All posts in Advertising

AAAA Tradeshow was a DO hit

dofloor-graphic.jpg While we’re still a few months away from our official “coming out” party, having the chance to present the DOmedia concept and beta site to the industry’s most influential players was an opportunity too good to pass up. When we arrived in sunny Orlando, Florida on March 4, very few people attending the AAAA 2008 Media Conference and Tradeshow had heard of DOmedia (which has been by design…we wanted to develop the site further before we threw back the curtains). However, following some fast-and-furious development and design efforts, we decided now was as good a time as any to make ourselves known.

And so, through a lot of creative thinking, sweat equity and some amazingly talented Aarrow Ads sign spinners (check out the video we shot), DO was everywhere. In attendees’ hotel rooms on their “DO not disturb” doorhangers and in their special gift packages. On the floor leading from the hotel to the meeting rooms (thank you Street Blimps!). On the free pins we were passing out and on super-special, light-up bouncing balls. After two solid days of DO everywhere, we certainly got people’s attention.

But more importantly, we had a wonderful opportunity to talk to industry professionals from across the country who were equally excited about what DOmedia can do to save time (read: money), encourage creative thinking and serve up new ways to connect with others in the advertising and media biz. We’ll be spending the next few days and weeks reconnecting with everyone we had a chance to meet in Florida and refining our development to reflect the feedback we received at the show. This is when the fun begins!


Winning in New York

Just ran across this commentary posted in Media Daily News today with tips on buying outdoor media in New York City. While the author, Van Wagner Communications Eastern Division President Robert Fauser, admittedly focuses specifically on New Yorkers — their lifestyles, media consumption habits — and how to reach them, a lot of the information applies to other markets. I especially liked the following quote:

“Consider outdoor as a primary medium…People listen to their iPods or satellite radio while commuting. They watch their TiVos when they get home, and fewer are reading the newspaper or magazines. And yet as New Yorkers move about their day, outdoor advertising is right in their face. It’s unmistakable. They can’t zap it; they can’t avoid it.”

Drop in any other city for “New Yorkers” in that quote and it’s no surprise that out-of-home advertising is the second fastest growing advertising medium out there.


Now Smell This…The Future of Outdoor

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

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):

interactive-storefront-2.png

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?

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 →