All posts in Technology

People Are Beginning to Notice . . .

by DOmedia on May 5, 2009 in Alternative advertising, DOmedia, News, Technology with No comments

. . . and we couldn’t be happier about it! Back in February, springwise.com, an Amsterdam-based independent innovation firm that scans the globe for the most promising new business ideas, featured DOmedia in a blog titled, “Helping media buyers find sellers of alternative advertising.”

Then just this month, springwise.com’s sister site, trendwatching.com , posted its May 2009 trend coverage titled, “Innovation Jubilation: 50+ new business ideas that defy doom and gloom.” DOmedia was included in the SELLSUMERS section featuring new ventures that help consumers make money instead of spend it.

2009 OBIE Award Winners Announced

by DOmedia on April 21, 2009 in Advertising, Agencies, Alternative advertising, Billboards, News, Technology, Uncategorized with No comments

Congratulations to all of the recently-named OBIE Award winners, merit winners, and finalists! This year’s participants all showed a great deal of creativity in the out-of-home space, but a few of them in particular caught my eye.

McDonald’s had a strong advertising campaign, winning two separate awards for both their “Always Fresh Coffee” and “Fresh Daily Eggs” billboards. The first of the two shown high above Time’s Square, a spout continuously pouring fresh coffee into a cup several stories below (I wonder where all the coffee goes after making its big NYC debut . . . ). The second involved a large egg that cracked open at 6:00 a.m.–when they begin serving breakfast–to reveal an over-easy egg, but closed again at 11:00 a.m. when breakfast ends. Between the two billboards, Leo Burnett Chicago took home two “Individual Execution- Traditional Billboard” awards as well as recognition for their Special F/X.

Another interesting use of out-of-home came from BBDO New York & Proximity Canada for Gillette Fusion Power, which took home the OBIE Award for “Individual Execution- Street Furniture / Transit / Alternative.” As seen in the pic below, the agencies made creative use of a zamboni by attaching a larger-than-life Gillette razor to the back of it as it swept across the ice.

One of the more interactive campaigns came from Leo Burnett Toronto for James Ready Beer who vows to try to keep their prices at $1 a beer. To do so, they needed to lower billboard costs and decided to look to their consumers for help. By offering up their billboards, consumers became “celebrities for the day” by sending in pictures to be posted on the giant signs. Underneath the images read, “Thanks ____ for keeping J.R. a Buck.” Consumers and judges alike loved the campaign, awarding them “Best of Show” and “International.” Click here to see the YouTube video.

All of this year’s award winners show that creativity and innovation in the out-of-home advertising industry are still on the rise. To find more information on the rest of this year’s OBIE Award winners, go to the OAAA website at http://www.oaaa.org/awards/obieawards.aspx.

Wanna Get High in Amsterdam?

by DOmedia on April 2, 2009 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Branding campaigns, People, Technology with No comments

I’m, of course, talking about Sony Ericsson’s most recent out-of-home advertising campaign (what’d you think I was talking about?). Sony’s C905 model cell phone is out to show everyone its 8.1 mega pixel camera can hang with the best of digital cameras. And to prove it, they turned an Amsterdam bus shelter into a photo opp session, complete with a C905 camera and touchscreen.

People could then strike a pose for everyone nearby, and their picture would appear on a massive screen across the street, temporarily looking down on passers-by. I can only imagine the photo gallery from something like this . . . especially in a city like Amsterdam.

Go Big or Go Home

by DOmedia on March 23, 2009 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Branding campaigns, Events, News, Technology, Trends with No comments

Carnival Cruise Line has done it again. In the most recent phase of their newest marketing campaign–taglined “Fun for All, and All for Fun”–the company has introduced six massive, interactive aquariums around the country. The computer-animated aquariums will appear in vacant storefronts in Baltimore, Dallas, L.A., New York, Washington D.C., and Houston through the end of April.

Designed to interact with passersby, the fish and plant life react to motion as people walk past. Using their cell phones, pedestrians can go a step further by creating personalized fish by making various sounds into their phones and using the keypad to swim the fish around the aquarium. The fish even change in size and shape when consumers lead them to food! And don’t worry about having to leave your newly-made friend. Pedestrians can retrieve their fish by coming back later and using the same cell phone.

The interactive aquariums are only one part of Carnival’s impressive marketing campaign the past six months. They kicked it off in a huge way when they broke their first Guinness World Record. In downtown Dallas in late October, they dropped the world’s largest volleyballs, measuring 36 feet in diameter, into a crowd of 2,500+ people! Then in November, they broke yet another record in Philadelphia with the world’s largest pinata. The pinata, which rose over three stories, was filled with 2 tons of candy! Talk about a sweet tooth . . .

T-Mobile Takes Over Train Station With Spontaneous Dance

by DOmedia on January 28, 2009 in Advertising, Agencies, Alternative advertising, Branding campaigns, Events, People, Technology, Trends with No comments

Nothing else can put a smile on your face quite like a mob flash dance made of several hundred strangers when you’re least expecting it. On January 15th, London’s Liverpool Street Station was transformed into a massive dance floor thanks to T-Mobile.

The tagline, ‘€œLife’s for Sharing,’€ is exactly how you feel after watching the YouTube video that was shot with hidden cameras. What begins with a handful of people quickly molds into an entire train station gettin’ down (grandmas and mohawk rockers alike) to the upbeat music blaring overhead. Intrigued onlookers’€”no doubt questioning their sanity’€”filmed the whole event via cell phones to later share with family and friends.

Kudos to T-Mobile, and agency Saatchi & Saatchi, for giving us something to laugh at and talk about . . . which was probably the point. I also love that they thought outside the silos (is it online . . . guerrilla . . . out of home?) and instead focused on building a connection between the experience and the brand, using all the relevant tools at their disposal.

Although many people are criticizing T-Mobile and Saatchi & Saatchi for using regurgitated material, I say anything that brings huge numbers of people together in a way that makes us all feel good just by watching it is a success. After all, the very message here is that T-Mobile makes it possible for you to share any meaningful moment with the people that matter most.