All posts in Out-of-home advertising

World Cup and Worldly Outdoor Campaigns

by DOmedia on July 2, 2010 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Digital signage, Events, Guerrilla Marketing, Out-of-home advertising with No comments

Of course something as important as the World Cup attracts only the coolest marketing campaigns of the year. All over the world, companies and sponsors have put together so many interactive gimmicks that we couldn’t decide which one to write about. So we’re gonna tell you about all of them!

Let’s start in Melbourne, Australia, where Adidas has placed a huge (19 feet high and 2 tons!) Jubalani soccer ball outside a crowded tourist-y area and has a young whippersnapper who plans to live in the ball for the entire length of the World Cup. By entire, we mean 22 to 24 hours a day! The lucky guy, Adam Santarossa, is set up with a flat screen TV, computer, Playstation, couch, bed, free food and drink, and all he has to do is use social media to keep the world updated on his new lifestyle and, of course, offer his commentary on the soccer games.

A hop, skip away in London, the famous Piccadilly Circus square features a digital screen sponsored by Coca-Cola that runs live video of fans’ celebratory dances. The stunt, aptly named ‘€œWhat’s Your Celebration’€, engages passersby by first calling them out. The people manning the board use a laptop to type messages to the people looking at the screen and then call them to the piece of Astroturf grass and corner flag to perform their best victory dance. Their video is then posted on the screen for the entire square to see.

Heading south to Johannesburg, Nike is promoting its ‘€œWrite the Future’€ campaign where fans can type a message up to 57 characters via the promotion’s Facebook page, Twitter (#NikeFuture), QQ (in China) and Mxit (in South Africa) to any of 50 Nike-endorsed soccer pros. Select messages are then displayed on the fourth largest building in the city along with awesome graphic images of players like Cristiano Ronaldo.

Much like the Olympics or the Super Bowl, the World Cup offers companies the chance to market to mass consumers in innovative and new ways. This year is no different ‘€“the creativity continues to flow and we are all very impressed with what we’ve seen. Now if only the U.S. had beaten Ghana’€¦

Drum Roll Please… Prepare Yourself for DOfind!

by DOmedia on June 4, 2010 in Agencies, Alternative advertising, DOmedia, News, Out-of-home advertising, Press with No comments

The team members at DOmedia are proud to announce the arrival of DOfind, the enhanced search interface that connects agencies and advertisers with OOH media providers and properties faster and easier than ever before. The goal of DOfind is to simplify this complex and time-consuming process known as media planning.

Request your free trial »

New and enhanced search tools allow subscribers to look for alternative, traditional & digital out-of-home media properties using specific criteria such as geography (set of DMAs, nationwide, search within a proximity to a location – to name a few), product category, venue and even target audience. Looking to reach female beachgoers this summer in their 20s who make between $25,000-75,000? Just enter your search criteria and click “search.” Plus, search results filters put the user in control of finding the media products they need by allowing them to uncheck any unnecessary criteria.

Also introduced with DOfind, Product Profiles feature key information such as Network at a Glance (digital OOH properties only), planning rates, contract terms, audience demographics, impressions, coverage areas, and art/production specs. Subscribers can then dig deeper for location-specific information found in the Asset Detail Profiles. DOfind is set up to be as detailed or as vague as the agency or advertiser needs it to be, which is why we created the ability to find products based on demographic stats like age, ethnicity, gender and household income. To appear in these targeted searches, media providers need only list all of their information within their profiles. It clearly takes two to tango, doesn’t it?

We are extremely excited about the potential of this sleek, new subscription directory, as are the many agencies and advertisers who provided all the great feedback we needed to get the tool where it is today. And after all the long hours put into the development of DOfind, it’s satisfying to know others in the industry are keeping a close eye on our activities. Several highly reputed online publications including Digital Signage Today and DailyDOOH have featured articles about the announcement of DOfind.

See what all the fuss is about… request your free trial today!

DOmedia Travels to the Big Apple for MediaPostâ€™s Digital OOH Forum

by DOmedia on May 17, 2010 in Digital signage, DOmedia, Events, Out-of-home advertising with No comments

Is this glass half full or half empty? Well the one in this picture happens to be wine, so if it’s mine it’s probably more than half empty. But in terms of the metaphor everyone is familiar with, I think the answer depends on who you are and what you’re doing. As members of the digital OOH (ahem’€¦ place-based video) industry, I think in 2009 it was easy to say half empty. After spending a day with the industry at the MediaPost 2010 Digital OOH Forum, I think the attitudes of the group have made an optimistic transition.

halfFull

Jack Sullivan from Starcom demanded the early attention of the conference with powerful insights from a panel of Big Buyers. Tough questions were posed throughout the day, and from what I can tell, some still need answered. These include:

Consistent Measurement ‘€“ More networks are starting to get measured’€”which is great’€”but now we need to find a consistent way to compare apples to bananas to better understand the differences in the quality of impressions when we look for scale.
Consistent Formats ‘€“ Sure it would be great to create a custom creative message for each unique consumer in each unique environment (and at different times), but given digital OOH is still small potatoes to most advertisers, how practical is it to do so?
Growth Plan ‘€“ Given digital signage has many technical strengths and capabilities (geo addressibility, mobile integration, POS positioning, etc.), why are we still chasing traditional formats and budgets? How can we balance the need to lower barriers of entry to advertisers, while allowing the core strengths of the medium to shine through? Where do local advertisers fit in?

As the day rolled on, our own Jeff Bell revealed screenshots of DOfind, the highly anticipated enhanced version of our directory service, during the vendor showcase (which included some other cool companies, too, like interactive gaming provider MegaPhone who used the audience’s mobile phones to demo a few games in what was probably the day’s most unique presentation).

Late in the afternoon, I enjoyed the irony of Dave Weinfeld’s point about how the event missed an opportunity to integrate mobile with the digital screen. In the session before his panel, the creatives were dismantling certain example executions for ‘€œnot utilizing the strengths of digital signage’€ (like mobile integration). People (including me) were tweeting on their phones throughout the event, but there was no tie in to the ‘€œscreen’€ that was on the stage (except for MegaPhone; applause again guys). I guess we can all learn to improve as we better understand the capabilities of this media.

Overall it was a great show and I look forward to working with the industry in addressing these key issues for growth!

Thanks PRN for the lunch and the Starbucks card from bingo. And thanks to Bob Martin and the folks from RMG Networks for buying the beer after the show!

Find me @mattwarholic or email to matt[at]domedia.com

Ford Helps Small Businesses Take Advertising to the Streets

by DOmedia on May 14, 2010 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Branding campaigns, Guerrilla Marketing, Out-of-home advertising with No comments

When you stop and think about all the ways advertisers can reach their audiences, the most obvious way is driving right under our noses’€¦ our cars! Think about it: cars are seen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter where or who you are. Cars are basically bulletin boards for their drivers’ personality and style; whether someone is conservative or wild and flashy, cars have become a regular status symbol… a trend Ford has taken note of and is now cashing in on.

FordWrap

Major American automaker, Ford, has developed its own personalized line of car wraps for small business owners. Last year, Ford created a website that enabled private drivers to design and create funky car wraps to decorate their Ford cars. Now, Ford has extended the offer to small businesses. Owners of Ford’s Transit Connect truck can create their own custom graphic wraps using various shapes, letters and colors that are available to them online. Or if you’re looking for an even more personalized wrap, upload your own graphics and images! The site offers extensive creative choices and is easy to navigate, even for the novice artist.

FordLayout

Graphics can be added to an entire truck, or just one specific side. The wraps are 3M vinyl and installed by a Ford dealer or a specialist. Costs range from about $100 for a small panel logo to $3,500 for a full vehicle wrap. That seems like a small price to pay to get your product on the road for everyone to see!

FordWrap2

Eco-Friendly OOH Takes Over the Arena District

by DOmedia on May 7, 2010 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Billboards, Branding campaigns, Events, Guerrilla Marketing, Out-of-home advertising, Technology, Trends with No comments

If you were anywhere in Columbus’ Arena District today, it would have been impossible to miss. Parked right on Nationwide Blvd in the heart of the district (and conveniently across the street from DOmedia World Headquarters) is a huge GE: ecomagination semi truck carrying a larger-than-life propeller from a wind turbine. The truck and propeller are part of ecomagination, GE’s effort to help “solve the world’s biggest environmental challenges,” according to their site. One of the program’s commitments is to engage the public through creative advertising. So they got their hands on a giant wind propeller, branded it, and are now taking it on the road as part of the “Catch the Wind Tour.”
GE: ecomagination
Aside from its sheer size, the traveling campaign is raising awareness in the mid-west by encouraging people to make a commitment of their own. Written on the side of the propeller is a simple sentence: “I’m helping to build America’s energy future.” By signing their name on the propeller, passersby join the thousands of others already committed to the cause.
ecomagination
GE wasn’t the only company taking advantage of the busy pedestrian superhighway on this gorgeous Friday. Toyota was also in attendance, complete with a wrapped plug-in hybrid car touting an amazing 100+ mpg.

And I can’t forget CD101, parked in front of the arena, handing out free ice cream (now we’re talking)! The picture below shows the Arena District is no stranger to OOH. The four large billboards continuously spotlight the biggest brands, while the main digital screen is a great resource for weather, upcoming concerts at the arena, and much more. And, of course, the reliable Miller Lite clock off to the right.