Cell phones will hit eBoards in the future
Outdoor Advertising: Advertisers dream of making billboards interactive. Affichage aims to make this a reality with its eBoards and the City Boomer.
Outdoor advertising Advertisers dream of making posters interactive. Affichage wants to make this possible with its eBoards and the City Boomer. And then suddenly loud applause echoes through the station concourse in Zurich. Super Mario takes a 1:0 lead against Yoshi. Five minutes later it gets exciting again. A golden goal decides it. Super Mario finally wins the match 4:3 and the people at Zurich main station applaud again. What happened? eAd Affichage, which offers digital advertising space in the five most important Swiss train stations, had Mario football played on its 60 m2 eBoard at the Shopville staircase exit. What at first glance looked to passers-by like a wild game on an XXL screen was actually a test: Affichage tried out a whole series of new signal feeds last Saturday. It tested the eBoard with standard game consoles, with a PC platform and with a new interaction tool called City Boomer.
Interactive outdoor advertisingThe testers on Saturday were particularly excited about the use of the City Boomer. This is part of a new technology designed to make outdoor advertising more attractive and interactive. In future, passers-by will be able to dial into the system via cell phone and surf through the "virtual shop window" with just a few buttons.
One example is Nike. Last year, passers-by in Times Square in New York were able to design their own Nike iD sneaker on the giant Reuters billboard using their cell phone. A message on the wall asked them to dial a toll-free number. Instructions showed them how to change the model, color and size of the shoe at the touch of a button. In the end, the specially created sneaker was emblazoned seven meters above Times Square. Once you were happy with the result, you pressed the # button on your phone. The shoe was finished. And the amateur designer could order the shoe directly from the online store.
The City Boomer should work in much the same way. In future, passers-by walking through the city at the weekend or after work will be able to call up the screen on their cell phone and consume content of their choice. There are practically no limits to the application.
On Saturday, cell phone users were able to dial into the system via a chargeable telephone number and, for example, select and watch various movie trailers. The testers went even further and played ping pong against a computer player on the 60 m2 eBoard in between. "Imagine the passengers playing Pac Man against another player in the hall while waiting for the train," said one tester euphorically.
The test impressively demonstrated that it will soon also be possible in Switzerland to interact with the advertising content displayed on the screen using the cell phone as a remote control. This opens up completely new possibilities for advertisers. Until now, it was only possible to create interactive outdoor advertising using Bluetooth and infrared. Compared to the two cell phone technologies, the City Boomer has the advantage that customers can interact with the content much more easily and quickly. All it takes is a phone call.
Good test resultsIn addition to the City Boomer, mainly games consoles were tested. A handful of gamers played non-violent games on the LED display for several hours.
As Affichage stated in the press release, the aim was to make statements on the technical feasibility of expanding the eBoard application with interaction options, to test the necessary transmission speeds and the detail fidelity of the eBoard, the contrast and the color space as well as to make fundamental statements on the consumer-friendliness of such new application options. Marco Reale, who commissioned the test, is satisfied: "The tests have shown that we can not only use the eBoard as a pure advertising space, but can also run other applications."
The gamers also liked the test system. "Visually, the LED display is completely convincing," said one young gamer.
And what happens next? Marco Reale is confident. Delays and interference fields that could have come from the SBB overhead lines did not occur during the test. Affichage wants to be ready to offer the new application options to advertisers next year. Marco Reale: "We see this test as a homework assignment for advertisers. And we have successfully completed it."
Christian Lüscher
Interactive outdoor advertisingThe testers on Saturday were particularly excited about the use of the City Boomer. This is part of a new technology designed to make outdoor advertising more attractive and interactive. In future, passers-by will be able to dial into the system via cell phone and surf through the "virtual shop window" with just a few buttons.
One example is Nike. Last year, passers-by in Times Square in New York were able to design their own Nike iD sneaker on the giant Reuters billboard using their cell phone. A message on the wall asked them to dial a toll-free number. Instructions showed them how to change the model, color and size of the shoe at the touch of a button. In the end, the specially created sneaker was emblazoned seven meters above Times Square. Once you were happy with the result, you pressed the # button on your phone. The shoe was finished. And the amateur designer could order the shoe directly from the online store.
The City Boomer should work in much the same way. In future, passers-by walking through the city at the weekend or after work will be able to call up the screen on their cell phone and consume content of their choice. There are practically no limits to the application.
On Saturday, cell phone users were able to dial into the system via a chargeable telephone number and, for example, select and watch various movie trailers. The testers went even further and played ping pong against a computer player on the 60 m2 eBoard in between. "Imagine the passengers playing Pac Man against another player in the hall while waiting for the train," said one tester euphorically.
The test impressively demonstrated that it will soon also be possible in Switzerland to interact with the advertising content displayed on the screen using the cell phone as a remote control. This opens up completely new possibilities for advertisers. Until now, it was only possible to create interactive outdoor advertising using Bluetooth and infrared. Compared to the two cell phone technologies, the City Boomer has the advantage that customers can interact with the content much more easily and quickly. All it takes is a phone call.
Good test resultsIn addition to the City Boomer, mainly games consoles were tested. A handful of gamers played non-violent games on the LED display for several hours.
As Affichage stated in the press release, the aim was to make statements on the technical feasibility of expanding the eBoard application with interaction options, to test the necessary transmission speeds and the detail fidelity of the eBoard, the contrast and the color space as well as to make fundamental statements on the consumer-friendliness of such new application options. Marco Reale, who commissioned the test, is satisfied: "The tests have shown that we can not only use the eBoard as a pure advertising space, but can also run other applications."
The gamers also liked the test system. "Visually, the LED display is completely convincing," said one young gamer.
And what happens next? Marco Reale is confident. Delays and interference fields that could have come from the SBB overhead lines did not occur during the test. Affichage wants to be ready to offer the new application options to advertisers next year. Marco Reale: "We see this test as a homework assignment for advertisers. And we have successfully completed it."
Christian Lüscher
