Archive for October, 2007

Now Smell This…The Future of Outdoor

by DOmedia on October 22, 2007 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Billboards, Technology with No comments

They say smell is one of our strongest senses and is most closely tied to our memories and emotions. Walking by a bakery pulling out a batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies can conjure up a whole host of mental snapshots. Now, turn that bakery into a digital billboard for, say, a “famous” cookie company, and you have the type of thing marketers’ dreams are made of.

Think this possibility lives in the distant future? Think again. According to mediaplannerbuyer.com, Tokyo-based NTT Communications began testing this technology yesterday in front of Kirin City Beer Hall in Tokyo’s Yaesu Shopping Mall. The aroma-enhanced digital signage (called Kaoru Digital Signage) will be in place through December and will emit lemon and orange scents (typically associated with beer). The company hopes to gauge the sign’s effectiveness in attracting the attention of mall shoppers.

It will be interesting to see the impact this technology has both on results and general popular opinion. If it takes off, just think of all the possibilities here in the States…and you thought walking through a department store perfume section was rough…

Voyeurism meets Lingerie in NYC

by DOmedia on October 21, 2007 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Branding campaigns, Technology with No comments

I ran across a posting on The Ad Mad! blog today that I have to share. As part of the Elle MacPherson Intimates branding campaign, they incorporated an interactive storefront that ran during Fashion Week in NYC.

The technology incorporates a very cool tool called the Human Locator, which tracks passers’-by movement in real time. For this application, it recognizes motion outside the window to reveal and then conceal intriguing video of a lingerie clad model. Check out the video on YouTube to see the execution (click the screen shot to view the video):

Now, I have to say that I find it interesting that it’s mostly women who stop to check out the window…either brilliant targeting by the marketing team or a male aversion to having a video camera catch them in the act. Either way, kudos to everyone involved in the execution!

Client: Elle MacPherson Intimates
Agency: Mindshare / Destination Media Group
Media Partner: Inwindow Outdoor
Technology: Human Locator

Outdoor Advertising: Societal Nemesis or Environmental Enhancer?

by DOmedia on October 16, 2007 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Billboards, Branding campaigns, Legal News with No comments

Maybe I’m just more aware given my current employment. Or maybe the debate has gotten louder. Either way, I’ve been hearing and reading a lot lately about the “advertising invasion” into our daily lives. Without a doubt, out-of-home advertising has been on a major upswing since 2001, making it the second-fastest growing media channel behind the Internet. (In fact, out-of-home advertising revenue has increased at least 20% each year since 2001…meanwhile traditional TV, print and radio outlets have all been struggling.) As marketers have increasingly looked to non-traditional avenues to reach their audiences, it seems there is a growing movement to fight this “ad creep.” Here’s my question: is advertising necessarily evil? Continue reading →

NYT Article on the Evolution of Advertising

by DOmedia on October 15, 2007 in Uncategorized with No comments

There’s an awesome article in yesterday’s (10/14/07) New York Times Business Section on the evolution of advertising, moving from the traditional (tv, print, radio) to alternative. Mostly discussed Nike and their focus on alternative, but still a great piece.

Check this quote pulled from the article:

“Add it up, and the money flowing out of the traditional media is huge ‘€” even at a time when ad budgets in general are growing, advertising research shows. The 25 companies that spent the most on advertising over the last five years cut their spending last year in traditional media by about $767 million, according to Advertising Age and TNS Media Intelligence. And in the first half of this year, those companies decreased their media spending an additional 3 percent, or $446 million, to $14.53 billion, according to TNS Media Intelligence.”

Connecting with consumers has changed — they’re educated, they’re in control and they won’t tolerate to the 30-second spot that interrupts them with the typical jingle, tagline and a call to action. Exaggerating a bit? Yep. But it’s a reality is that brands must embrace. Nike and other brands in this piece get it… and have found a way to as Trevor Edwards (who happens to be Nike’s corporate vice president for global brand and category management) puts it, ” connect with consumers”.

BTW, we here at DO find it fascinating that it’s “traditional media” covering this story…