa creations comes to us via the new Stride Gum campaign on Time Square.
The concept combines the factors of web and mobile media, as well as user created / submitted content (LocaModa’s flagship concepts) in order to get the brand out there. JustOOH’s readers know the eternal love affair with the web, mobile (tech) and Time Square stated here.
A more deeper description by “Prof. Karolow,” a LM insider:
Another first for LocaModa this week, as we’ve connected Viacom’s iconic framed MTV screen in Times Square to the web, enabling user generated photos and text messages to be submitted (via phone or web), moderated in real time, and displayed for 5 minutes an hour (on the half hour). Users are notified by text or email when their messages are approved and have gone live.
More importantly, the campaign should be measurable as well considering the abilities to track web and mobile traffic/submissions, as well as the immense traffic going through Time Square daily.
The formula?: Web Traffic (uniques) + Web & Mobile Submissions + (daily Time Square traffic (around 1.5 mil to 750: wow!) / A certain percentage) = Great and fun campaign.
Good Motion Graphics Speak a Thousand Words
The need for Audio, or no need for audio; that has been the question of debate for a while for the insiders in the Digital Out of Home sector probably since the advent of it. This issue was even discussed here previously in the “Bring on the Noise!” post, where Paul Flanigan of Experiate.net wrote a excellent reply in his post on this issue as well. In general, let’s just say that the issue of “Audio” is all “relative” to say the least. The demand (or the requirement) of audio content in digital signage / networks is likely to derive more from the fact that agencies and brands demand them; especially those who are used to more traditional media vehicles such as broadcast television. On a side note: this is probably why 30 second spots are also still around in the DOOH space as well, but that’s another issue / post.
The point is; it is definitely possible to capture eyes or Impressions just with high quality motion graphics or video content without the use of audio. The top huncho of ArtisanLive sent a link to their YouTube page a while ago, and there are some good examples of this concept. Following are two strong example:
Concord “nCAPSULE” Attractor Loop
Heineken – Experiential Digital Signage Award Winner
Disclaimer: No speakers were injured in the making of this post.
A Case of Consolidation: Outcast & AdtekMedia
The need for “consolidation” has been talked about within this sector for awhile now; whether it be on the network or agency sides, and the recent partnership between Outcast (a.k.a. Fuelcast), and AdtekMedia (a.k.a PumpTop TV) seems to be the prime and excellent example of this need.
Here were two different networks targeting the same locations and demographics. And as insiders know, this is an example of the “pain” that media planners/buyers at agencies have to go through in terms of sorting through the duplication that exists in much of the industry.
According to Outcast, PumpTop TV partner on at-the-pump digital network:
The consolidated venture creates a national network with more than 12,600 high-definition large screens in 15 of the top DMAs reaching more than 20 million active consumers each month. The reach in these markets equates to a top-5 ranked prime-time show on network television, but without the negative impact of DVR ad-skipping or multitasking.
Indeed, the partnership has built a huge and more relevant network, that is definitely more “buyer friendly,” and hopefully ties in the research and methodolgies/metrics together as one. These two companies already seem to have merge their messages together somewhat with the website(s), where their domains lead to the same intro page, which is also good brand communication.
Very smart move for the two companies, and a model for the industry.
