Engaging Pedestrians with Interactive OOH June 26, 2017

Along with being the largest museum in the na- tion dedicated to mass transportation, the New York Transit Museum is also a source for unique gifts ideal for Father’s Day and graduates. Earlier this month, the museum took its gift operation underground, using New York City Transit’s On the Go (OTG) kiosks to offer customers and interactive experience.

Where commuters typically find travel information about trains and buses, these digital interactive ki- osks also offered a fun, non-traditional retail expe- rience. Customers could scroll through more than 40 popular transit-themed products on display. Once they settled on an item, customers would request product information sent to their phones.

Paul J. Fleuranges, NYC Transit, said, “The use of this powerful digital place-based network as an electronic storefront is another example New York Transit Museum gifts for sale on OTG kiosks of how we are moving forward to meet and exceed the expectations of our connected customers.”

Consumers in international hubs also encounter these engaging advertising experiences as they commute to work or travel through cities.

Amsterdam

In March, Nutella launched an interactive campaign to compliment passers-by. Through a digital panel in the heart of Amsterdam, jars of Nutella spoke to and engaged pedestrians, commenting on their clothing and bicycles, offering heart-felt accolades. Custom jars of Nutella were also provided to participants. Watch the video here.

Tel Aviv

Also in March, Samsung used inter- active shelters, equipped with cam- eras and a live video feed, to play up the classic look of Gear S3 smart- watch. When commuters began playing with their phones, the actor in the shelter ad came to life, dem- Interactive Nutella panels in Amsterdam onstrating the watch’s capabilities. Watch the video in Hebrew here.

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Gear S3 smartwatch ad in Tel Aviv London

To promote the release of the new Baywatch film in May, commuters in London’s Waterloo Station were invited to stand in front of a green screen and try their best slow-motion run. The footage was then played on digital screens and integrated into the film’s OOH ad. Participants lined up to snap photos and video of themselves in the ad. Watch the video here.

Baywatch ad at Waterloo

Similar executions the United States recently won OBIE Awards.

Google Home turned Chicago bus shelters into Smart Homes, made to look like different neighborhoods around the Windy City. Touchscreens at each shelter displayed queries such as dim or brighten the lights, turn up the heat, play a song, etc. Passersby could interact with the screen and the shelter responded to each command. The campaign won a Gold OBIE Award. Watch the video here.

Hershey’s interactive station domination in the Times Square sub- way station last year Google Home shelter in Chicago won a Bronze OBIE. Five digital displays snapped selfies of passersby, offering free photo prints at the Hershey store above ground, along with a free Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar. Watch the video here.

Hershey’s digital panel in New York Twitter’s OOH Campaign Wins OBIEs, then the World June 26, 2017

Twitter’s #What’sHappening campaign, featured on OOH across the world, has cornered the globe in creative award wins.

Twitter, which created the campaign in- house, won the first Platinum OBIE Award, introduced this year to recognize the best overall US OOH campaign. OAAA present- ed the award to Joel Lunenfeld, Twitter’s VP of global brand & creative strategy, during the OBIE Awards ceremony on May 16 in New Orleans, LA.

Looking to position itself as the social media site where conversations about real issues take place, Twitter proved the effectiveness of simplicity by pairing a hashtag with a variety of images reflect- ing today’s top social and political topics.

“The Twitter campaign was super simple, beautiful to look at, and grabbed my attention,” said OBIE Judge Dennis Walker, The Richards Group. “It communicated exactly what it needed to communicate with just a hashtag, a visual, and the Twitter logo.”

At its annual Congress, held this year June 7-9 in Stockholm, FEPE International presented Twitter with its Classic award for the #What’sHappening campaign. This award is presented to the best OOH campaign using printed for- mats.

FEPE President Matthew Dearden said, “Twitter is just one of many tech-based new media companies that use classic OOH extensively.”

Last week at the 2017 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Twitter’s campaign won the Grand Prix in the Outdoor cat- egory. According to Ad Age, Twitter was the clear winner.

“It’s a beautiful campaign” that is “clean, simple and engaging,” said Bruno Bertelli, president of the Cannes Lions jury for outdoor advertising. He also praised it for covering a variety of topics.

Watch a video about the campaign. Millenials, Gen Z’ers Digitally Native June 26, 2017

Just when Madison Avenue thought it had Millennials (also known as Gen Y) figured out, brands are now concerning themselves with the habits of Gen Z. Comprised of young people between ages 14 and 23, the next generation of consumers has grown up in a connected world where access to information is available anytime and all the time. Google it or just ask Siri.

Millennials were the first digitally native generation, having grown up with the internet. Gen Z is the first mobile-native group, having carried or at least used a mobile device which connects them to unlimited information. Smartphone use is ubiquitous in this generation, and about half of them are connected online about 10 hours a day.

The shifting behaviors between older generations and Gen Z has advertisers and media companies worried. Large TV broadcast and cable companies are experiencing disruption in viewing habits as Gen Z reaches for mobile device to view shows and other content.

For Gen Z’s, social media is a major way of engaging with their community, as opposed to just being a digital broad- casting platform. This trend has also had an impact on influences as these younger consumers are more likely to follow social media stars; not TV or movie personalities.

According to Kara Alter, Head of Brand at Shimmur, a Gen-Z focused media company, not only are social influencers a driving force of new media consumption, but they’re beginning to take center-stage in mainstream productions. Companies like Netflix, YouTube Red, Fullscreen, and AwesomenessTV are investing in original series and films star- ring social influencers. In recent years, YouTube has used OOH to promote its most popular stars.

Today, Gen Z represents nearly $50 billion in spending power and the the group’s influence will grow. Already, Gen Z is larger than the Baby Boomers and Millennials.

But, there is good news for brands. OOH advertising reaches all consumers when they are on-the-go. From the “Greatest Generation” to the newest generation, OOH is real, authentic, and part of the American fabric.