"The beautiful game" inspired a beautiful eight-screen video-wall that uses a combination of motion capture and touch activation to transform pedestrians into virtual goalkeepers, giving Canadians the chance to have a one-on-one showdown with some of Canada’s future soccer stars, said the company.

“This activation is a first of its kind in Canada and designed to celebrate the growing excitement around grassroots soccer in Canada,” said Sandy Bourne, vic president, advertising, sponsorship, events and merchandising, BMO Financial Group, Toronto, Ontario. “We feel this high-tech, street-level activation further reflects our commitment to the development of soccer in Canada, and will bring Canadians closer to the game through a medium that exceeds any other interactive advertising of its kind.”

Technical expertise for the interactive storefront was provided by Monster Media, a full service multi media company based in Orlando, FL

"We are thrilled to fuse together this groundbreaking technology with such a catchy concept," said John Payne, President, Monster Media. "Our company always strives to be pioneers in the out-of-home space and through this campaign we have executed game-play in a way that has never been done before in Canada and is sure to resonate with thousands of consumers."

BMO supports soccer across Canada from youth players in local neighborhoods and communities, to the professional level, said the company. BMO’s deep commitment to the game is evident from the beginning of the curve with BMO’s grassroots sponsorship of more than 500 youth teams nationally, according to the company. The relationship continues with BMO’s title support of elite youth players at BMO National Championships through to BMO’s professional teams support (Toronto FC & Vancouver Whitecaps FC) combined with soccer venue title sponsorship (BMO Field), said the company. 

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BMO Financial Group installed the first, interactive, digital-storefront advertisement in Canada, outside its flagship Toronto branch at King and Bay streets, to draw attention to its grassroots soccer campaign.

“We wanted to start a conversation about grassroots soccer in Canada, where it is now, and where it’s heading,” said Sandy Bourne, VP, Advertising, Sponsorship, Events and Merchandising, BMO Financial Group. “We chose this marketing platform to bring Canadians in closer contact with our grassroots campaign. This game allows them to engage with the advertisement in an exciting and new way, breaking from traditional marketing methods”

Teaming up with Orlando, FL-based Monster Media, BMO is drawing attention to youth soccer. Passersby are drawn to an eight-by-six meter display of static signage that surrounds an interactive, custom, LCD wall. There, they can face-off with the five youth soccer players featured in current print and billboard advertising.

"We are thrilled to fuse together this groundbreaking technology with such a catchy concept," said John Payne, President, Monster Media. "Our company always strives to be pioneers in the out-of-home space and through this campaign we have executed game-play in a way that has never been done before in Canada and is sure to resonate with thousands of consumers."

The eight, linked, LCD screens use gesture-based interaction paired with touch activation. This fusion allows the display to deeply immerse the user.

The decision to focus on future national teams represents BMO’s continued support of grassroots soccer. BMO currently sponsors more than 500 youth soccer teams in 60 clubs, in addition to the Canadian National teams, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Toronto FC.

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Travelers on American Airlines who come and go through Terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy International Airport are finding something different from the usual newsstands, duty-free shops and mall-like stores: a multimedia installation sponsored by I.B.M.

The installation, which went live on Friday, is 12 feet long and 8 feet high. It is scheduled to remain in the terminal for the next three months.

The display offers a mix of more than 30 video clips, touch-screen technology, audio clips, a ticker and a text-to-mobile feature.

The display is the brainchild of the I.B.M. creative agency, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, part of WPP, and a company named Monster Media (not to be confused with the Monster job-board folks). The display is intended to give fliers a closer, more involved look at the “Smarter Planet” I.B.M. ad theme.

The installation is devoted to what I.B.M. is calling “the Smarter City,” the urban center of the future that could operate more efficiently and effectively for the benefit of residents and visitors.

The installation is an example of what is called experiential marketing, which seeks to bring to life elements of advertising campaigns — the better to engage consumers with what marketers are pitching. It is the first of its kind for I.B.M.

“It’s an extension of something we started on the Web,” said John Kennedy, vice president for corporate marketing at I.B.M. (The decision by Mr. Kennedy to install the display at his namesake’s airport was a coincidence, he added, laughing.)

The installation echoes the Web site on which it is based, ibm.com/thesmartercity, which demonstrates how “more of a systems approach, using analytics, can make cities better places to live,” Mr. Kennedy said, improving transportation, education and health care.

Although Mr. Kennedy declined to discuss how much the installation costs, estimates are that such a display unit could range from $300,000 to $600,000.

The installation is making its debut at J.F.K. because “it’s right in our backyard,” Mr. Kennedy said, referring to I.B.M.’s being based in Armonk, N.Y.

Ads near the display encourage passersby to interact with it. “Let’s build a smarter planet city by city,” the ads declare.

The Smarter City Web site was introduced last December to support the “Smarter Planet” campaign.

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Ogilvy & Mather today announced a first-time technology experience that educates consumers about how their cities can be smarter. In an eight by twelve foot interactive display, people can experience the transformations that IBM brings to key systems in our cities such as transportation, energy & utilities, public safety, healthcare, education and economic development.

Combining multi-touch technology, gesture triggered activation, audio, video and a text to mobile 'call to action' feature, the customized digital experience from IBM is the first to combine all these technologies in a single experiential display. Travelers passing through American Airlines Terminal 8 in New York's JFK airport can experience over 30 videos and other creative elements developed by long-time IBM agency Ogilvy & Mather in partnership with Monster Media.

"In a complex environment like a city where different systems have to act as one and be as efficient as possible, bringing technology to city officials and governments is only one aspect of the education required," explained Pam Kaplan, Vice President, Market Management, IBM Global Industries. "We created this interactive experience in one of the most traveled locales in the world, because if members of society understand how smarter cities can affect them personally, they will influence change within their own communities."

TheSmarterCity experience

The multi-functional board and its white cityscape become activated by the motion of airport travelers passing by and vibrant colors start filling in various parts of the city. In addition to animations, the unit also features an audio 'call to action' encouraging travelers to explore and learn from TheSmarterCity. The touch capabilities of the unit offer in-depth content and allow people to select areas of interest and learn about real-world examples of how IBM is building a smarter planet today.

"IBM has a tremendous depth of learning and experience in helping cities and their leaders build smarter solutions to how cities work," said Lou Aversano. Â "Using innovative channels like this one-of-a-kind display, provides an engaging environment to share these stories with business leaders and consumers and allow them to delve deeper into the ways in which IBM's Smarter Cities efforts are changing the world." 

The unit also features a rotating  ticker at the top of the unit that reveals interesting statistics about cities today such as: "By 2050, 70% of the world will live in cities," and "NYC's Real Time Crime Center is helping cut crime by 27%." Interspersed in these stats is also a mobile call to action that allows the viewer to text "smarter" to a number.  The response to the text is a message that provides a link and encourages the viewer to visit the full, flash-based experience in their free time at www.ibm.com/thesmartercity.

"The out of home environment is one of the most innovative places for marketers to create unique brand experiences today," said Chris Beauchamp, chief executive officer of Monster Media. Â "Using new technology and situational environments where consumers are looking for an interactive experience -- such as an airport-- we are able to deliver measurable results."

TheSmarterCity touch enabled unit also offers real-time analytical capabilities providing continuous insights on user engagement all powered by Monster Media's proprietary campaign tracking system. The system measures every single touch and interaction on the board as well as duration of time spent with the content. This up to the minute tracking capability will allow for continuous learnings on performance and optimizations to the experience and its content.

TheSmarterCity JFK board will be on display now through September 24, 2010.

IBM first launched TheSmarterCity (www.ibm.com/thesmartercity) in December 2009, as an online interactive experience that supports IBM's Smarter Planet initiative. 

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a supplier of full body responsive out-of-home advertising, have joined forces with UM, OAG and Creature to unveil the inaugural advertiser embracing their network of multi-touch and gesture-based digital signage: Microsoft's Windows Live Hotmail.

This particular Microsoft campaign utilizes the multi-touch application, the Companies noted. The display is also capable of gesture activation, video, and mobile interaction for future ads.

Located in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac Airport), CCA and Monster Media are presenting a large-scale multi-touch display used in a public environment. The interactive wall display, which is made up of nine sleek 46" liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors arranged in a 3x3 square grid pattern, allows users to access a word bank to create and submit original works of poetry by pointing at or touching the screen. For inspiration, participants can even view previously submitted poems on the unit measuring 91" in height and 144" in width. The Sea-Tac digital sign is an integral component in Microsoft's broad campaign to promote the new Hotmail, representing the next generation in personal e-mail.

The LCD screen functions as both digital signage and a presentation system for conveying multi-media information.

The Company noted the display will be at the Central Terminal, near the food court area, of Sea-Tac Airport - the nation's 18th busiest airport, having served more than 31.3 million passengers in 2009. The campaign runs through June 30th. 

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These days pinball machines are seen as relics of a bygone era, relegated to the back of a restaurant or the occasional arcade.

Not this machine. It was sleek, with a digital display, and humongous, 12 feet wide and 8 feet tall.

It was also impossible to miss, splashed across a bank of windows in Times Square.

The concept was the same as the old three-dimensional pinball games. You try to keep the ball pinging around the machine for as long as possible, racking up your score, before it falls down the hole at the bottom.

Passersby stopped to watch, and some queued up for a turn. To play they simply pressed a button on the touch screen on the window, which shot the ball into play. Other buttons controlled the flippers. Those with the highest scores earned the right to enter their initials onto the machine's screen.

The giant pinball machine was a stunt to promote the release of Zyrtec's new liquid gels.

What made the machine unique, besides its size and presence on a storefront, was the game itself. In regular pinball, the object is to bounce the ball off targets, such as bumpers, that drive up one's score.

In this game, the targets were common allergens: dandelions, flowers and adorable, dander-emitting puppy dogs. The aim was to illustrate how Zyrtec is able to target and knock out the common allergens that make life miserable for allergy sufferers.

Zyrtec wanted a campaign that would quite literally stop passersby in their tracks, and JWT and the creative team at Monster Media came up with the idea of a giant pinball machine.

"Something interactive is not something that's typically seen in Times Square," says Chris Beauchamp, CEO of Monster Media. "We did it in Times Square because we figured everything is bigger in Times Square."

The pinball machine was made up of eight 46-inch rectangular screens placed close together in a storefront display.

The stunt ran from March 21 to April 17, drawing 36,000 players.

The idea worked as a clever play on how allergy medications knock out offending allergens.

The people who stopped to watch the game had no trouble making the connection.

"It created a traffic jam," Beauchamp says. "People were waiting to play, and they were reading the screen with the Zyrtec logo and watching the action while they were waiting."

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Travelers now have a way to stay busy during their downtime caused by layovers and flight delays with a groundbreaking multi-touch display. The massive nine linked LCD screens allow users to access a word bank to create and submit original works of poetry through a simple touch. For inspiration, participants can view previously submitted poems, or call on their memories of their favourite poets.

The approximately 8’ by 12’ multi-touch experience broadens the boundaries of immersive technology and allows for greater user engagement. With this innovative feature, the number of people capable of executing their works of art at one time is limitless. However, the system only permits one user to activate the system at a time.

“People who thrive on being busy now have something new and productive to do that will keep their minds off watching the clock while they wait,” says Chris Beauchamp, CEO of Monster Media. “A multi-touch system has never been done on this scale before and we are thrilled to fuse together this groundbreaking technology with such a catchy concept.”

Monster Media and Clear Channel Airports, joined forces with Outdoor Advertising Group and Creature to present Microsoft Hotmail with this experience in SEA TAC. The Microsoft Hotmail ad launched today and will run through June 30. Monster Media will monitor the display around the clock and track the total number of users to provide Microsoft Hotmail with an accurate ROI.

SEA TAC is a new venue for Monster Media, who currently has over 30 installations in airports domestically. This permanent system is the first to have multi-touch added to the gestural and mobile phone technology that already exists on all Monster airport displays.

In addition to SEA TAC, all of these upcoming installations will have the multi-touch option: Chicago O’Hare; San Francisco International; Philadelphia International; Boston Logan International; Denver International; and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International.

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Travelers now have a way to stay busy during their downtime with a groundbreaking multi-touch display that turns everyone into Edgar Allen Poe.

Monster Media, the global leader of out-of-home interactive advertising, has created the first ever multi-touch display of this size used in an airport environment. The massive nine linked LCD screens allow users to access a word bank to create and submit original works of poetry through a simple touch. For inspiration, participants can view previously submitted poems.

This approximately 8' by 12' multi-touch experience broadens the boundaries of immersive technology and allows for greater user engagement. With this innovative feature, the number of people capable of executing their works of art at one time is limitless. The dual-touch technology, multi-touch's precursor, only permits one user to activate the system at a time. 

"People who thrive on being busy now have something new and productive to do that will keep their minds off watching the clock while they wait," says Chris Beauchamp, CEO of Monster Media. "A multi-touch system has never been done on this scale before and we are thrilled to fuse together this groundbreaking technology with such a catchy concept."

Monster Media and Clear Channel Airports joined forces with Outdoor Advertising Group and Creature to present Microsoft Hotmail with this experience in the Seattle Airport (SEA-TAC).

SEA-TAC is a new venue for Monster Media, who currently has over 30 installations in airports domestically. This permanent system is the first to have multi-touch added to the gestural and mobile phone technology that already exists on all Monster airport displays.

The Microsoft Hotmail ad will launch on May 21 and run through June 30. Monster Media will monitor the display around the clock and track the total number of users to provide Microsoft with an accurate ROI.

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The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) announced the 2010 award winners May 4 at a gala celebration in Phoenix, AZ.

Monster Media's winning storefront campaign featured a groundbreaking street-level digital experience to promote ESPN's 40th season of "Monday Night Football." The storefront dominations were strategically placed in NYC, Chicago and Boston and allowed users to "get in the zone" and challenge a NFL quarterback. The goal of the interactive game was to catch as many footballs as possible, and high scoring game players were able to submit their scores in real time to see how they measured up to users in other cities.

Each installation used a combination of three technologies, including: projected capacitive touch, gesture based natural UI, real-time dynamic data. The fusion of these high-tech features allowed the displays to deeply immerse the user on a level that exceeded any other interactive advertising of its kind.

This award marks the first time Monster Media has secured a Gold OBIE. They previously received an OBIE merit award for their work for Travelers Insurance and a finalist honor with their Harrah's Resort & Casino campaign in 2009.

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At the corner of Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street in Manhattan this past winter, consumers had the chance to answer that question and broadcast their responses across a variety of digital platforms.

This killer interactive street-level experience showcased three main areas of engagement fused together to create a highly customized display. In one section, participants used a control panel consisting of touch-sensitive digital screens on which they were able to type in one of the goals they wished to accomplish before they die. They then submitted these goals to MTV’s master list (which appeared on a linked LCD screen) and could also post to their Facebook accounts.

“We decided that we would bring the experience to the streets of New York and allow people to share their thoughts with MTV’s website and the display on the street,” says Monster Media ceo Chris Beauchamp.

Monster had used the location before, and returned because it’s ideal for high pedestrian traffic.

Using a giant touchscreen keyboard through the wall, users entered their name and what they wanted to do before they pass on. The biggest challenge was in filtering the submitted content.

“In this instance, we only felt comfortable manually filtering those answers. But the delay time from entering it on the street to showing on the website and the screen was minutes, not hours,” Beauchamp says.

Positioning the video wall in the right window so that it was legible and readable was also a challenge. Monster leveraged touch-reading technology so that people could enter their info even with gloves on, as the display was live during a particularly harsh winter.

The link to Facebook just made sense, Beauchamp says.

“If we put a Facebook icon on one of our [installations], over 70-percent of the time people will touch that icon, which is extremely high. Make sure you give clients the ability to share that socially through portals like Facebook, because people will do it,” he says.

In 19 days, 14,000 people stopped and played video clips from the show at the location, and over 5,000 wishes were submitted.

“We knew we had a homerun in the first few days. It was 22-degree weather, it was miserable outside, and there was a line of 15 people lining up to have their 15 minutes of fame. The number one wish selection was pole dancing, which was interesting,” Beauchamp says.

With installs such as this, instant gratification is key, because people now expect it.

“You need an experience that’s memorable enough to share with people that takes place in under two minutes. The goal is creating a bridge between out-of-home and online, seamlessly and very quickly,” Beauchamp says. If you can do that effectively, you change the way media is perceived and what clients expect. 

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Individual Execution - Street Furniture/Transit/Alternative  

Entry Group: Street Furniture/Transit/Alternative Campaign

Agencies: Wieden+Kennedy NY and Monster Media

Advertiser: ESPN

Brand: Monday Night Football

Title of Work: ESPN Monday Night Football Interactive Storefronts

Executive Creative Directors, W+K NY: Kevin Proudfoot, Todd Waterbury
Creative Directors, W+K NY: Stuart Jennings, John Parker, Derek Barnes
Interactive Creative Directors: Jerome Austria, W+K NY; Pedro Andres Sanchez, Monster Media
Art Director: Stuart Jennings, W+K NY
Copywriter: Eric Steele, W+K NY
Head of Content Production: Gary Krieg, W+K NY
Interactive Producer: Liz Whittaker, W+K NY
Media Agency: MacDonald Media
Media Planning Team, W+K NY: Fletcher Adamo, Alissa Jenkins, Megan Larkin
Interactive Graphics Company: Brand New School
Sound Design Company: Sound Lounge
Interactive Developer: Keith Schaefer, Monster Media
Motion Graphic Artist: Maxwell Kaeter, Monster Media
Client Services Producer: Natalie N. Brokaw, Monster Media

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Most players in the space -- which is growing and evolving into new formats every day -- are private, small companies, startups that didn’t exist a few years ago. There is little financial information to go on and scant research that tracks revenue or ad dollars. So a lot of this list is subjective. It’s also hard to compare these smaller companies with the three giants that have dominated the traditional space (Clear Channel Outdoor, CBS Outdoor and Lamar, the first two of which are represented) and are also innovating in the medium. For those companies, some real metrics are available.

The result of exhaustive research by Mediaweek senior editor Katy Bachman, we based our choices on a few, simple criteria. Is the audience growing? Does the company have staying power? Is the business helping to grow or evolve the medium, either through creating a new category or innovating one that’s been around for a while? Is the company helping to consolidate the space, making it easier for advertisers to access the medium and deliver reach?

The result is a diverse list, one that spans the growing diversity of the OOH space, from the giant publicly traded companies to the private digital startups. No doubt the list will be controversial, but we look forward to your feedback.

1. National CineMedia

With movie advertising red-hot and impossible to ignore, national TV advertisers are sprinkling cinema into their media plans, occasionally breaking campaigns on the silver screen before rolling out on the tube. National CineMedia, the larger of the two cinema rep firms with 16,800 screens, reaches 60 percent of all moviegoers and 70 percent in the top 10 markets. In a tough year, NCM added 38 first-time clients and lured back 18 clients that advertised in 2006 or ’07. This year, NCM is being asked by the biggest agencies to present during the TV upfront season. NCM is also expanding its revenue sources beyond on-screen advertising, rolling out interactive lobby capabilities, using off-hours to run events, and extending its presence on its year-old Web site. The next frontier: 3-D. In April, NCM aired its first 3-D ad, and its three largest chains are planning to install digital projection systems in 14,000 movie theaters. Finally, NCM last year bought a minority interest in RMG Networks (No. 6 on our list). Shown: A 3-D ad for Samsung. (See also: "OOH in Depth: Movie Mogul")

2009 revenue grew 1.5 percent to $335 million, largely on digital screens (NCM has the most, with 15,400). > National ad revenue, representing 87 percent of the total, was up 6.1 percent. > In June 2011, NCM will add about 900 additional screens representing 30 million cinemagoers when Consolidated Theatres and Rave move over to its network from primary rival Screenvision (No. 5 on our list). > Monthly reach is 35.3 million persons 18-plus and 48.1 million persons 2-plus, per Nielsen’s Fourth Screen Report.

2. Zoom Media and Marketing

Francois de Gasp Beaubien, Zoom’s main owner and top executive, is in the place-based ad business to stay, and to consolidate. In the last 18 months, Zoom -- backed by $30 million in funding from partner ABS Capital Partners -- made six acquisitions building out three networks (Social, Fitness and Family) across 10,000 venues. To boost local ad sales and strengthen its business model, Zoom just a few weeks ago acquired Sports Display, giving it a ready local sales force of 100. Zoom’s Fitness Network has nearly tripled in size to more than 1,650 health clubs; nearly 1,400 have been converted to digital, making it the largest in its category. In more than 3,300 bars, restaurants and nightclubs in the top 50 markets, Zoom’s Social Network has doubled in size since ’08. In the last year, Zoom has run digital ad programs for more than 100 clients including AT&T, CBS, Coca-Cola, Colgate, Gatorade, HBO, J&J, NBC, Paramount Pictures, Reebok, Showtime, Turner Networks, VH1, Walt Disney, Verizon and Walmart.

Zoom says total revenue has grown at a compound rate of 35 percent annually since 2003 (being private, it doesn’t release revenue). > Fitness and Social Networks reach more than 54.5 million monthly, per Nielsen’s Fourth Screen Report. > Social Network is No. 1 for targeting men, reaching 20 million monthly, per Nielsen. 

3. JiWire

Reaching growing numbers of Wi-Fi users when they access hot spots, JiWire currently has no competition. The company has locked up exclusive relationships with about 40 Wi-Fi operators to offer advertisers front-page inventory when consumers access Wi-Fi hot spots. The network increased its locations by 22 percent last year to more than 30,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in high-traffic, long dwell-time locations: 10,000 hotels reaching 13 million a month; 100 airports reaching 4 million a month; and 7,000 cafes reaching 3 million a month. JiWire continues to build out the industry’s first in-flight, ad-supported Wi-Fi with partner Row 44. Last year, JiWire partnered with Nielsen Claritas to integrate lifestyle data into its location-based metrics. It also introduced a Wi-Fi app for the iPhone and upgraded it in March, creating a new ad opportunity. The app is now a top 10 utility for the iPhone, according to Apple.

JiWire doubled its ad impressions last year; it forecasts 200 percent growth in 2010 as more people access Wi-Fi hot spots. > Revenue growth up 150 percent in first-quarter 2010 compared to Q1 ’09.

4. Capivate Network

Unless you’re into staring at strangers, there’s nowhere to look in an elevator except at Captivate’s small screens, one of the earliest success stories in place-based advertising. More than half of Captivate’s viewers identify it as their primary news source. Founded in 1997, Gannett snapped the company up in 2004. It’s a well-defined network reaching a desirable business target in 20 markets (of which 15 are in the top 20 DMAs) and has worked with advertisers including Sprint, General Motors, ESPN, FedEx and Amtrak. Leading a move to incorporate programming into out-of-home video networks, Captivate was among the first to create its own news unit, hiring editors to make sure its content fit the environment. Captivate has also evolved into a multimedia brand, posting blogs from its journalists on a Web site to provide more in-depth news coverage. In April, Captivate rolled out its newest innovation: giving advertisers the capability to embed real-time content into ad messages, such as snow reports for ski lodges or CD rates for banks. 

With estimated 2009 revenue around $30 million (Gannett’s broadcast group doesn’t break it out separately), Captivate’s sales execs hope for double-digit revenue growth in first-half 2010. > Captivate added 300 new screens last year in the top three markets. > Nielsen’s Fourth Screen Report pegs reach at 31.3 million monthly.

5. Screenvision

The second-largest cinema rep firm (after No. 1 NCM) with a network of 15,300 screens in 2,500 theaters (7,800 of them digital), Screenvision has racked up a lot of firsts: the first 3-D ad for Wrigley’s Skittles; the first live ad with Daffy’s in New York’s Ziegfeld Theatre (pictured); and the first use of live interactive on-screen polling with Sprint. Also with Sprint, Screenvision pioneered an interactive in-lobby polling station featuring a scanner that provides theatergoers with redeemable coupons and other theater discounts, in more than 500 theaters. To strengthen its lobby marketing, last year Screenvision partnered with Cinema Scene Marketing to offer in-lobby interactive kiosks, 3-D ad displays and other lobby tech; by year-end, they were in 300 lobbies. Screenvision continues to roll out its 3-D screen capabilities, now in 1,500 theaters. Departure of top management in April does raise questions about ownership, but the company remains stable for now.

Inked 27 deals with theater chains representing 3,444 screens. > Each month reaches 36.5 million people 2-plus, and 26.4 million 18-plus, per Nielsen’s Fourth Screen Report. > Revenue grew 4 percent last year; national revenue was up 5.5 percent (it doesn’t disclose revenue). > According to Screenvision execs, 2010 is pacing 25 percent over ’09, driven by business from autos, health and beauty, retail, packaged goods and consumer electronics.

6. RMG Networks

Another consolidator, RMG Networks started as Danoo in 2006, operating a network of interactive screens in cafes in five markets reaching 6 million monthly viewers. It’s grown to 60,000 screens reaching 25 million viewers a month. With the seminal acquisition of IdeaCast in July ’09, RMG added a network of screens in 700 health clubs across 100 markets to create its Fitness Network, as well as an in-flight entertainment network in 7,800 seatbacks of JetBlue, Frontier and Continental Airlines. Just last month, RMG expanded its in-flight net via a deal with Delta, doubling reach to 10 million monthly viewers. Also this year, RMG bought Pharmacy TV, a network in ShopRite pharmacies, with plans to expand to 200 locations by the end of third quarter. The company got a lot of attention in March when it took 850 screens in cafes in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles and partnered with The New York Times Co. to create NYTimes.com Today. That network includes interactive features, harnessing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to drive viewers to the NYT Web site. By the end of the year, the partners intend to double reach by heavying up in existing markets and expanding to new ones.

RMG Networks says sales have grown 1,000 percent in the last year (clearly off a small base and due to acquisitions). > Nielsen’s Fourth Screen Report pegs the Fitness network (the only one it measured) at 9.5 million monthly viewers 18-plus.

7. Monster Media

Another category creator, Monster Media is a hybrid out-of-home media company, selling its gesture-based interactive technology and creating large-format, can’t-be-missed interactive campaigns in big spaces, from malls to airports to storefronts, and on walls, floors and kiosks. This is the company the big outdoor companies turn to when they're looking for unusual and breakthrough campaigns for top clients. CBS Outdoor, JCDecaux, Clear Channel Outdoor all exclusively use Monster Media interactive technology. Founded in 2003 by Chris Beauchamp, CEO, and John Payne, president, the two not only run the firm, but have their own money in the venture. Last year, the company created 245 campaigns, such as a giant pinball machine in Times Square for Zyrtec, or taking up an entire terminal for Travelers Insurance at the Minneapolis Airport. Part of the appeal is built-in audience measurement: the displays’ ability to track gestures becomes the OOH equivalent of a mouse click. 

2009 revenue up 40 percent; profit up almost 1,000 percent, according to Monster. > Number of advertisers grew from 99 to 120.

8. CBS Outdoor

CBS Outdoor’s expansion into the digital world has leaned towards smaller digital screens. The company quietly amassed nearly 8,000 digital displays, of which 4,300 are in GameStops, a retail magnet for the hard-to-reach male 18-34 demo; reach is 24 million monthly. A year ago, less than half of the displays in GameStops were digital; today the network is completely digitized, helping to double sales in ’09. CBS Outdoor also had a number of firsts last year, including rolling out the nation’s first 3-D ad campaign in New York’s Grand Central Station for Visa’s Go World campaign. It also offers the only turnkey mobile platform, called txt2go, which attracted some 60 new clients drawn by the economical $450 set-up price and per-response rate card. CBS Outdoor recently nabbed the New York MTA bus and rail contract (it already has Los Angeles’). The company’s unique ability to provide fully integrated local media programs (with TV and radio) have attracted a number of clients including Footlocker, Dodge Ram and Sears Optical. On the traditional side, its 70 digital billboards in iconic locations are sold out.

CBS Outdoor Americas (includes Latin America) ’09 revenue was down 15 percent to $1.11 billion. CBS chief Les Moonves says Q1 2010 “pacing flat.” > Monthly reach, per Nielsen, is 24 million.

9. Clear Channel Outdoor

The largest traditional outdoor company has embraced digital billboards in a big way, with 472 billboards in prime locations in 33 of the nation’s largest markets (91 in Los Angeles alone). CC’s Spectacolor division continues to add interactive and social-media capabilities to its full-motion jumbo and HD video signs in New York, L.A. and Las Vegas. Last year, despite soft revenue across its traditional inventory, CCO rolled out an additional 120 digital boards. The company intends to deploy at least that many more this year, expanding into makets such as San Francisco and Dallas. Plans also include adding digital video to static inventory in airports, and the introduction later this year of full-motion digital screens in bus shelters in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. CCO has also been at the forefront of advancing digital billboards as a news source, airing sports scores, election results, or helping out local authorities with Amber Alerts. More recently, CCO leveraged the traffic division of sibling Clear Channel Radio to create a traffic network on its digital signs.

Digital led the company in revenue growth, helping prevent a deeper decline than the 13 percent revenue loss in ’09. > Added 156 new digital clients in first quarter. > The addition of 150 signs in ’09 increased circulation of its digital networks from 17 million to 28 million. 

10. IndoorDirect

A pioneer in the quick-service and casual restaurant venue, IndoorDirect’s Restaurant Entertainment Network syndicates video ad networks and provides programming to some of the nation’s biggest chains, including Wendy’s, Denny’s, Arby’s, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s and McDonald’s. The company produces and provides three one-hour shows weekly (BITE, Bite@Night and BITE Weekend) hosted by dedicated personalities, and including daily updates on sports and entertainment news. Last year, the company increased distribution from 244 restaurants to 1,074. It has signed contracts to add another 7,000 restaurants over the next four years, of which 1,000 will be added mostly in top 10 markets by the end of 2011. With a long dwell time, programming and advertising gets noticed. According to an Arbitron study of IndoorDirect, nine out of 10 customers who noticed the screens spent some time watching. Nearly two-thirds of the group recalled at least one featured ad.

CEO Fred Margolin predicts 2010 ad revenue will be up 16 times over ’09. > He also forecasts its first profit by end of third quarter. > Monthly reach is 14.1 million persons 18-plus, per Nielsen’s Fourth Screen Report.

  

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When Monster Media recently installed four giant interactive displays at Los Angeles International Airport on behalf of JCDecaux North America, it was the first of its kind for the airport -- and also the latest indication that digital out-of-home is breaking the sound barrier in the air travel space.

"We now have about 22 systems in U.S. airports, and an additional 15 to 20 will go in before the end of the year," says John Payne, president of Monster. The company's interactive campaigns in airports have included displays where Travelers Insurance umbrellas multiply and contract as people walk by, and where snow blows across giant bottles of Coors Lite in a similar fashion.

Media networks are increasingly finding new ways to lure air travelers with digital opportunities, from large networks of LED and LCD screens in airports to Wi-Fi access promotions to commercials on seat-back TV screens within the planes themselves.

"The economy has offered us new opportunities that weren't approved by the airports before. Some of the larger international ones are open to very different types of business," says Pam Horn, national sales manager for Clear Channel Airports.

Horn refers to an increasing number of airports that are receptive to the kind of large displays that Monster installs -- allowing for gesture and text message interactivity. Often, that requires placement in areas that previously weren't utilized before. Between the new digital boards and a wider variety of places to install static promotions, including security bins and baggage carousel wraps, "we've increased the number of product offerings in airports fivefold over the last few years," Horn says.

Jean-Luc Decaux, co-CEO of JCDecaux North America, notes a big change in the last six months. "[Advertisers] are much more excited about digital platforms. They know how to use them and make a better creative fit," he says.

Decaux notes a recent campaign from IBM Lotus software, which ran in the two New York City airports, as well as in Boston Logan and Orlando. It used boards in gate areas that gave weather updates. So when a gate was being used to board a flight to Miami, climate data for that city would appear on a nearby sign, and the info changed throughout the day, matching up with other flight destinations. "Software provided by Lotus gives you the ability to this kind of core stuff," says Decaux.

"That's the future, in terms of relevancy solutions," says Eric Bottema, director of Kinetic's Aviator North America specialist agency, in speaking of the Lotus campaign. Bottema notes that air travelers are largely affluent decision makers and influencers. "It's hard to reach this audience in general, and they are constantly on the move," he says. What better time to reach them than when they're captive in a concourse or on a plane for hours on end?

JiWire is using just that rationale to lure more clients. The company serves as an advertising representative for wireless carriers, and its coverage includes 80 U.S. airports. David Staas, JiWire's svp of marketing, explains that clients have the opportunity to give customers free Wi-Fi access to specific sites that promote advertiser products and services. Or they can offer consumers free, full access to the Web if they view certain promotional material.

For example, in second-quarter 2009, Hyatt Hotels offered free Wi-Fi access on Wednesdays if viewers took a virtual tour of Hyatt's hotels. The campaign ran nationally, primarily in airports, and it received a whopping 39 percent click-through rate, according to Staas, who notes average banner click-through rates are less than 1 percent.

Reach Media Group steers consumers in a similar fashion. The company reps ad avails within in-flight entertainment systems for several airlines. RMG's CEO, Garry McGuire, points to a campaign for the fledgling ABC series Modern Family that ran on JetBlue from Aug. 15 to Sept. 14 last year. A promo was televised directly after the airline safety message, alerting viewers to watch a sneak preview of the program, which ran on the default channel that viewers have access to before others become available. According to McGuire, 43 percent of the passengers engaged with the default channel, as opposed to surfing to other video options (vs. a norm of 20 percent).

More opportunities are poised to take off, so to speak. McGuire says video on demand will become available on planes in less than a year, with ads that can't be skipped.

When it comes to the out-of-home airport venue, it seems the sky's the limit.  

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MTV’s new show "The Buried Life" uses this same idea and follows four guys across the country doing the 100 things they’ve vowed to do before they die and helping to inspire others to do the same.

To help promote the show, Maude and Monster Media set up a display on the corner of 5th Avenue and 43rd Street in Manhattan. On display in a store window is a giant keyboard and TV screen with the question, "What do you want to do before you die?" People on the street are encouraged to share their list by typing on the touch-sensitive screen. Within moments their words appear on a big screen to share with others.  

Wondering what some people wrote?

"Make People’s 100 sexiest list"

"Kiss Taylor Lautner"

"Have a pet whale"

"Build a home for the homeless"

"Be a father"

"I want to find my mom missing for 6 yrs. from Fort Worth Texas please"

The display consisted of three screens that showed clips from the show, the answers from people on the street, and the touch-sensitive screen that people could type in something off of their list. 

Here are some of the end results:

11,000 wishes have been uploaded

The display connected people with the show and encouraged them to share their list

Passers-by posted updates and pictures on Facebook and other social media platforms when their wish scrolled across the screen, spreading the word about the show beyond New York.

Bottom Line

This was a great way for people to engage with the show and to get people to think about their hopes and dreams. It also made me think about creating my own bucket list (but I’m not sure I’m ready to share it with the world!) 

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But now, in the recession, the city is behaving out of character. One day things might look promising; the next, not so good. With the rest of the state looking for guidance, it is easy to see how many realtors are concerned. But the truth is the market is trying to work itself out. It is vulnerable to the economy. It is aggressive in its method. And it will not go away. Gently. So, the big question is when and how the market will recover, not if it will recover. U.S. commercial real estate values were down another six percent in the first quarter, and the Mortgage Bankers Association recently reported that the number of new loans for commercial properties plunged 70 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier. While the economy descends in a downward spiral, and the number of empty properties continues to skyrocket, many real estate owners have begun leasing their storefronts to an advertising company as a solution to their problem. Monster Media, the leader in interactive full-body responsive advertisements, has become an ally to many retail owners who are anxiously seeking to lease their properties until the market ascends and tenants are more readily available. These unique street level displays make a brand’s message become larger than life and stand out from the clutter of other traditional mediums. “With the weakening economy and the dramatic fall in real estate over the past year, we are helping the people who need help the most,” said John Payne, president of Monster Media. “We take vacant storefronts, in major cities, and turn unattractive, neglected windows into colorful, vibrant displays.” Storefront advertising brings a brand’s message to life by using impactful images on an otherwise dead storefront, which in itself can be a turnoff to prospective tenants. Mark Seiler, managing partner of Metrovation, a privately owned real estate company, said, “We have had great success working with Monster Media to fill a vacant property, and both the storefront and the building were significantly upgraded with the ad campaign that they ran in our space.” Seiler said that the partnership was profitable and added energy and vitality to an otherwise vacant space.  So there you have it, Orlando is in a position to move one way or another. For savvy investors with the right capital, credit and security, plenty of deals are available. 

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One of the more interesting ones is from the Monster Media Group earlier this year. They have been responsible for a number of non-traditional marketing campaigns across the US. The more recent project in 2009 with MTV for a reality TV show known as "The Buried Life" was positioned in an interesting way. The idea for the show was originally based on a documentary that was filmed in 2006 and then selected for development by HBO/MTV in 2009. A campaign to get potential viewers of the show to join in was developed and place in a major city in the US.

The interactive video wall permitted passers by to enter their answers into the digital signage wall that was over 20ft tall and positioned on the glass of the building. Now this type of projection has been done before by various groups, but what was interesting was not only the feedback loop to draw in participation from people on the sidewalk and then to see the feedback appear in the digital signage, but it would also cross post the information into the users face book account if they wanted to. The link to social media offerings continues to grow at incredible rate. Linking with facebook, twitter, flickr, YouTube are all examples of how groups are using social media in their campaigns now.

They have also done several other campaigns involving groups such as ESPN for Monday night football. The use of the various technologies such as Classic touch screen activation, Full body response user tracking, and combining it with a real time application that tract the data is very interesting and involves the user becoming extremely embedded in the experience.

This shows where groups are doing the same thing that marketing groups had to do in 1999 as Generation Y began to hit the market as overall consumers. My nephews are a part of Gen Y and have grown up in world where not being online and part of the Internet is completely foreign to them. Not having the ability to time shift watching TV or listening to something seems strange to them and they are often perplexed by the fact that information is sometime available at less then instantaneously. This same Generation Y now has over 4 million kids per year becoming licensed drivers. Another interesting fact is that by 2015 they will have more buying power than all of the Baby Boomers and Generation X combined.

I see the Gen Y's becoming much more involved and completely comfortable with Kiosk style Digital Signage solutions like this in the coming years. The Generation X group are also now some of the parents of this Gen Y group and have come up on Walkmans, and moved into IPods right along side their kids so they also are deeply affected by non traditional advertising too. The Gen Y kids who have been born in the last ten years are now about to enter the pre-teen years and have had at least 5 years worth of exposure to digital signage in some form. It is not new to them at all.

I fully expect that they will continue to become so used to this experience level that they will not fear it nor will they be pushed away from it by the high degree of interactivity it presents. This is one example in many where the level of interaction continues to increase and the level of engagement or response can be directly measured at the time of the action by the participant. I see where many other groups will continue to utilize this style of digital signage engagement method in the coming years even if doesn't work for all parts of the current market demographics.

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Even if walking down a major city street looking for Starbucks on a major caffeine fix? I would (Hmmm… is he about to discuss Flash Mobs?). May be it could happen? Monster Media definitely thinks it could! Wait a minute, they made it happen! How? Let’s chat people…. You have a lot to learn about NEW advertising!

Monday Night Football or… Digital Streetball?

ESPN wants fans to join in!

ESPN was looking for a new campaign that would get fans off their couches and into the game! Monster Media teamed up with Wieden + Kennedy and MacDonald Media to engage passers-by in a full-body responsive, real-time, street-level interactive ad where users can really get 'in the zone' and challenge a quarterback from the upcoming game. Through touch screen and sensor technology, people would ‘literally’ have a chance at playing virtual catch – on the street – with a billboard – in the middle of the day! The incredible part is that players can see their scores match up against players in other cities. A perfect concept that helps consumers remember brands and engage the conversation virally, a concept growing larger everyday in Social Media. These structural billboards were strategically placed in highly-trafficked locations in NYC, Boston and Chicago with incredible ROI – online and off. Want more? Here ya go…

What would you like to do before you die?

In promotion of MTV’s ‘Buried Life’

MTV partnered with Maude to create an impactful NYC storefront advertisement promoting 'The Buried Life'. The masterpiece was constructed outside the MTV building with full interactive touch screen capabilities, enabling the user to list what they want to do before they die. Monster Media took it a step further and programmed Social Networking capabilities and users lists were posted to Facebook walls. We just took Ad-vertaining from live engagement into the digital sphere. Imagine actually FEELING advertisements! Imagine PLAYING with advertisements! Now imagine TAKING advertisements and transferring it from out of home into the digital sphere! That JUST happened! John Payne says “Ad-vertaining is the cherry on the Sunday,“ but it is imperative to keep traditional marketing and advertising within your budget and overall strategic plan. Major markets across the globe are adopting new technology that has immediate impact on the consumer, but magazines, newspapers, billboards, etc. still have essential impact to all markets. Let’s face it, bad creative is bad creative whether it’s large scale moveable billboards or a full page add in Rolling Stone magazine. As a business, it’s a matter of expanding ideas, collaborating with others and finding ways to engage your target audience to experience your brand!

I leave you with this…

in all honesty, I was scared for a while! New technology, digital growth and the interweb have rapidly engrained into our sociology almost TOO fast. Kids are playing ultra sophisticated video games instead of playing hide and go seek or street hockey. Access to thousands and thousands of digital applications are literally at your fingertips and I was starting to feel our culture began to get lazy and complacent. It’s company’s like Monster Media that provide a new creative outlet to pull the user off the couch and experience a unique sensation. Even with the Nintendo Wii, we can get up, move and still play (had to throw this in, love the social implications of the Wii)! As the concept of Ad-vertaining begins to grow, it seems full integration possibilities with Social Media platforms are inevitable, but more so, John Payne thinks the integration of cell phones with television advertisements is something to begin accepting. You tell me….

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John Payne, president of Monster Media, says based on their success throughout the U.S., this is a natural step to expand into the vibrant and thriving market of Canada, which will allow them to place their innovative network of products in new venues.

The Canadian office will be managed by David Leetham, vice president of sales. Ontario-based Leetham has a diverse entrepreneurial background and co-founded both Intouch Media Group Inc. in 2005 and Partners Graphic in 1991. Leetham is a graduate of Ryerson University, Toronto with a degree in marketing and management.

This latest expansion is in addition to Monster Media's current offices in: USA, London, Spain, Denmark and South Africa.

About the company:

Monster Media remains the leader of advertising that responds to consumer's body movements and storefront domination programs. Their ability to deliver quality programs and customer service has allowed them to expand their presence across the globe with network applications including: storefront dominations, mass transit, airports, sport and entertainment venues and custom events. Since its inception in 2005, Monster Media has executed nearly 300 storefront ads globally and worked with clients such as HBO, Lexus, Target, Microsoft, MTV and Timberland to bring their messages to life. All campaigns are monitored and maintained around the clock by Monster Media. For more information on Monster Media, please go to: www.monstermedia.net.

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Monster Media, in partnership with DWA Media and BBDO West, just upped advertising’s “ickiness.” Their eight-week campaign for ESET LLC, a company that provides “proactive threat protection” (cybercrime), features wriggling maggots on an 18-screen-wide display in a storefront window. The fly larvae amass around messages about the dangers lurking on the Internet and slither away, across the gestural, interactive LCD screens, as pedestrians walk by.

The Monster Storefront, in downtown Austin, TX, is said to be the largest, interactive LCD-display in a storefront window.

This is the third partnership between ESET and Monster Media. Other collaborations included displays in San Francisco and a tradeshow in Washington, DC.

Interestingly, maggots can serve some good purposes. Anglers can use them for bait. In fact, U.K. fisherman buy them in vending machines. Commercial maggot breeders dye the maggots different colors so they’re more “attractive” to the fish. Also, fly larvae, which eat rotting flesh, have been used for healing wounds. But, the maggots in this campaign flesh out how dangerous cyber worms can be, in a real grub for attention.

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Located in downtown Austin, Texas, the street-level display consists of 18 LCD linked screens.

Lifelike maggots, rats and roaches slither out of the way when pedestrians pass by, revealing the message: "Create a safe space for yourself on the Internet."

DWA Media and BBDO West worked with Monster Media to create the display, which runs to April 22.

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The committee grabbed nearly all of the static out-of-home space in the Vancouver-Richmond area — a reported $38 million worth — but seemed to give only a passing glance to digital out-of-home.

That effort to protect sponsors from ambush marketing tightened mainstream inventories for non-sponsors looking to cut through the blanket messaging of the big boys and made DOOH an attractive option, said Rob Gorrie, founder and CEO of Adcentricity, an aggregator and strategist for DOOH media.

A DOOH screen high above Robson and Granville streets in Vancouver.

Seven to 10 large DOOH networks exist in the Vancouver region, Gorrie said, in venues ranging from groceries to casinos. That’s about 10,000 networked advertising displays — an audience of more than 10 million during the event period.

Vancouver has relatively few outdoor digital boards, however, and VANOC took over three connected to Olympic venues — BC Place, GM Place and Canada Place — and owned by Outdoor Broadcast Network, said Barb Welsh. Her agency, Welsh Sales Solutions, sells for three of Canada’s major DOOH networks, including OBN. That left her with only a small inventory, including a large double-screen digital board downtown and several indoor venues in Vancouver and Whistler-Blackcomb, the resort area where alpine events are under way.

After Welsh realized VANOC was struggling to sell its own ad inventory and was uninterested in DOOH, she struck deals with 7-11, ReMax, the Canadian lottery and the Vancouver and British Columbia governments, among others.

“The main thing is, we got some categories on there who had not embraced the medium before,” Welsh said, which she believes will provide added credibility to what’s still considered a young medium. “We were happy with who we sold.”

Toronto-based ONTrack Network, part of the Telephoto horse-racing company, also relinquished a facility — Hastings Race Park on the Olympic grounds — to VANOC, chief sales officer Ted Bradley said. ONTrack has about 20 other venues in the area with several thousand DOOH screens, including River Rock Casino, between the airport and Olympic venues; the Canada Sky Train, which runs downtown from the airport; and resort hotels, restaurants and bars. As the games began, ONTrack had only three spots left and expected to sell out, Bradley said.

“It’s not a thing where VANOC comes to you and wants to cooperate on a deal,” he said. “We’re not complaining about it, but it’s unfortunate. We would have happily let them sell our spots.”

One key factor in selling advertising around the Olympics is severe brand restrictions. Non-sponsors cannot use the word Olympic in their advertising, Gorrie said, and official sponsors advertising on network screens have category exclusivity. But DOOH networks that operate inside high-traffic venues are outside VANOC’s reach, he said, as long as they respect brand rules. For example, VANOC has published rules that suggest a Winter 2010 sale is fine, but an Olympics markdown may draw the ire of the “brand police.”

Uncertainty about how those rules applied to DOOH impeded ad sales, said Don McQuaid, president of RTN Media, which includes Resort Television Network, which he founded in 1999, and Onext Media, a start-up he recently acquired. RTN Media operates narrowcasting networks in several Canadian resort areas, including Whistler-Blackcomb, and also has DOOH screens in about 100 indoor sites in the Vancouver area.

“(Potential clients) had a real fear and uncertainty about what the Olympic restrictions meant,” McQuaid said. “It’s a very strict brand. I think digital out-of-home networks were a new area and not well-defined, which led to a nervousness among traditional media people. They didn’t know if it was in the mix for the brand police.”

McQuaid believed his screens, inside several destinations near Olympic venues, fell outside the Olympic footprint. RTN Media ended up with unused inventory, he said, which he used for trade. He thinks those misgivings will dissipate as DOOH continues catching on with advertisers.

At any rate, most seem to agree that Vancouver 2010 will be the last Olympics where the medium isn’t leveraged. London, site of the 2012 summer games, is already a DOOH hotbed.

“The digital piece will be more involved going forward,” said John Payne, president of Orlando, Fla.-based Monster Media, which emphasizes linking mobile to DOOH. The agency made a late run at selling DOOH in Vancouver but has turned its sights to London, where it recently opened an office.

“We got pretty far down the road with significant Olympic sponsors (in Vancouver) that wanted to do some cool things,” Payne said. “Everyone said, ‘If we’d had this in our planning ...’ But if you didn’t get traction 24 months ago, you were out of time. A couple months out, you can’t change the creative format (sponsors) were working on. It’s not a significant lost opportunity for us; our feeling is, let’s look at what we’ll do in London. Lots of people will jump in; it’s better for us to go now.”

Gorrie predicted DOOH will see the sort of growth in London that mobile saw in Vancouver. And he suggested ambush marketers won’t be so forgiving in 2012.

“I think the London committee will include digital out-of-home for bought media throughout their games,” he said. “Like Vancouver with outdoor, there will be a larger purchase across digital out-of-home in package.”

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To create user engagement for MTV’s campaign for its show, The Buried Life, Monster Media (NYC) created an interactive, storefront advertisement that asked, “What do you want to do before you die?” The storefront, at 521 Fifth Ave. in NYC, includes three engagement areas: a touchscreen to submit a goal to achieve, an oversized scrolling list of all wishes input, and an area to select a clip from the show to preview.

The show follows four men on their worldwide journeys to mark items off their 100-top-things-to-do-before-I-die list while also helping strangers achieve their own goals.

Monster Media, a leader in interactive, street-level displays, partnered with Maude to create the dynamic campaign, which launched January 12.

Goals have included making People’s sexiest list; kissing Taylor Lautner, skydiving, finding a long-lost mother and becoming a father.

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To present MTV with a user engaged ad, Monster Media, the global leader in storefront advertising, partnered with Maude to develop a campaign experience that would make a distinguishable connection between pedestrians and MTV’s “The Buried Life”. The ad was placed at 521 5th Ave. in NYC.

MTV’s documentary series asks the question “What do you want to do before you die?” following four young men on their journey to mark items off their list while helping strangers mark goals off theirs. Mirroring that intention, the unique storefront included three areas of engagement; a touch activated area to submit your goal to achieve, an oversized scrolling list of all wishes and an area to select a clip from the show to preview.

MTV’s campaign increased viewer awareness of the series premier and recorded a record high number of engagements within the first day of launch.

Monster Media will continue to track participants throughout the campaign to reinforce that the interactive campaign was a positive experience for both MTV and Monster Media.

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Nothing unusual about that, particularly on Fifth Avenue. But they are not looking at the latest fashions.

On display in the window is what looks like a giant keyboard on a TV screen. In huge black letters over the screen is the question, "What do you want to do before you die?"

Someone is tapping their fingers on the window, as if they were typing, and indeed they are. They are typing on a touch-sensitive screen, and shortly after they do so their letters and words appear on the big screen.

As one person finishes answering the question, another steps up to the screen and begins typing, then another.

Looking at the screen one sees a long scroll of their answers.

Some are outrageous.

"Make People's 100 sexiest list." "Kiss Taylor Lautner." "Skydive!!! ... nude." "Have a pet whale."

Some are sweet.

"Spend my life with the girl of my dreams, Erica Conway." "Build a home for the homeless." "Be a father."

Some are simply heartbreaking.

"I want to find my mom missing for 6 yrs. from Fort Worth Texas please."

They're all part of an alternative media campaign to promote MTV's new show "The Buried Life," in which four guys go across the country doing the 100 things they've vowed to do before they died, and helping others do they same.

The campaign is the creation of agency Maude working with Monster Media, an alternative media company. The idea was to get people on the street to engage with the show, and what better way could there be than inviting them to share their lists of must-do things?

"One of the things we discuss with our clients is being topical and almost personal on the advertising side, willing people to put out some of their thoughts and emotions," says John Payne, president of Monster Media in Orlando, Fla.

"This seemed to be the perfect show for it, to talk about the buried life, what people privately or publicly are wishing to do before kicking the bucket."

The display is pretty simple. There are several screens on the storefront. One screen plays clips from the show.

Another larger screen scrolls the answers from people on the street. Then there's a touch-sensitive digital screen where passersby can type in something off their list.

Each submission goes through a filter, so that nothing obscene gets added to the display. If it's clean, the item pops up on the larger screen, along with the person's name and hometown. Users can also post their item to their personal Facebook accounts via a simple interface.

The display went up in mid January and will stay up through this weekend. So far, more than 11,000 wishes have been uploaded, and they're also running on a feed to the MTV web site.

"People are willing to stand in line in cold weather to put what they want to do and load it on Facebook," Payne says.

The stunt works because it really engages people. The idea is directly connected to the concept of the show, and it gets people thinking about more than just advertising. They're thinking about their lives.

As a bonus, the campaign has gotten a second life online what with all the Facebook updates and people taking pictures with their cell phones when their wish scrolls up on the board. They then post those pictures to other social media accounts, spreading the word about "Buried" far beyond New York.

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The Florida-based media technologists push the boundaries of creative out-of-home executions. The team at Monster never seem happy to rest on their laurels. After their Christmas campaign for Qwest featuring a user-controlled dancing elf named Zip, I thought that it would be a little while before Monster wowed me again. For the record, it took less than a month.

Monster's most recent campaign, an interactive storefront promoting MTV's new show "The Buried Life," asks passersby to share one of the goals they would like to accomplish before they die. Beyond featuring users' goals on the digital street level billboard, the campaign gives people the opportunity to share items form their 'Bucket List' to Facebook. The functionality of sharing to Facebook is a first for Monster Media.

The Facebook Sharing really jumps out at me. The campaign feature will become a key component of future location-based digital advertisements. In the future, consumers interacting with an in-store display or augmented reailty mirror will freely be able to share their experiences with their friends digitally. What we now experience as Add This and ReTweet buttons on content sites will evolve into seamless gateways between physical and digital environments.

Within its "Buried Life," execution, Monster succeeds in integrating media across channels. The Facebook sharing feature of the outdoor advertisement gives the campaigns legs beyond the interactive storescape. The dynamic element expands the conversation which starts right on the street. Users can easily share their experience with the ad with their friends, and thus spread the campaign's ethos and call to action (item from your Bucket List?) across their social networks.

"We have been able to create an interface that allows consumers to craft an ad message and control an out-of-home display in a way that has never been done before," said Chris Beauchamp, CEO of Monster Media. "Pedestrians are really digging this 'Buried Life' display and thousands of users have already submitted a goal from their own list."

As with all of Monster's executions, the campaign has a healthy mix of creativity and technology.

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Give they are just young pups they are getting a head-start on most of us, and the list includes things like crashing a party at the Playboy Mansion. They're young, after all, and Canadian.

MTV has engaged Monster Media to promote the show in a big way on a New York streetscape, and the result is a very cool blend of BIG printed vinyl graphics on the exterior of a building, as well as interactive screens.

I love this kind of stuff because of the impact it has - using printed graphics to make small digital stuff MUCH more impactful. That was exactly where I was taking a company I did work with last year, but, well ... I won't go there. Dimwits.

The variety of engagement and social media integration with this is also quite clever and compelling.

Anyway, the details:
MTV’s thought provoking series is intended not only to entertain, but also to engage its audience, serving as the perfect platform for an interactive storefront domination. To present MTV with the right blend of engagement and innovation, Monster Media, the global leader of interactive street-level displays, partnered with Media Storm and Maude. This team created a dynamic campaign that can be viewed and controlled by pedestrians.

This never-before-done experience showcases three main areas of engagement fused together to create a highly-customized display. In one section, participants use a control panel consisting of touch sensitive digital screens where they are able to type in one of their goals they would like to accomplish before they die. The users can then submit these goals to MTV’s master list, which appears on a linked LCD screen, and can also post to their personal Facebook accounts, a first for Monster Media.

Could not find any video, but have asked Monster. They say one should be up by Monday.

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ORLANDO, FL--(Marketwire - January 20, 2010) - MTV's new show, "The Buried Life," was brought to life on the streets of NYC through a groundbreaking street-level ad. The series documents a cross-country journey, following four men on a mission to cross 100 things off their list of goals to accomplish before they die, and help others do the same.

MTV's thought provoking series is intended not only to entertain, but also to engage its audience, serving as the perfect platform for an interactive storefront domination. To present MTV with the right blend of engagement and innovation, Monster Media, the global leader of interactive street-level displays, partnered with Media Storm and Maude. This team created a dynamic campaign that can be viewed and controlled by pedestrians.

This never-before-done experience showcases three main areas of engagement fused together to create a highly-customized display. In one section, participants use a control panel consisting of touch sensitive digital screens where they are able to type in one of their goals they would like to accomplish before they die. The users can then submit these goals to MTV's master list, which appears on a linked LCD screen, and can also post to their personal Facebook accounts, a first for Monster Media.

"We have been able to create an interface that allows consumers to craft an ad message and control an out-of-home display in a way that has never been done before," said Chris Beauchamp, CEO of Monster Media. "Pedestrians are really digging this 'Buried Life' display and thousands of users have already submitted a goal from their own list."

Monster Media launched the campaign on Jan. 12 and is measuring participation numbers, providing MTV with a tangible return on their investment. So far the video clips have been touch activated 5,085 times and over 2,000 wishes have been submitted.

The Monster Storefront is located on the highly-trafficked corner of 5th and 43rd.

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Monster Media, PHD and Hyperspace, the innovations division of Posterscope UK, have teamed up to devisea  new street-level interactive ad for YouTube.

The linked LCD-based digital display is located on Carnaby Street, in the heart of Soho’s busiest retail and entertainment area and features user touch interaction and sound capabilities.

Pedestrians are encouraged to take control of the ad by selecting a video clip from one of five popular programs, including: “Father Ted,” “Derren Brown,” “The IT Crowd,” “Peep Show” and “Shameless”.  Once a segment is touch activated, the system transforms into a screen displaying teasers from the show.

The new street-level display is part of a broad marketing campaign – including bus sides, tube panels, full-page print ads, and online videos – by YouTube to promote its new “shows” section, bringing together full length programmes and clips from YouTube’s professional content partners.

The installation will be monitored and mantained by Monster Media, which will also track the number of times the system is activated, providing YouTube with a tangible ROI.
 

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I don't think you will be surprised when you hear the answer is...

drum roll please......Monster Media

Monster Media is tracking how many times the display is activated as well as the number of emails sent from the display, providing Qwest with a tangible return on their investment. The campaign has reaped positive results so far, 10 percent of all who activate the kiosk send emails to their friends and family.

"This is an enormous step for our niche market of 'on-the-go' advertising," said Chris Beauchamp, CEO of Monster Media. "With this ad we have successfully bridged the gap between out-of-home advertising and online."

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By Ann Cooper

From ESPN’s virtual quarterbacks lobbing passes to promote Monday Night Football, to software company ESET’s interactive maggots, rats and roaches promoting its anti-virus software and iPhones that interact with billboards, when it comes to digital out-of-home media, “Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real,” as the early futurist Jules Verne put it. 

And speaking of the future, there’s the just-launched Ralph Lauren interactive window application in flagship stores in New York, Chicago and London allowing customers to shop 24/7 with just a touch of their hands. Or how about Carnival Cruise Lines’ campaign encouraging consumers to dial a code on their cell phones that creates a customized fish based on the tone of their voice, and which then appears in an interactive display. And coming soon, targeted interactive ads that change the sex of the subject of the ad and RFID (radio frequency identification) chips that can target individual DNA (See side bar).

Digital out-of-home is proving to be one of the few bright spots on the advertising landscape. Over the past few months an avalanche of new campaigns has hit walls, screens, cell phones—anything that can carry an interactive message. According to one recent forecast from Veronis Sulher Stevenson, out-of-home ad revenue will post a 4.9% compound annual growth rate from 2008 to 2013 (compared to a 3.3% decline for traditional advertising). 

One company that’s been reaping the benefits is Orlando-based Monster Media, which specializes in interactive applications for storefronts, airports, kiosks and walls. “We’ve had an amazingly brisk year and it’s ending on a tsunami of applications,” says John Payne, president of Monster. “We have projects from ESPN Monday Night Football to Nintendo, which launched in malls, and Samsung, which is running in Europe, to ESET with its interactive maggots. It’s been surreal: We are very, very busy.”

For example, one component in the current multi-media campaign for ESPN’s Monday Night Football, from Wieden+Kennedy in New York, is a series of storefronts in New York, Chicago and Boston where they’ve taken over space formerly occupied by Circuit City. The application tracks multiple passers-by, and is activated by touch. As people walk by, they literally touch the window, which activates a screen that brings out a digital football player to play catch with in real time. “The public gets to experience a catch from a quarterback with a team that’s playing football on Monday nights on ESPN,” says Payne. “That creates something in that person’s mind that says, ‘You won’t believe what I just did.’ This, in turn, creates conversation, chatter and heightens the experience.” 

According to Kevin Proudfoot, executive creative director at Wieden+Kennedy/New York, ESPN’s ad agency of 17 years, “By doing this you can step onto the field in a Monday Night Football game in a fun way. It’s about creating and enhancing the fan experiences and also managing this brand that people over time have a fondness for. When ESPN was first launched, it brought people something they never knew was possible, and fans still appreciate that about ESPN. So it’s up to us to continue that kind of brand relationship with fans, and that means creating new experiences.”

For Carnival Cruise Lines, Monster, which partners with companies such as Clear Channel, JC Decaux, Transit and CBS, created a campaign that featured an interactive screen that responds to body movements with oversized vinyl graphics and voice controlled mobile integration. Users were asked to dial a number on their cell phones that would magically create their own animated fish. “You’d call a six digit code and you could hear Tikki drums playing,” says Payne. “It gave you the feel that you were sitting on a boat somewhere. You could control your own fish, and when you left, because you opted in on your own, you would get a text message to your phone, talking about what Carnival offers.” Returning the next day, says Payne, the same fish would still be there. “It sounds kinda weird, but people were very active with it. They would feed the fish and build new ones.”


But it wasn’t always like this: Originally, interactive out-of-home ads were relatively small applications largely confined to floors. They quickly moved to projections on walls and then to LCD screens. Early adopters were marketers like Target and Lexis. As the medium has evolved, so too have the creative executions. “Today, there are cameras that can change an ad from a male to a female participant,” says Payne. “You can also count and track the number of people that engage with it. We used to say, ‘We have to evolve every six months.’ Now, we’re down to every 90 days.”

Then there’s the whole cell phone explosion. Because cell phones are so personal, most marketers want access to them. But there are caveats. “Consumers have to feel involved in their own terms, as opposed to pushing it to them,” says Payne. “We should only engage them when they want more information about a product. Then they can get online in their own time. This thinking is ahead of the curve in a lot of ways, but it’s a big thing we push here.”

As an example, Payne points to the interactive casino the company created in Rockefeller Plaza for the sixth season premier of Bravo’s show “Top Chef,” with ad agency Fallon Worldwide. It allowed people to play interactive slot machines with their mobile phones for the chance to win $5,000. “It was a choice. Consumers interested in the show could see if they won something and could activate it.”

The next generation, says Payne, is controlling the environment—capturing and quantifying people in specific city areas. “How people interact and engage with advertising comes down to computing power and that space is evolving rapidly. The stuff we’re doing now is much more intense.” A lot of it, he says, is in the coding and creation. “We have guys who sit here in the control room and click up unique action scripts and coding to create more interactive applications. Just conceptually, we’ve done a program where a projected individual actually came out of a window and gives you information so you could text that person and ask them a question. Then the response would come back with a virtual person standing there talking almost like a virtual concierge on the street for you. That’s kinda freaky.”

The potential is enormous. “The iPhone’s created apps that are built to engage with advertising to get more information,” he says. “So the bigger carriers are putting it into their cell phones. You can see this is going to be endless. A couple of years ago the big thing was Bluetooth, which was a little invasive and basically pushed a signal to your phone, activating it when you didn’t want it to. Now, it’s become more permission-based.”

If you think it’s all starting to sound Orwellian or like the 2002-film Minority Report, then you’d be right. According to Payne, “I do think it’s getting to thatMinority Report application down the line. You’ll walk by and it’ll say, ‘Hello John Payne and welcome.’ What could happen is a lot of information pushing your way that you don’t really want. But an elegant execution and really amazing creative is always going to attract people. Bad creative is bad creative, and it doesn’t matter the location. The biggest thing we focus on with our creative agency partners is doing bigger, more unique things and if it’s good, people will stop and admire it. If it’s bad creative and they’re pushing it to your phone, they’ll reject it.”

And not everything needs or wants to be interactive. If it were it would lose the unique quality. “I know it sounds cheesy, but I look at what we do as the cherry on the sundae. I’m a big believer in traditional advertising. But you want to create your ad awareness on multiple levels to capture people. You can have a unique piece like Monday Night Football for ESPN, but they’re still doing a lot of other advertising around that to capture people in key markets. All those other applications have to exist and carry a big load to get the message across.”

In the end, says Payne, it’s still all about a great idea. “It comes down to amazing creative and the ability to execute it. I tell our staff that even if we have a great sales force and a great installation team, then it’s all for nothing if the creative is not good.”

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Shoppers at the Ridgedale Mall in Minn., and the 16th Street Mall in Denver, have received an early present, as one of the storefront windows has been transformed into a festive interactive holiday display complete with a little elf eager to delight all who pass by.

To view a video of consumers interacting with the display visit:
http://monstermedia.net/portfolio.php#300

About the company:
Monster Media remains the leader of advertising that responds to consumer's body movements and storefront domination programs. Their ability to deliver quality programs and customer service has allowed them to expand their presence across the globe with network applications including: storefront dominations, mass transit, airports, sport and entertainment venues and custom events. Since its inception in 2005, Monster Media has executed nearly 300 storefront ads globally and worked with clients such as HBO, Lexus, Target, Microsoft, MTV and Timberland to bring their messages to life. All campaigns are monitored and maintained around the clock by Monster Media.

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Shoppers at the Ridgedale Mall in Minn., and the 16th Street Mall in Denver, have received an early present, as one of the storefront windows has been transformed into a festive interactive holiday display complete with a little elf eager to delight all who pass by.

Monster Media is tracking how many times the display is activated as well as the number of emails sent from the display, providing Qwest with a tangible return on their investment. The campaign has reaped positive results so far, as the kiosks have been activated 968 times and nearly 10 percent of all who activate the kiosk send emails to their friends and family.

The touch screen display is ideally placed in a highly-trafficked area of the mall and users are directed to the screen by eye-catching static signage surrounding the touch kiosk. Monster Media unveiled the ad on Nov. 16 and it will run through Dec. 16.

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Shoppers at the Ridgedale Mall in Minn., and the 16th Street Mall in Denver, have received an early present, as one of the storefront windows has been transformed into a festive interactive holiday display complete with a little elf eager to delight all who pass by.

Monster Media is tracking how many times the display is activated as well as the number of emails sent from the display, providing Qwest with a tangible return on their investment. The campaign has reaped positive results so far, as the kiosks have been activated 968 times and nearly 10 percent of all who activate the kiosk send emails to their friends and family.

The touch screen display is ideally placed in a highly-trafficked area of the mall and users are directed to the screen by eye-catching static signage surrounding the touch kiosk. Monster Media unveiled the ad on Nov. 16 and it will run through Dec. 16.

About the company:
Monster Media remains the leader of advertising that responds to consumer's body movements and storefront domination programs. Their ability to deliver quality programs and customer service has allowed them to expand their presence across the globe with network applications including: storefront dominations, mass transit, airports, sport and entertainment venues and custom events. Since its inception in 2005, Monster Media has executed nearly 300 storefront ads globally and worked with clients such as HBO, Lexus, Target, Microsoft, MTV and Timberland to bring their messages to life. All campaigns are monitored and maintained around the clock by Monster Media.

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Objective
ESPN was seeking a groundbreaking interactive game that would promote the season premiere of "Monday Night Football".

To present ESPN with this one-of-a-kind digital experience, Monster Media, the global leader in storefront body responsive advertising, teamed up with Wieden & Kennedy and MacDonald Media and developed a game where everyone could really 'get in the zone.'

Creative Distinction
Through the fusion of three high-tech features, including: projected capacitive touch, gesture based natural UI and real-time dynamic data, the interactive street level game immersed users in an OOH experience that had never been seen before.

The quarterback selection capability was paired with real-time updates that showed a countdown to the next game.

Result
ESPN's unique Monster Storefront campaign increased viewer awareness of the 40th season premiere and contributed to "Monday Night Football" receiving the largest audience in the history of cable television and the highest rating in ESPN's 30-year history. This proves that this game-play display was a positive experience for both ESPN and Monster Media.

Advertising Agency:
Monster Media, Wieden & Kennedy and MacDonald Media, USA

Creative Director:
Pedro Andres Sanchez

VP Client Services & Marketing:
Natalie Brokaw,

Released: October 2009

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Corner of Carnaby Street and Beak Street, London

This street level campaign in London’s bustling Carnaby Street went live yesterday (10th December) and is part of a broad campaign to promote YouTube’s new UK ‘Shows’ section of its site.

Once a segment is touch activated, the system transforms into a vibrant screen displaying teasers from the show.

Hyperspace, the innovations division of Posterscope UK, along with Monster Media UK teamed up to devise the street-level interactive ad.

He added “Unfortunately, due to the current economic climate, we are seeing a much higher number of well located, good quality, disused retail spaces appearing in prime retail locations around the UK; combined with the ever evolving interactive technology this means we can create great campaigns for our clients. YouTube have benefited from this and have achieved a perfect channel through which to promote their new TV content partnership with 4oD”.

Monster Media will monitor and maintain the display around the clock and will also track the number of times the system is activated, providing YouTube with a tangible return on their investment.

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But why Monster Media? Well, in my opinion Monster Media has always been on the proverbial “leading edge” of interactive digital signage, at least in the three years that I have been covering the industry. Granted, most of their installations are in single locations and for limited-run campaigns, but they sure do get attention, and keep getting better at it. As Monster president John Payne said in the article, “With each campaign, clients want to top what others have done. Every 90 days to six months we have to keep evolving everything we do.”

I would say my interest first started in 2007 when I attended a tradeshow at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, which houses one of Monster’s longest running installations, a gesture-based projection for Shark Reef. (Viewers can move water around on the wall by swooshing their hands in front of the projector – movements are detected using infrared cameras.

Even now, that wall stops people in their tracks, although Monster’s installations have become much more advanced. Payne said they’ve scrapped floor projection, cut back on wall projection and started rolling out LCD video walls for their interactive campaigns. Payne said they’re more functional, versatile and brighter.

They’ve also become more advanced as far as interactivity goes. With the Monday Night Football installation from this year, users can interact with video versions of their favorite NFL quarterbacks, then play virtual catch with them.

Payne also said that the company is making mobile integration a priority and using some kind of mobile functionality in every new installation. At first, this was just offering shortcodes for viewers to text to, now they can even control on-screen content using their phones. And while this interaction is cool in the eyes of viewers, it’s even better for the advertisers or sponsors of the installation, who can gather valuable audience data.

To read more about how the company came to be and awards for recent installations, check out the article on DigitalSignageToday.com.

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Just walking by a store window might trigger dance music, a football player challenging you to a game, or you may even have to wade through a curious, already-engaged crowd.

For the last seven years the company has been installing interactive and gesture-based screens in public spaces, always pushing the technology envelope a bit further with each campaign.

“Monday Night Football was our most dynamic application to date,” said John Payne, president of Monster Media. “We created an actual gaming experience that looks good, not cheesy, and that stops people in their tracks in major cities. It takes enhancement of a brand to physical level.”

The campaign has been running all fall in New York, Boston and Chicago and was designed to promote the 40th anniversary of Monday Night Football.

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Orlando-based Monster Media, the global leader of full-body interactive advertising and storefront domination programs, partnered with Zenith Media and mcgarrybowen to create a cutting-edge, virtual game to promote the iPhone's biggest competitor. Pedestrians activate the ad by placing their hands on the interactive portion of the ultra-thin touch sensitive digital screens. 

Through the motion of their fingertips, players are able to control the speed and movement of wire frame versions of large robot arms and maneuver the arms to grab as many falling red comets as possible in a race against the clock. Each comet shows a message about a specific Droid feature, and when the user catches a comet, it then transforms into a Droid phone and points are added to the players score. High scores are paired with real-time updates allowing users in both markets to compete against each other. This proves the display was not only inventive and attention-grabbing, but smart. "The client came to us with the task of creating an out-of-home experience that would emulate the dynamic features of Verizon's new phone," said Chris Beauchamp, CEO of Monster Media. "We were able to showcase the phone through this highly customized ad by using unique applications that not only enhance the game and user experience but also mimic the futuristic qualities of the Droid itself." 

The groundbreaking campaign launched on Nov. 23, in time for Black Friday and within one week accumulated 210 interactions in Denver and 347 players in Seattle. Monster Media continues to track the number of times the game is activated, providing Verizon with a tangible return on their investment. The storefront dominations are ideally placed in the highly-trafficked areas in downtown Denver and Seattle. About the company: Monster Media remains the leader of advertising that responds to consumer's body movements and storefront domination programs. 

Their ability to deliver quality programs and customer service has allowed them to expand their presence across the globe with network applications including: storefront dominations, mass transit, airports, sport and entertainment venues and custom events. Since its inception in 2005, Monster Media has executed nearly 300 storefront ads globally and worked with clients such as HBO, Lexus, Target, Microsoft, MTV and Timberland to bring their messages to life. All campaigns are monitored and maintained around the clock by Monster Media.

For more information on Monster Media, please go to:
www.monstermedia.net

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To stand out in a crowd, you need something different. Using 3D signage is one way companies catch consumers’ eyes. Monster Media LLC, for instance, an Orlando, Fla.-based company, this summer launched a 3D lenticular vinyl
storefront display to promote Land Shark, a Jimmy Buffett-inspired beer produced by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Virtual Images Inc., Redlands, Calif.,
specializes in helping studios grab moviegoers’ attention. Most recently, the 15-year-old company worked with Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation to create eye-catching posters for the “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” 3D movie, which opened in the United States in September. Virtual Images (www.viu.com) is one of many Minnesota-based IGH Solutions
printing and specialty companies. “When studios want to make an impact
and draw viewers to the theater, they rely on our 3D and dimensional graphics to
resonate with moviegoers,” says Dave Corey, president and 3D technology director of Virtual Images. “Our technologies can help break through the clutter of competing movie titles and create a 3D experience for the consumer outside the theater.”

Bringing “Land Shark” to life
Brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev turned to Monster Media (www.monstermedia.net)
when it was looking for a way to stand out from traditional advertising.

“We will use any tools at our disposal to make an impact,” says John Payne, president of Monster Media. “From vacant storefront advertising, to trade shows, to point-of-purchase touch screens, we are constantly reinventing our products to take advantage of the latest technologies.

“We have done campaigns with 3D televisions, and, in our opinion, it doesn’t
really have that much impact,” he adds. “It was much more cost effective to use the lenticular vinyl. There was a big buzz on 3D televisions recently. Lots of people stopped producing it, as it wasn’t a ‘wow’ factor compared to lenticular vinyl.”

Located at 180 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Ill., the 3D element of the Land
Shark campaign was part of a larger 65-footlong by 9-foot-high display, in which Monster Media incorporated gestural interactive projection and vinyl to encompass the entire corner location. Passersby saw the 3D aspect of the display, which seemed to pop off the building, projecting a bottle of Land Shark along with the slogan, “Let the Fin Begin.”

"The storefront was on a corner, and "Anheuser-Busch] wanted to give people
another feel as they rounded the corner. It has pop and gives it another dimension,” says Payne. “Lenticular will cost two or three times that of a static print, but in many cases can be much more effective.”

The campaign was deemed a success, says Payne. The beverage company extended it an additional four weeks in the Chicago market and expanded it to St. Louis, Mo.; Los Angeles, Calif.; and Miami, Fla.

Monster Media, founded in 2005, has executed nearly 300 storefront ads globally
and worked with clients such as Samsung, HBO, Lexus, Target, Microsoft, MTV and
Timberland. The company has salespeople in London, United Kingdom; Los Angeles, Calif.; and New York, N.Y., as well as Orlando, and monitors and maintains all campaigns around the clock.

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Monster Media, the global leader of full-body interactive advertising and storefront domination programs, partnered up with Dom Camera & Company to create a highly interactive eye-catching display in a vacant storefront at Herald Square that promoted the launch of the weigh-loss, dance off reality show. This 67' long by 12' tall LCD infused Monster Storefront was triggered by the body movements of passers-by and featured video footage of the contestants as well as music and dialog from the show.

This Monster Storefront increased viewer awareness of the premier date of the new series and contributed to "Dance Your A** Off" setting a network record when it debuted to an average of 1.3 million total viewers. That's the largest audience ever for a series premiere on Oxygen.

This award follows three other major awards Monster Media received this year including: the "Best Marketing Campaign" of the year at the 2009 Mobile Content Awards for their Samsung campaign, the "Most Innovative Campaign of the Year" award received at Infocomm 2009, also for their Samsung campaign and lastly, an OBIE Merit award in 2009 for their Travelers Insurance Monster Wall campaign.

For more information on Monster Media, please go to:
www.monstermedia.net.

About the company:
Monster Media remains the leader of advertising that responds to consumer's body movements and storefront domination programs. Their ability to deliver quality programs and customer service has allowed them to expand their presence across the globe with network applications including: storefront dominations, mass transit, airports, sport and entertainment venues and custom events. Since its inception in 2005, Monster Media has executed nearly 300 storefront ads globally and worked with clients such as HBO, Lexus, Target, Microsoft, MTV and Timberland to bring their messages to life. All campaigns are monitored and maintained around the clock by Monster Media.

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Retail Roll-out, Local:
House of Media Experience for Miele Inspirience Centre


Retail Roll-out, National:
Level 5 / Hammond Communication Group, for Sprint Studio Store

Best Content, Interactive:
Monster Media for Oxygen Network’s Dance You’re Ass Off Storefront

Interactive Technology Roll-out:
2C Visual Communications For BC Children's Hospital

Best Deployment, Transportation:
iMediaT Digital For British Columbia Rapid Transit Company, SkyTrain

Best Deployment, Entertainment:
Cisco for Cisco Digital Signage System at Dallas Cowboy Stadium

Best Deployment, Integration of Digital Signage and Mobile/Cell Phone Technology:
Microspace Communications Corporation for City of Raleigh, Capitol Area Transit (CAT)

Best Content, Merchandising:
Schult for Regal Entertainment, Digital Menu Boards

Best Content, Ambient:
Professional Communications Systems for Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (TBPAC)

Best Content, Corporate Communications:
Digital Display & Communication for Rogers Communications’ UR Music

Best Content, Advertising:
Digital Display &Communication for HYPE Campaign/Rogers Stores Canada

Best New Technology Innovation in Digital Signage Displays:
Samsung Electronics America for the Samsung 820TSn Interactive LCD Panel

Best New Generation Display Device, Large Screen:
ADEX International, Dual- Projection Glass Walled Structure with Polarized LCD Overlay

Best New Display Device, Small Screen:
MicroSigns Inc. for Integrated, Wireless Display Network and Content Management System

Best New Generation Display Device, (non-LCD or Plasma):
GestureTek for 3D Depth Sensing Interactive Digital Sign with Mobile Phone Interactivity

Best New Content Management Software/Web-based (SaaS):
SignChannel, from Thinking Screen Media

Best New Content Management Software/Premise-based:
Omnivex, for Moxie

Best New Audience Measurement Package:
CognoVision Solutions Inc. for Anonymous Impression Metric (AIM)

Judges Choice Award:
Walt Disney World for Their Digital Guest Communications 

Digital Signage Weekly says it will post details on winning entries in December. I will resist the the temptation to comment further on that.

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As Chair of the Judges Committee for the DIGI’s, I’m proud to announce that Digital Signage Magazine together with The Digital Signage Group announced the winners of the DIGI Awards at The Digital Signage Show in New York yesterday. The show wraps today at the Javits Center. The DIGI Awards ceremony took place yesterday, and winners for best digital signage deployments, best use of content, and best new products were recognized. Details on the winning entries will appear in the December issue of Digital Signage magazine, and online at www.digitalsignageweekly.com.

The DIGI Awards recognize the resellers, integrators and service providers who have gone the extra mile to ensure success for their clients, thereby furthering the digital signage industry as a whole. And new this year, we added New Product Awards as well.

Winners for the following DIGI Award categories received recognition in yesterday’s ceremony at the Javits Center.

The DIGI Award Winners this year are:

Best Content, Interactive:
Monster Media for Oxygen Network’s Dance You’re Ass Off Storefront

Interactive Technology Roll-out:
2C Visual Communications For BC Children's Hospital

Best Deployment, Transportation:
iMediaT Digital For British Columbia Rapid Transit Company, SkyTrain

Best Deployment, Entertainment:
Cisco for Cisco Digital Signage System at Dallas Cowboy Stadium

Best Deployment, Integration of Digital Signage and Mobile/Cell Phone Technology:
Microspace Communications Corporation for City of Raleigh, Capitol Area Transit (CAT)

Best Content, Merchandising:
Schult for Regal Entertainment, Digital Menu Boards

Best Content, Ambient:
Professional Communications Systems for Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (TBPAC)

Best Content, Corporate Communications:
Digital Display & Communication for Rogers Communications’ UR Music

Best Content, Advertising:
Digital Display &Communication for HYPE Campaign/Rogers Stores Canada

Best New Technology Innovation in Digital Signage Displays:
Samsung Electronics America for the Samsung 820TSn Interactive LCD Panel

Best New Generation Display Device, Large Screen:
ADEX International, Dual- Projection Glass Walled Structure with Polarized LCD Overlay

Best New Display Device, Small Screen:
MicroSigns Inc. for Integrated, Wireless Display Network and Content Management System

Best New Generation Display Device, (non-LCD or Plasma):
GestureTek for 3D Depth Sensing Interactive Digital Sign with Mobile Phone Interactivity

Best New Content Management Software/Web-based (SaaS):
SignChannel, from Thinking Screen Media

Best New Content Management Software/Premise-based:
Omnivex, for Moxie

Best New Audience Measurement Package:
CognoVision Solutions Inc. for Anonymous Impression Metric (AIM)

Details on the winning entries will appear in the December issue of Digital Signage magazine, and online at www.digitalsignageweekly.com

While large-format projects are their own attention-getters, adding an interactive component to the project can undoubtedly capture the interest of passersby that much more. That was the thinking of the creative minds at Monster Media, which came up with the idea of creating a street-level, interactive “digital aquarium" to promote Carnival Cruise Lines. The installation combined wide-format graphics and an LCD screen that allowed viewers to
interact with the elements on the screen.

New York City-based Impressions Printing was tapped by Monster Media to output the graphics for the campaign in the Big Apple. Installations were also done in Houston, Dallas, Baltimore, Washington DC, and Dos Angeles with the help of other print providers around the country. Impressions Printing received the EPS files for output from Monster Media via an FTP site. The shop converted the files to TIFF files and used Adobe Photoshop CS3 to reduce any gradation errors. Due to the quick turnaround time required, Impressions Media only had time to send digital files-no print proofs-for approval. Because the incorporation of the LCD screen in the final installation made it necessary that all dimensions were exact, “converting the files and making sure that all the measurements
were correct to scale was the most difficult part of the job,” says Arif Iacksi of Impressions Printing. Manipulating and sectioning the files, he adds, also took a considerable amount of time.

Once Monster Media gave its okay, Impressions Printing output the final graphics using its Roland Soljet Pro III XC 540 with Roland Eco-Sol Max inks. 11161600 square feet of graphics were output onto Roland SCM-GVWG glossy calendered vinyl. Print work took approximately 10 hours and the graphics were finished with a Roland luster overlaminate film using Impressions’ GBC Titan 1264 WF. Finishing took about six hours.

Three Impressions employees installed the graphics over the course of one day. The LCD wall that covered one of the six graphics-covered panels was created and installed by an outside party. The LCD wall combined with an I-ID rear projection screen to create a projection of a seascape that reacted to the motions of passersby. Viewers could also use their cellular phones to call an 888 number to create a digital fish using their voice. And, with their phone's keypad, viewers could make their fish swim, eat, and transform into other sea creatures. The final result was an impressive, interactive exhibit that had tourists and residents alike stopping to interact with the digital aquarium. Despite the tight turnaround time, Impressions was pleased by the outcome. “The time limit was a challenge,” says Iacksi, “but without a challenge there is no fun." Impressions Printing (impressionsprinting.com) has been in business since zoo4 and operates out of a 1500-square-foot facility. The shop’s live employees can produce a range of graphic applications including large-format graphics, banner displays, tradeshow displays, vinyl lettering, vehicle wraps, wall paper applications. and building wraps such as the Carnival project.

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It’s time to think again…. Only Monster Media turns the impossible into very real with its wicked cool MonsterVision interactive advertising multimedia innovation. Turn to Monster Media, where the message is not only welcomed it’s really fun and always received!

Monster Media is the global leader in interactive advertising and continues to turn heads by dominating the multimedia industry. Combining edgy advertising with state-of-the-art technology, Monster Media’s interactive multimedia installations consist of large-format applications on billboards, airport walls, transit systems, sports arenas and storefronts using its interactive MonsterVision; WallFX, WindowFX, ScreenFX and GroundFX technologies.

Since its inception in 2005, Monster Media has executed nearly 300 storefront ads globally and worked with clients such as HBO, Lexus, Target, Microsoft, MTV, Clorox, Adidas, Norwegian Cruise Line, TravelZoo and Timberland to bring their messages to life.

Monster Media is recognized as industry pioneers and is truly one blazing hot multimedia interactive advertising firm that’s way ahead of the times!

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ESPN promoted the football season by creating a ground-breaking digital experience that allowed anyone who walked past the displays the chance engage in a one-on-one challenge with a selected quarterback. The goal of the street-level game was to catch as many footballs as possible, and high scoring game players were able to submit their scores in real-time and see how they measure up to users in other cities.

The quarterback selection capability was paired with real-time updates that showed a countdown to the next game. This proves the display was not only innovative and attention-grabbing, but smart.

Each installation uses a combination of three technologies, including: projected capacitive touch, gesture based natural UI, and real-time dynamic data. The fusion of these high-tech features allowed the displays to deeply immerse the user on a level that exceeded any other interactive advertising of its kind.

To present ESPN with this one-of-a-kind digital experience, Monster Media, the global leader in storefront body responsive advertising, teamed up with Wieden & Kennedy and MacDonald Media and developed a game where everyone could really 'get in the zone.'

These cutting-edge displays were strategically located in highly-trafficked areas in New York, Boston and Chicago. Users were drawn to the massive displays by vibrant static signage surrounding an interactive custom LCD wall that enticed users to approach the unit and interact with the game.

To check out the complete Monday Night Football schedule and coverage please go to: http://sports.espn.go.com/mnf/. 

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ORLANDO, FL--(Marketwire - October 7, 2009) - ESPN created buzz around Monday Night Football's 40th season by taking game play to the streets and allowing millions of pedestrians the chance to play on an NFL field.

ESPN promoted the football season by creating a ground-breaking digital experience that allowed anyone who walked past the displays the chance engage in a one-on-one challenge with a selected quarterback. The goal of the street-level game was to catch as many footballs as possible, and high scoring game players were able to submit their scores in real-time and see how they measure up to users in other cities.

The quarterback selection capability was paired with real-time updates that showed a countdown to the next game. This proves the display was not only innovative and attention-grabbing, but smart.

Each installation uses a combination of three technologies, including: projected capacitive touch, gesture based natural UI, and real-time dynamic data. The fusion of these high-tech features allowed the displays to deeply immerse the user on a level that exceeded any other interactive advertising of its kind.

To present ESPN with this one-of-a-kind digital experience, Monster Media, the global leader in storefront body responsive advertising, teamed up with Wieden & Kennedy and MacDonald Media and developed a game where everyone could really 'get in the zone.'

These cutting-edge displays were strategically located in highly-trafficked areas in New York, Boston and Chicago. Users were drawn to the massive displays by vibrant static signage surrounding an interactive custom LCD wall that enticed users to approach the unit and interact with the game.

To check out the complete Monday Night Football schedule and coverage please go to: http://sports.espn.go.com/mnf/.

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ESPN created an interactive digital signage experience that allows anyone walking past the displays to engage in a one-on-one challenge with a selected quarterback. The goal of the street-level game is to catch as many footballs as possible, and high scoring game players are able to submit their scores in real-time and see how they measure up to users in other cities.

To present ESPN with this digital experience, Monster Media teamed up with Wieden & Kennedy and MacDonald Media. Each display uses the combination of four technologies, including: touchscreen activation, full-body responsive user tracking, real-time application, and a gaming function.

The displays are strategically located in highly-trafficked areas in New York, Boston and Chicago. Users are drawn to the displays by static signage surrounding an interactive custom LCD wall that entices users to approach the unit and interact with the game.

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For the fourth year of the network's "Is It Monday Yet?" campaign, Wieden+Kennedy New York added an additional component to the mix: interactive storescapes for passersby to play a virtual game of catch with NFLers.

Storescapes were placed in New York on 5th Ave. and 43rd Street; N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago and Water Street in Boston. I passed by the New York storescape but didn't play because someone was already using it and I had to be somewhere. It did look fun and engaging.

Touchscreens were equipped with gesture-recognition technology so passersby could stand in front of the store window and try catching virtual footballs thrown towards them. It's not as easy as it might sound. When the storescapes first launched Sept. 8, players were posting scores on the national leaderboard in the high 20s and low 30s range. Now that the campaign has been live for a few weeks, leaderboard scores have reached the 60s.

The game allows users to choose what quarterba cks they play with based on who's playing in the next "Monday Night Football" game. Visitors to a storescape today, for example, could choose between Brett Favre of the Vikings or Aaron Rodgers from the Packers.

Players are outfitted into their home or away jersey inside a 3-D stadium, and then the passing begins. There's actual audio commentary provided by ESPN anchors, who rate a user's performance until a pass is missed, which shatters the interactive window and ends the game.

Locations were selected based on heavy foot traffic and ample space to properly play the game.

Wieden+Kennedy New York brokered the media buy along with Monster Media and MacDonald Media. The cost for the storescapes was not released.

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ESPN is promoting the football season by creating an interactive digital signage experience that allows anyone walking past the displays to engage in a one-on-one challenge with a selected quarterback. The goal of the street-level game is to catch as many footballs as possible, and high scoring game players are able to submit their scores in real-time and see how they measure up to users in other cities.

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Motion sensors responded to passers-by, causing the underwater plant life to sway, while sea creatures holding signs encouraged viewers to interact further through their mobile phones. By calling the free number on the hoarding, participants could use voice commands to create a customised fish, move it around the tank using their keypad and transform it into other sea creatures. Participants' experiences were recorded, allowing them to return and reconnect with their virtual fish. There are plans to extend the experience to Carnival’s website, and to place interactive systems at its 17 ports and on-board its 22 cruise ships.

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The company teamed up with Dom Camera & Company to create a highly interactive display featuring LCDs and poster elements toting the show and its contestants. The campaign featured nine linked 67-foot-long-by-12-foot-tall LCD displays. When pedestrians passed by, their movements triggered content on the screens. The campaign also included audio elements with music and dialog from the show.

To pull off this monster of a campaign, Monster Media's creative staff and client services worked with Oxygen to come up with the creative content. Through multiple conference calls, Oxygen communicated its vision to Monster Media, who built it into an interactive campaign featuring LCDs.

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It's based on the notion that if you can engage the eyes, you can convey so much more than through words on a page or images on a screen.

So it follows that if you're marketing a product for cats, cats are going to make your best sales people as folks connect with them at play.

That's the idea behind a new pop-up store in Los Angeles, where cute kitties frolic in a windowfront display to promote an eco-conscious, litter-free cat box. Think of it as cat-vertising.

The cats draw in passersby, who then see an in-store demonstration of the product, the CatGenie.

"Cats tend to mesmerize people," says Chris Beauchamp, CEO of interactive and storefront display specialist Monster Media, which worked on the pop-up store with CatGenie and marketing agency Suite Partners.

"I have no idea why that is, but it's been that way for a long time. This is a cat product, and cats do have a connection with consumers in households across the nation. So why not use them as a vehicle for advertising?"

The CatGenie looks like a kid's training potty. It's got a small circular bowl attached to a rectangular base.

It works like this: The circular, toilet-shaped part of the CatGenie is filled with what the company calls Washable Granules, a reusable, litter-like substance.

The cat does his business in the Washable Granules. When the cat is done, an automatic scoop clears the granules of the waste, which is liquefied for later removal.

It's a difficult process to envision, and even harder to describe, and that was the challenge the makers of CatGenie faced in introducing it to the pubic.

Out of the brainstorming came the idea of a pop-up store full of cats.

The store went up on Sept. 5 and will remain until Oct. 7. It's located in a mall on the corner of Hollywood and Highland, near the famed Kodak Theatre.

There's a three-story, wrap-around sign on a circular building on the street corner directing passersby inside. The sign says "Curiosity killed the cat," and it shows a picture of a cat eyeing the entrance to a CatGenie.

Once inside, mall walkers see the cats playing in a 30-feet-high by 70-feet-wide window display, equipped with CatGenies, of course. A video screen on a nearby wall also demonstrates how the CatGenie works, emphasizing its green benefits (no litter = eco-friendly).

Perhaps the most original ingredient in the display is that you can actually take home the cats. All the kitties are available for adoption by Precious Paws, which brings the pets to the store each morning and takes them away at night.

So far the exhibit has been drawing big crowds, most of whom huddle outside the store to watch the cats play and, cats being cats, sleep.

Beauchamp says there's even been a celebrity sighting. Susan Olsen, who played Cindy on "The Brady Bunch," came by to check it out earlier this month.

The stunt worked on two levels. It got people's attention, as cute, cuddly animals have a tendency to do -- that's why we see so many monkey commercials on TV.

Secondly, it was the perfect way to actually show how the product works. For something as abstract as an eco-friendly litter box, that's a huge plus.

"It looks like it cost millions of dollars, but it was a lot more cost effective, and it allowed the client to show the product in action," Beauchamp says.

This was merely the latest iteration of a pop-up store, which have become popular ways for advertisers to introduce new products or entice customers without the expense of an actual retail outlet.

For example Illy, the high-end Italian coffee, opened a popup several years ago in a fashionable section of Manhattan where consumers were invited to taste the coffee.

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Earlier this year, Samsung partnered with Monster Media to introduce prospective buyers in London to the new Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition.

"We wanted to develop a fresh, innovative display to showcase our new Samsung phone and allow potential buyers the chance to interact with the phone's key features," said Anne-Sophie Frenove, group marketing manager for Carphone Warehouse. "We strategically placed these units on the storefront windows of 18 Carphone Warehouse locations in and around London."

Each iPOP display features a 46" screen replica of the new Samsung touch screen phone and is equipped with a presence detector that merges the technology of motion interaction with touch interaction. Consumers are able to engage with the touch screens that essentially act as oversized, functional cellular phones, allowing them to select music, launch a camera application and check the London weather right there on the street.

"This campaign revolutionized the meaning 'try before you buy,'" said Chris Beauchamp, CEO of Monster Media. "We also utilized a reporting system, capturing the number of motion detections and touch interactions producing an accurate return on investment for Samsung."

Over 178,000 touches have been recorded so far and due to the success of the initial campaign Samsung extended their contract with Monster Media through the end of the year and is currently discussing future advertising needs.

This award follows the 'Most Innovative Campaign of the Year' award Monster Media received at Infocomm 2009 for their Samsung campaign, as well as the 2009 OBIE Merit award that they received for their Travelers Insurance campaign.

About the company:

Monster Media remains the leader of advertising that responds to consumer's body movements and storefront domination programs. Their ability to deliver quality programs and customer service has allowed them to expand their presence across the globe with network applications including: storefront dominations, mass transit, airports, sport and entertainment venues and custom events. Since its inception in 2005, Monster Media has executed nearly 300 storefront ads globally and worked with clients such as HBO, Lexus, Target, Microsoft, MTV and Timberland to bring their messages to life. All campaigns are monitored and maintained around the clock by Monster Media.

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of the year at the 2009 Mobile Content Awards, which recognized the outstanding achievements of companies active in the mobile content industry on Sept. 10.

Earlier this year, Samsung partnered with Monster Media to introduce prospective buyers in London to the new Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition.

"We wanted to develop a fresh, innovative display to showcase our new Samsung phone and allow potential buyers the chance to interact with the phone's key features," said Anne-Sophie Frenove, group marketing manager for Carphone Warehouse. "We strategically placed these units on the storefront windows of 18 Carphone Warehouse locations in and around London."

Each iPOP display features a 46" screen replica of the new Samsung touch screen phone and is equipped with a presence detector that merges the technology of motion interaction with touch interaction. Consumers are able to engage with the touch screens that essentially act as oversized, functional cellular phones, allowing them to select music, launch a camera application and check the London weather right there on the street.

"This campaign revolutionized the meaning 'try before you buy,'" said Chris Beauchamp, CEO of Monster Media. "We also utilized a reporting system, capturing the number of motion detections and touch interactions producing an accurate return on investment for Samsung."

Over 178,000 touches have been recorded so far and due to the success of the initial campaign Samsung extended their contract with Monster Media through the end of the year and is currently discussing future advertising needs.

This award follows the 'Most Innovative Campaign of the Year' award Monster Media received at Infocomm 2009 for their Samsung campaign, as well as the 2009 OBIE Merit award that they received for their Travelers Insurance campaign.

For more information on Monster Media, please go to: www.monstermedia.net.

About the company:

Monster Media remains the leader of advertising that responds to consumer's body movements and storefront domination programs. Their ability to deliver quality programs and customer service has allowed them to expand their presence across the globe with network applications including: storefront dominations, mass transit, airports, sport and entertainment venues and custom events. Since its inception in 2005, Monster Media has executed nearly 300 storefront ads globally and worked with clients such as HBO, Lexus, Target, Microsoft, MTV and Timberland to bring their messages to life. All campaigns are monitored and maintained around the clock by Monster Media.

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of the year at the 2009 Mobile Content Awards, which recognized the outstanding achievements of companies active in the mobile content industry on Sept. 10.

Earlier this year, Samsung partnered with Monster Media to introduce prospective buyers in London to the new Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition.

"We wanted to develop a fresh, innovative display to showcase our new Samsung phone and allow potential buyers the chance to interact with the phone's key features," said Anne-Sophie Frenove, group marketing manager for Carphone Warehouse. "We strategically placed these units on the storefront windows of 18 Carphone Warehouse locations in and around London."

Each iPOP display features a 46" screen replica of the new Samsung touch screen phone and is equipped with a presence detector that merges the technology of motion interaction with touch interaction. Consumers are able to engage with the touch screens that essentially act as oversized, functional cellular phones, allowing them to select music, launch a camera application and check the London weather right there on the street.

"This campaign revolutionized the meaning 'try before you buy,'" said Chris Beauchamp, CEO of Monster Media. "We also utilized a reporting system, capturing the number of motion detections and touch interactions producing an accurate return on investment for Samsung."

Over 178,000 touches have been recorded so far and due to the success of the initial campaign Samsung extended their contract with Monster Media through the end of the year and is currently discussing future advertising needs.

This award follows the 'Most Innovative Campaign of the Year' award Monster Media received at Infocomm 2009 for their Samsung campaign, as well as the 2009 OBIE Merit award that they received for their Travelers Insurance campaign.

For more information on Monster Media, please go to: www.monstermedia.net.

About the company:

Monster Media remains the leader of advertising that responds to consumer's body movements and storefront domination programs. Their ability to deliver quality programs and customer service has allowed them to expand their presence across the globe with network applications including: storefront dominations, mass transit, airports, sport and entertainment venues and custom events. Since its inception in 2005, Monster Media has executed nearly 300 storefront ads globally and worked with clients such as HBO, Lexus, Target, Microsoft, MTV and Timberland to bring their messages to life. All campaigns are monitored and maintained around the clock by Monster Media.

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Earlier this year (see here and here), Samsung partnered with Cheil Worldwide and Monster Media to introduce prospective buyers in London to the new Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition. A total of 18 46” interactive screens replicating the interface of the new mobile device have been installed by Monster Media on Carephone Warehouse storefront windows.

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The fronts, developed by Wieden+Kennedy and Monster Media, enable windowshoppers to have a go at catching throws from a quarterback – top perormers get to see their names on the leaderboard. The installations are part of the sports network’s Is It Monday Yet? Campaign.

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and Monday Night Football, done with the help of projection media guys Monster Media and some gesture technology the agency, Wieden + Kennedy, doesn't want to talk about.

It's great because it is interactive right at street-level, directly addresses the subject matter at hand, and creates lots of "What the hell is that guy doing?" buzz. 

There is a piece here that goes into detail on the concept and technical execution.

I really like large format project stuff like this because of the impact and sightlines. It has been a little bit since I looked at Monster's Website but they appear to be going big on storefront, meaning InWindow has a serious competitor.

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and Monday Night Football, done with the help of projection media guys Monster Media and some gesture technology the agency, Wieden + Kennedy, doesn't want to talk about.

It's great because it is interactive right at street-level, directly addresses the subject matter at hand, and creates lots of "What the hell is that guy doing?" buzz. 

I really like large format project stuff like this because of the impact and sightlines. It has been a little bit since I looked at Monster's Website but they appear to be going big on storefront, meaning InWindow has a serious competitor. 

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Given the creativity and innovation that Monster Media builds into every one of its installations, driving the digital OOH medium forward with each new project, we would all be well-served in listening to John Payne's advice.

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As part of its "Is it Monday yet?" campaign for Monday night football, W+K installed interactive and gesture-recognizing touch screens on various storefronts that challenged pedestrians to catch footballs thrown at them by a virtual quarterback.

The screens are also outfitted with yardage markers that track and encourage passersby to play. The game also allows players a choice of quarterback opponents and features rankings, allowing players to compete for first place on the national leaderboard. Throughout each game, players also hear commentary on their catches and fumbles from an ESPN talent.

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This technologically infused storefront domination campaign stopped thousands of pedestrians in their tracks at its highly trafficked location just steps away from Macy's in NYC. The (9) LCD linked high definition display featured dance clips from the new show that were triggered by the body movements of passers-by. Keeping with Oxygen's "Live Out Loud" theme, users not only triggered the interactive display but also activated an audio aspect, complete with the show's theme song and a voiceover from the show's host, Marissa Jaret Winokur. Oxygen's customized Monster Storefront was an automatic attention grabber. The campaign not only increased viewer awareness of the show's premiere, but also lead to "Dance Your A** Off" setting a network record when it debuted to an average of 1.3 million total viewers. That's the largest audience ever for an Oxygen series premiere!

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The proliferation of devices of all shapes and sizes -- from the jumbotrons in Times Square to the micro-menus of Apple's Nano -- surround us. And, of course, the sheer multitude of these screens (GPS, iPod, mobile phone, LCD TV, Nintendo DS, etc.) has begun to change our interaction with the physical world.

But what's most interesting about this development is not the abundance of screens, per se, but about how our culture's seemingly ravenous desire for digital experiences is changing our expectations for physical spaces -- both in public and private.

In the past few years, a host of artists, programmers and marketers have melded art and science to create new, digitally driven experiences that are redefining the way we think about our urban and personal landscapes.

Some of the better-known advertising work here includes Mini's groundbreaking "Motorby" campaign, where an interactive digital billboard responds to Mini drivers passing by, and HBO's "Voyeur" campaign, which transformed a New York City street into a theater.

But the trend is more than just "digital out of home," which is a phrase that gets used a bit too broadly to describe this cultural shift. Instead, it's a complete rethinking of our public spaces as digital experiences.

Project Blinkenlights: Perhaps the most influential and pioneering work done so far has been by this German group, which transforms office buildings into digital interactive installations. Its most recent project, Stereoscope, took over Toronto City Hall and created an interactive, visual concert.

The experience went beyond just a light display; it was participatory as well. Attendees were invited to play video games on the sides of the building by using their mobile phones. And artists could create their own animations for the installation using Project Blinkenlights' open animation formats and tools.

555 Kubik: Similar to the work of Project Blinkenlights, the 555 Kubik project is a digital installation that turns a naked building facade into a compelling piece of art through 3-D projections.

The project was created by UrbanScreen, a European agency that specializes in large-scale projection on urban surfaces.

YouTube Symphony Orchestra: The YouTube Symphony Orchestra was an attempt to crowdsource a virtual orchestra via auditions through YouTube. For the public performance, which featured 96 professional and amateur musicians from 30-plus countries, Obscura Digital specifically mapped Carnegie Hall's architecture to project 20,000 square feet of full-resolution video and dramatically enhance the event.

Livestrong Chalkbot: As part of Lance Armstrong's return to the Tour de France and his Livestrong organization's mission to cure cancer, Nike commissioned the Livestrong Chalkbot. Created by DeepLocal and StandardRobot, the Chalkbot enabled thousands of people to have their messages (submitted digitally) chalked along the route of this year's Tour.

'Top Chef Las Vegas': For this season of "Top Chef Las Vegas," Fallon and Monster teamed up for one of the more clever uses of mobile and digital-billboard advertising. The team created an interactive casino in Rockefeller Plaza that highlighted the Las Vegas element of the show and allowed passers-by to play interactive slot machines with their mobile phones for the chance to win $5,000 -- now that's an incentive for engagement.

While the melding of digital and physical has been done well before, it's often been in fits and starts. But it's only been as of late, as the technology has become cheaper and connectivity more pervasive, that we've started to see a more profound shift in digital altering of our public spaces. The emergence of radio-frequency identification and augmented reality and shift toward branded destinations -- see the O2 in the U.K. -- will only accelerate the trend.

Leave it to Guinness to give us an early taste. Working with London's Red Urban, Guinness placed RFID tags on its team's rugby balls and players, providing real-time data for fans and coaches alike. Running pace, kicking power and passing speed are all monitored -- allowing a digital window into a physical event that is just scratching the surface of what's possible.

If the Guinness RFID work is any indicator, perhaps the future won't be about screens at all -- it may simply become a matter of data and sensors.

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Just ask Z Gallerie, a furniture and accessories retailer.

The trustmark helped Z Gallerie close 12.9 percent more sales during the test period, says Steven Kartstein, Z Gallerie's internet operations manager. It "gave our customers peace of mind that their personal information was safe when they shopped with us."

A tightly targeted search engine optimization program has propelled Beachbikes.com to rapid sales gains in its first four years 
in business.

"We hit fewer people but got a better ROI per the amount of people visiting — more people were buying at a higher percentage," Gyger says.

Developed by Orlando, Fla.-based Monster Media, the Harrods' displays promote Land Rover, Spain and Veneto, and Harrods' own promotions.

Harrods has long been known for its eye-grabbing windows, containing the likes of an actual Aston Martin. That car may soon be part of the display, Beauchamp says, enabling pedestrians to manipulate it with their mobile devices. —Paul Miller

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To play, they simply dial in with their cell phones.So it’s not much of a leap, when brainstorming ideas to promote a TV show set in Las Vegas, to come up with slots.

And there they are, in a storefront in Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, a bit of Las Vegas, and crowded around in front are what you'd expect to find on a sunny New York summer day, tourists and New Yorkers.

What makes this alternative media campaign, for the sixth-season premiere of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” so different is that the people standing around are actually playing the slots, in a manner of speaking.

The slots in the window are user-activated, interactive machines that invite passersby to compete for prizes, the top prize being $5,000 and a trip to the “Top Chef” kitchen in Las Vegas.

“Bravo’s goal was to make sure everyone knew the show was going to be in Vegas,” says Chris Beauchamp, CEO of Monster Media, which worked on the campaign with Fallon Worldwide and the network.

“I don’t think there’s a better way to make people understand that it’s in Vegas starting this year other than bringing Vegas to the streets of New York City, which is basically what we did.”

Here’s how it works: Monster created a mock casino display in which two interactive slot machines were placed against a backdrop of eight LCD wall screens.

When pedestrians walk by the display, which is housed in the NBC Experience Store window, their presence is picked up by motion detectors, which trigger the slot machines to light up.

Messages appear on the LCD screens inviting users to text the words Padma or Tom, the names of the “Chef” hosts, to a specified number.

Upon receiving the text, the slot machine begins spinning. Participants watch the screens for the last four digits of their phone number, signaling them that their turn has begun.

If they spin a winner, players receive a message on their phone telling them how to redeem their prize. One in five players wins a small trinket, such as a T-shirt or cell phone screen savers. All players are entered for a chance to win the $5,000 grand prize and trip to Vegas.

What separates this campaign from so many that rely on passersby's cell phones is that this one leaves it up to the passerby to initiate the interaction, meaning the participant is truly engaged.

“The No. 1 priority for us and Fallon and ‘Top Chef’ was to engage consumers on the street level, plant a seed on mobile devices before they walk away, and do it without using Bluetooth,” Beauchamp says.

The link between the brand and the device used to promote it is pretty obvious – “Chef” is set in Vegas, which is where you find slot machines. But there are other things about the campaign beyond the branding and the engagement factors.

Another is certainly the location. Rockefeller Center is crawling with tourists this time of year, and it’s in a bit less commercial than Times Square, where you can’t walk three steps without being bombarded by advertisements.

That helps the promotion stand out.

And the location has helped to build buzz. Beauchamp says a number of tour buses stop right outside the storefront, and when the tourists exit the bus, they walk right up to the slot machines and start spinning.

“The client’s very happy because we can track the amount of people who actually dialed in and participated,” Beauchamp says.
The interactive casino went up on Aug. 10 and will stay up through Aug. 31. “Chef” premieres tonight.

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The campaign, which runs through Aug. 31, uses eight linked LCD walls to feature two interactive slot machines that pedestrians can play by texting on their cell phones. Once pedestrians engage with the Top Chef display, they receive text messages back, and if lucky enough, receive a message that tells them how to redeem a prize. All texters are entered in a contest to win a grand prize of $5,000 or a trip to the Top Chef kitchen in Las Vegas.

"The goal of the campaign is to increase awareness of the show, drive traffic to the Bravo Web site and encourage users to sign-up for Bravo's mobile club, where members can receive games, show updates, and more, on their cell phones," said John Payne, president of Monster Media.

The interactive window also tracks the number of texters and the time of all texts, giving Bravo a measure of the campaign's effectiveness. Did you hear that retailers? A way to track effectiveness! Gotta love that. Bravo to Bravo for implementing such a high-tech window campagin!

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The "Top Chef" promotion sees Bravo tapping Monster Media, a company that specializes in "storefront domination" advertising, as well as in advertising that responds to consumers' body movements, to create an interactive mock-casino display in the NBC Experience Store window in New York City's Rockefeller Plaza. The casino theme was chosen because the show's sixth season (premieres August 19th) takes place in Las Vegas. The display consists of eight linked LCD walls, featuring two interactive slot machines (note: the entire display, including static elements, is 20 feet by 10 feet and envelopes the window; its interactive portion is 13 feet by 4 feet). When a pedestrian approaches the display, Monster Media says, they become instantly engaged in the promotion as their motion triggers its LCD background to come to life and the slot machines' buttons to light up. They are then prompted by the LCD display and surrounding static signage to use their mobile phones to text either "Padma" or "Tom" to Bravo, which in turn--via Monster Media's Mobile Phone Control technology--triggers the corresponding slot machine. They receive various promotional text messages on their mobile as they play, and, if they are in luck, they receive text telling them how to redeem their prize. Each time a player texts in either name, they are entered to win a grand prize consisting of $5,000 and a trip to the Top Chef Kitchen in Las Vegas. Monster Media claims that the interactive campaign tracks the number of new texters, the number of repeat texters, and the timestamps for each text, thus, the company claims, providing Bravo with a tangible return on its investment. According to Monster Media president, John Payne, the campaign's goals include increasing awareness of the show, driving traffic to the Bravo Web site and encouraging consumers to sign up for Bravo's Mobile Club (allows users to receive games, show updates and more on their mobiles).

The "Real Housewives of Atlanta" promotion, meanwhile, sees Bravo inviting viewers to answer trivia questions during the August 20th broadcast of the show's fourth episode. Viewers who participate in the "Live Like a Real Housewife" sweepstakes, as the promotion is called (note: they can submit their answers via SMS or on a dedicated area of Bravo's Web site: bravotv.com/atlanta-sweeps), will have a chance to win such thematically appropriate prizes as a luxury spa treatment package, a designer bag and a $1,000 shopping spree; while the grand prize winner will receive a trip to Atlanta to attend the taping of the show's season two reunion special. The winners of each prize will be named live on air during the broadcast, and the grand prize winner will be announced at the end of the episode by Atlanta real housewife, Kim Zolciak.

In other NBC Universal news: Broadcast network NBC is giving viewers the opportunity to catch up with various of its shows on its NBC.com Web site, before their fall premieres. Shows currently available on NBC.com as part of the promotion include "30 Rock," "America's Got Talent," "Chuck," "Days of Our Lives," "Friday Night Lights," "Great American Road Trip," "Heroes," "Kings," "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," "The Listener," "Merlin," "The Office," "Parks and Recreation," "The Philanthropist," "Southland," "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien," and "The Wanted."

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On the far side of the plaza I went by the NBC Experience Store and what I saw in the window made me do something I never do walking through the city – stop and take notice of a retail store window.  Bravo was using the window to promote the upcoming season of Top Chef that will take place in Las Vegas. In keeping with the Sin City theme they had two slot machines displayed on two large screens with the twist that they actually worked and even gave out prizes up to $5,000 when you spun the reels by sending them a text message. Admittedly a little self conscious of looking like a tourist I took out my iPhone, sent the message and watched the machine spin to life. I have to admit it was fun. In the minute it took me to send the text a few other people stopped to see what I was doing and after I was done they did the same thing. I stood there for about 15 minutes watching a near constant flow of these small crowds gather around new people who would stop and take turns trying the experience. When prizes were awarded the message was a generic ‘we have a winner’ which I thought was smart as it showed people winning without giving away the quality of the prize which was probably marginal but I didn’t win so I don’t know for sure.

It was almost a year to the day since I last wrote about this type of fusion between technology and retail displays with the Ralph Lauren store windows that were outfitted with QR codes to let consumers buy the outfits in the window right from their cell phone from the side walk in front of the store. While Ralph Lauren was focused on selling and this is more of a pure promotion I like the Top Chef execution for two reasons. First from a technical standpoint because it uses the widely adopted SMS texting instead of QR codes that require the download of special reader software. From an experience standpoint I like Top Chef because it has a low engagement barrier since it uses a popular technology that gives people the confidence to interact with the slot machines and that interaction is enough of a spectacle to create even more engagement from the spectators. I think if we could combine the sales focus of the QR codes with the higher consumer engagement of the SMS slot machines I think it could create a really powerful tool for brand exposure and to drive consumers off of the sidewalk and into stores. With budgets the way they are right now that execution will probably have to wait but I hope to see this trend of using technology to enhance brick and mortar retail continue.

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The campaign, which runs through Aug. 31, uses eight linked LCD walls to feature two interactive slot machines that pedestrians can play by texting on their mobile phones.

As the fall season nears, TV networks are turning to more alternative and out-of-home media to connect with potential viewers and stand out from the inevitable barrage of fall season promotions.

"The goal of the campaign is to increase awareness of the show, drive traffic to the Bravo Web site and encourage users to sign up for Bravo's mobile club, where members can receive games, show updates and more, on their cell phones," said John Payne, president of Monster Media.

Once pedestrians engage with the Top Chef display, they receive text messages back, and if lucky enough, receive a message that tells them how to redeem a prize. All texters are entered in a contest to win a grand prize of $5,000 or a trip to the Top Chef kitchen in Las Vegas.

The interactive window also tracks the number of texters and the time of all texts, giving Bravo a measure of the campaign's effectiveness.

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Interactive displays seem to be the new ingenious way for advertising campaigns to grab peoples attention. Monster Media is behind some the most recent campaigns as of late from Dance your A$$ off to Carnival Cruise lines. They have even done displays for Harrods. Passerbys’ get to interact with the screens and make themselves look like fools, but hopefully it will get them to tune into a show or purchase the advertised item.

For example, for the Dance your A$$ Off display, viewers can dance along with the images on the screen. Other displays let you touch the screen to interact with it, and some will even let you play games. The interactive displays are trendy and hip and it’s definitely a new way for advertisers to think outside of the box instead of using the same old static ads.

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Interactive displays seem to be the new ingenious way for advertising campaigns to grab peoples attention. Monster Media is behind some the most recent campaigns as of late from Dance your A$$ off to Carnival Cruise lines.  They have even done displays for Harrods. Passerbys’ get to interact with the screens and make themselves look like fools, but hopefully it will get them to tune into a show or purchase the advertised item.

For example, for the Dance your A$$ Off display, viewers can dance along with the images on the screen. Other displays let you touch the screen to interact with it, and some will even let you play games. The interactive displays are trendy and hip and it’s definitely a new way for advertisers to think outside of the box instead of using the same old static ads.

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In fact, it’s a bit on the staid side compared with British rival Harvey Nichols & Co. But Harrods is creating plenty of buzz for itself with its newest storefront display: high-tech video ads. The eye-catching video, complete with music, debuted this summer and will run through the end of the year, promoting such brands as Land Rover and Veneto. The display envelops the entire window, and has the ability to potentially do gestural as well as mobile interaction.

The installation was done stateside, by the high-tech wizards at Monster Media, which is based in Orlando, Fla. This is the second time that Harrods reached out to Monster. In October 2008, the company created a LCD-based interactive window that ran footage promoting the premier of “James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace.”

Check out for yourself Harrod’s video display: www.monstermedia.net/portfolio.php?#23

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Monster Media, A global leader of full-body interactive advertising and storefront domination programs, has partnered with Harrods in London to promote some of the world's top brands.

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Introducing Central London to the Samsung Tocco cell phone.

This campaign ran in 18 locations throughout London leading to Samsung, Carphone Warehouse and Monster Media reaping positive results from this collaboration. The Samsung Tocco Phone campaign generated tremendous foot traffic within these stores increasing awareness of the Samsung Tocco.

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The uber-stylish department store reached out to Monster Media to develop high tech ads, complete with film and music, to pump up the buzz around many of the world's top products. Read the full story at Runway To Retail.

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This is the second time Monster Media has been requested by Harrods for a storefront domination program. The first display they developed for Harrods premiered in October 2008 and featured the first LCD based interactive window ever created. This storefront domination ran interactive footage promoting the James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace movie premiere.

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The uber-stylish department store reached out to Monster Media to develop high tech ads, complete with film and music, to pump up the buzz around many of the world's top products. These eye-catching ads can be found in their storefront windows. With such a high foot traffic location like storefront windows located on bustling Brompton Rd., it comes as no surprise that these ads are generating a lot of buzz. The partnership between Monster Media and the famous retail store officially kicked off on June 26 and will continue to run video projection through the end of the year promoting many top companies, including: Land Rover, Spain, Qatari Diar, Veneto and Harrods Christmas.


-Tracey Johnsen

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Also, a landshark was also spotted in Chicago.

Located on 10 N. Michigan Ave., a 65 x 9-ft. display incorporated 3-D lenticular vinyl that projected a bottle of Landshark, a Jimmy Buffet-inspired beer produced by Anheuser-Busch In Bev, and the slogan, “Let the Fin Begin.” Monster Media (Orlando, FL) created the body-responsive display that premiered in May and ran through June.

Buffet next adventure lies in Miami, FL, where Dolphin Stadium has been renamed Land Shark Stadium after the Buffet-A-B agreement was announced in May.

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It sounds like science fiction, but Samsung Mobile is doing it right now. While many companies are scaling back their advertising costs, Samsung has partnered up with Cheil Worldwide and Monster Media, the originators of full-body interactive advertising, to introduce prospective buyers to the new Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition.

Each interactive window display features a 46" screen replica of the new Samsung touch screen phone and is equipped with a presence detector that merges the technology of motion interaction with touch interaction. Consumers are able to engage with the touch screens that essentially act as oversized, functional cellular phones. They can employ programs such as the music application, camera and Google. Most Samsung stores that carry the displays are located in or around central London.

Each interactive window tracks how many times someone walks past the display as well as how many times someone interacts with it, providing Samsung with a tangible return on their investment (ROI). All displays are maintained around the clock by Monster Media. Monster Media is a pioneer in body responsive advertising. Its patented MonsterVision is used in a variety of applications including: Outdoor WindowFX, WallFX, GroundFX and Kiosks. Since its inception in 2005, Monster Media has worked with clients such as HBO, Lexus, MTV and Timberland to bring their messages to life.

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The company sells vacant storefronts as street level advertising space, with interactive displays.

Last year, for example, an Ybor City storefront was transformed in to a moving display for the Red Bull Flugtag Tampa Bay, a competition of human-powered flying machines. Projectors inside the vacant space showed moving images on customized window film and touted the Red Bull energy drink. The projection sites idle until someone walks by.

"It's a unique way to drive money back in to the landlord's pockets," says John Payne, company president.

The amount of money a landlord can make varies widely, depending on the space, the client and the display itself. Besides extra cash, Payne says, some landlords end up with something even better - an ease.

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Empty storefronts are a growing retail reality, but Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines recently transformed the economic downturn into a brand-building opportunity. This spring, Carnival, the world’s largest cruise operator, launched larger-than-life interactive aquariums in vacant, freestanding store windows in Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. The two-month-long sidewalk aquarium campaign, which ran through the end of April, followed two other memorable Carnival Cruise Line marketing efforts, including a building-sized piñata and a blimp-sized inflatable beach ball—each attempting Guinness World Records.

“Given the consumer’s increasing ability to tune out (more traditional) advertising messages, it is important to find new and compelling ways to create engagement,” says Jim Berra, chief marketing officer, Carnival Cruise Lines.

Thanks to high-tech motion sensors, external movement from passersby enabled underwater plants and seaweed in the window aquariums to move and sway. Signage inside the tanks invited participants to further dive in by making their own “fish” for the watery windows through the use of mobile phone technology.

The promotion, designed by the Boston office of Arnold Worldwide in partnership with Orlando, Fla.-based Monster Media, deployed computer vision, Flash animation, rear-projection technology and “heavily customized” mobile gaming software, allowing any passerby with a handheld phone to create a custom digital fish. Monster Media is known for interactive windows, but has never before deployed mobile phone interactivity.

The ubiquity of cell phones made it easy to turn spectators into participants. The sign inside the window provided a phone number to call to create a digital fish to populate the aquarium. Using voice commands and connecting in real time, the caller could spawn a customized fish that could then be commanded around the tank using a phone keypad. Participants could also direct the virtual fish to various pieces of food that would transform it into other sea creatures.

When finished playing, participants received a thank you text message on their cell phones inviting them to visit a Web site for more activities and information. The application even stored past experiences, enabling participants to return to the screen later and reconnect with the aquarium to feed or play with their existing digital creatures.

“The mobile phone opt-in rate was twice that of projections, and brand interaction was nine times higher than that of Carnival’s rich media ads,” says Stephanie Evans, senior vice president, group account director, Arnold Worldwide. Plans call for extending the Carnival Aquarium experience to its Web site, as well as placing interactive systems at each of Carnival’s 17 ports and on each of its 22 cruise ships.

Carnival’s use of technology in its aquarium promotion casts a wider net for next-generation cruise customers. In charting new ground, Berra says, “The Carnival Aquarium delivers a fun and social experience in a unique and unexpected way that fits our brand.”

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Statistics show in 2008 more than 22,000 firms went bust and small businesses are now disappearing at a rate of 123 every working day. So-Cal News 3 sits with John Payne on how entrepreneurs can make their companies recession proof.

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Carphone Warehouse is installing touchscreen window displays in eighteen of its stores to promote the launch of the Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition, Mobile News reported. Carphone Warehouse is partnering with Samsung UK to bring out the displays which replicate the handset experience on a 46 inch screen, enabling customers to interact with the screen through the store windows. The displays, developed by Monster Media, will also be able to provide data on consumers interacting with the screen such as which features are most popular and how many people use the displays each day.

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The Las Vegas Strip is a virtual blur of digital signage in its most extravagant form, so it only makes sense that Vegas’ McCarran Airport follows suit. Although not as flashy and large, digital signs have been placed in McCarran by Orlando, Fla.-based Monster Media. But these signs, which are used for advertising, aren’t just standard examples of digital signage.

Monster Media is using the signs for immersion-based advertising, where passers-by are filmed by a small camera and their images show up on the screen as part of the advertisement. Viewers can interact with aspects of the advertisement by moving their hands or bodies around. For example, viewers can make Skittles candy scatter on the screen by waving their hands across a pile of them in the ad.

Alliance Airport Advertising, which sells the indoor ads for McCarran Airport, has signed a two-year agreement with Monster Media for the immersive advertisements. And Alliance likes the concept, mainly because it brings in more money than traditional static advertising. According to Alliance, it costs $3,000 per month to advertise on a static sign, while Monster yields $12,000 per month for each advertiser using the interactive digital signage.

Monster Media CEO Chris Beauchamp says customers are entertaining themselves with the digital signs, and he hopes it will take their minds off long, irritating waits at the airport. The first advertiser to take advantage of Monster’s program was TravelZoo, an online travel publisher. One of TravelZoo’s first ads featured an interactive slot machine where customers could virtually pull down the handle and win travel-related prizes.

At its inception, some questions were raised as to the legality of taking someone’s picture and putting it on the screens without his permission, but Monster Media insists that since the data is not recorded in any way, it is completely legal. The company also noted that by entering a public space, such as an airport or transit system, you automatically give up that right, anyway, like appearing in a tourist photo.

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SAMSUNG Mobile UK, in partnership with The Carphone Warehouse today launched an interactive window display in the form of a giant interactive SAMSUNG Tocco Ultra Edition, which will appear in 18 Carphone Warehouse store windows across the UK. Four will be installed today at the Oxford Street and High Street Kensington stores, and all will appear by April 8th.

By deploying a touch screen interactive window display in those branches, SAMSUNG and The Carphone Warehouse aim to set a new standard in consumer experience bringing innovative platforms to the market to entertain and educate the consumer.

The interactive online system creates a 'wow' factor experience by replicating the new Tocco Ultra Edition on a 46" LCD screen with an interactive touch screen capability through the store windows. The systems are all networked and running interactive digital content replicating icons and functions of the stunning new phone. The experience is designed to engage and inform the users. The display uses 2 forms of interaction, motion controlled interaction ran with a digital camera and touch detection. The system will constantly look for users in front of the system and then will encourage them to interact via sound and elegant creative.

SAMSUNG Tocco Ultra Edition's 2.8" Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED) is replicated on a SAMSUNG 46" HD LCD with full touch screen, the interactive display flaunts astonishingly bright, clear and brilliant colours in the form of stunning digital graphics.

The touch detection technology then adds another dimension to the interactive experience by enabling the consumer to surf and browse through the applications of the new Tocco Ultra Edition, even if The Carphone Warehouse store is closed. The display offers a large screen digital interactive experience with real parallels to the Tocco Ultra Edition. Users are able to drop and drag icons across the display, inviting the user to explore the phone's features such as music player with music track playback, calendar, weather and more all from the street.

"The launch of this new interactive window display reflects SAMSUNG's leadership in both mobile user experience and marketing innovation", said Mark Mitchinson, Vice-President SAMSUNG Mobile UK and Ireland. "By recreating the user interface of one of our flagship mobile phones in this way, we open up the interactive mobile experience to thousands of potential customers who may not have experienced our market leading touch technology. We're proud to be the first mobile phone manufacturer to bring this unique product experience to the high street; increasing footfall, driving sales and demonstrating true leadership."

Andrew Harrison, CEO of The Carphone Warehouse, said "I think it's great that we're bringing leading technology to the high street to give customers experience that they won't be able to get anywhere else. It's a really fun piece of equipment which I'm looking forward to seeing people enjoying and engaging with."

The technology behind the new displays has been developed by interactive experts Monster Media. The interactive marketing company will also be able to use the presence detection technology to provide SAMSUNG and The Carphone Warehouse with detailed data on consumers interacting with the screen.

The new interactive window display will initially be present in 18 Carphone Warehouse stores nationwide - see below for your nearest store.

The Carphone Warehouse stores featuring the interactive window display:

• Kensington (High St)
• Brent Cross
• St Albans (St Peter St)
• Oxford St (272-274)
• Old Kent Road
• Oxford St (Centre Point)
• Oxford Street (161-163)
• Maidstone (Week St)
• Kingston (Clarence St)
• Wolverhampton (Dudley St)
• Leeds
• Birmingham (New St)
• Sheffield (Meadowhall SC)
• Sheffield Fargate
• Coventry (Unit 44 Precin)
• Croydon (Purley Way)
• Oxford
• Ealing Broadway

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Monster Media, a market leader in the field of interactive storefronts, generated significant buzz over its recent work for Carnival Cruise Lines. The gesture and mobile interactivity behind the innovative digital aquariums succeeded in capturing people's imaginations, both on the street and across the Internet.

It should then come as no surprise that Monster Media has followed up its work for Carnival with another cutting-edge deployment for a top company. In its continued effort to create brand experiences that educate and inform consumers, Monster has launched a series of window displays in the form of giant interactive SAMSUNG Tocco Ultra Edition phones. The displays appear in 18 Carphone Warehouse store windows across the UK.

The Samsung window displays provide users with the opportunity to experience every aspect of the new Tocco Ultra Edition phones. Through stunning digital graphics and touch-based interactivity, the giant displays mimic the look and functionality of the feature-rich Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition. People on the street can test drive the many applications on the smartphone. Users are able to drop and drag icons across the display, inviting them to explore the phone's music player, calendar, weather features, web surfing tools, and more.

Interactive storefronts similar to this one have been created for Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, and Orange Mobile, but I feel that this deployment succeeds on a higher creative level. The resulting displays don't just showcase a retailer's product offerings. They transform a store window into a complete product and shopping experience. By expanding upon the tried and true practice of testing out a phone's features and aesthetics prior to purchase, the displays elevate the Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition above its peers. Since the interactive units are available for use even when the stores are closed, the window displays are as much sales tools as they are promotional outlets.

"The launch of this new interactive window display reflects SAMSUNG's leadership in both mobile user experience and marketing innovation", said Mark Mitchinson, Vice-President SAMSUNG Mobile UK and Ireland. "By recreating the user interface of one of our flagship mobile phones in this way, we open up the interactive mobile experience to thousands of potential customers who may not have experienced our market leading touch technology. We're proud to be the first mobile phone manufacturer to bring this unique product experience to the high street; increasing footfall, driving sales and demonstrating true leadership."

Andrew Harrison, CEO of The Carphone Warehouse, said "I think it's great that we're bringing leading technology to the high street to give customers experience that they won't be able to get anywhere else. It's a really fun piece of equipment which I'm looking forward to seeing people enjoying and engaging with."

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Samsung is making sure that as many people as possible notice how cool the Tocco Ultra Edition is. Samsung teamed up with Cheil Worldwide and Monster Media to introduce potential customers via a 46″ interactive window. The 46″ screen is a replica of the Tocco Ultra Edition and is equipped with a presence detector that merges the technology of motion interaction with touch interaction.

Folks can just go to the massive 46″ Tocco Ultra Edition and play with it. You can check out the music application, camera, etc. What a FANTASTIC idea! Anyone who is remotely interested in a smartphone gets to play with it and learn about the cool features of the Tocco Ultra Edition.

People walking on the streets of London are playing with the 46″ Samsung Tocco Ultra Edition and seem to have quite a bit of fun.

18 interactive storefronts launched on April and will run through May 1. Most Samsung stores that carry the displays are located in or around central London.

Each interactive window tracks how many times someone walks past the display as well as how many times someone interacts with it. A great way to track ROI on the digital signage investment. Monster Media maintains all the displays around the clock.

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The Philadelphia Museum of Art is going in a new direction to find ticket buyers for the “Cézanne and Beyond” exhibition.

Its advertising for the major exhibition, which runs through May 17, is in part aimed at Flyers and 76ers fans at the Wachovia Center. An interactive display takes up an entire store window on Rittenhouse Row. Banner ads appear on online traffic cams in New York City and Washington, D.C. Other advertising targets commuters at 30th Street Station.

The campaign wants to go beyond traditional museum-goers, not just in this area but along the mid-Atlantic states, while also promoting area tourism. Digital displays for the show promote the place and date, but also drive people to a tourism Web site, www.gophila.com/cezanne.

“It’s a way of showcasing tourism in a way that’s aesthetically pleasing,” said John Payne, president of Orlando, Fla.-based Monster Media, which created the interactive campaign for the art museum.

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Check out this fantastic street-level interactive display that Monster Media, in partnership with Havas’ Arnold MPG, designed and installed for Carnival Cruise Lines!

Carnival Cruise Lines has introduced a street-level interactive display called the Carnival Aquarium, designed and installed by Monster Media in partnership with Arnold MPG. If you live in or near Houston, Dallas, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, or New York, you’ve got easy access to these HUGE interactive animated aquariums. The aquariums are all located in high traffic pedestrian areas, and are there so passersby can have fun!

Here is what Digital Signage Today has to say about it:
Carnival’s multi-market media campaign features body responsive interaction, oversized vinyl graphics and voice controlled mobile integration. Consumers can dial in a six-digit provided code to create a fish based on the tones of their voice and then see their customized fish appear in the interactive display area. By using their cell phone as a remote control users are able to guide their fish to discover all the program has to offer.

Smart move, Carnival! People will tell their friends about your digital signage, and those friends will tell THEIR friends, and people will have good things to say about Carnival Cruise Lines. I would also predict that while people have their cell phones out, interacting with the signage, they will also be much more inclined to use that cell phone to spend some serious money with Carnival Cruise Lines.

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To engage viewers and get them thinking about life on the ocean, Carnival Cruise Lines is placing interactive digital “aquariums” into empty store windows in six U.S. cities.

The promotion, which will run through the end of April, will use computer vision, Flash animation and mobile gaming software to let passersby create and then control their own fish in the aquarium using their mobile phones.

When visitors first walk past the window display screen, seaweed and underwater plants move in response to their presence. A window sign instructs them to call a number on their cell phones and create a digital fish for the aquarium using voice commands. Once it’s been customized, users can move their fish around the tank using their keypads.

Once they’ve finished playing with the fish they’ve created, users receive a thank-you SMS message to their cell phones inviting them to visit online for additional activities and information.

The interactive aquariums mirror the essence of the Carnival vacation experience in that they are designed to provide people with highly memorable and spontaneous fun,” senior marketing vice president Jim Berra said in a release.

The virtual aquariums, which were developed by Carnival’s agency of record Arnold Worldwide in conjunction with Monster Media, will be in Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Washington D.C. through the end of April.

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Carnival Cruise Lines has introduced a street-level interactive display called the Carnival Aquarium, designed and installed by Monster Media in partnership with Arnold MPG.

Carnival's multi-market media campaign features body responsive interaction, oversized vinyl graphics and voice controlled mobile integration. Consumers can dial in a six-digit provided code to create a fish based on the tones of their voice and then see their customized fish appear in the interactive display area. By using their cell phone as a remote control users are able to guide their fish to discover all the program has to offer.

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"Carnival Aquarium" is a street level digital fish tank that gives passersby the ability to create, move, and feed fish through mobile-to-screen interactivity. The campaign which currently spans six cites is the result of a partnership between Arnold Worldwide and Monster Media. Monster Media has risen to prominence through a number of successful, and highly engaging, interactive vacant storefront installations.

This project for Carnival Cruise Lines is the first time Monster has used mobile phone interactivity in one of its deployments. A user dials into the rear-projection screen and is prompted to create his own fish. Once the fish is created, the user can move it around the digital aquarium via his phone's keypad. A user can even return to the screen at a later time, dial back into the aquarium, and interact with his fish once again.

During a recent interview with Ad Age highlighting the project (video attached below), Carnival's CMO, Jim Berra, spoke about how the the digital aquarium brings the company's core ethos of fun and value to ilfe. "Carnival Aquariums" are currently installed in vacant storefront windows across six cites. Mr. Berra envisions a bright future for the initiative. He sees immense opportunities in extending the experience to the Company's website, as well as placing interactive systems at each of Carnival's seventeen ports and on every cruise ship.

While the technology company behind the mobile end of the project is not mentioned, the phone call driven interactivity appears to be the work of MegaPhone. Having done consulting work for the company in the past, I am very familiar with their work and would be hard-pressed to believe that anyone else was behind the unique project.

During my time working with MegaPhone, I led the deployment of the Company's first-ever interactive storefront installation. We launched a voice and keypad driven "Shout and Shoot" basketball game for the Philadelphia 76ers on a vacant window in the city's famous South street district. It was an exciting project to be a part of. It was evident that MegaPhone's technology was perfectly suited for street level gaming.

It's great to see MegaPhone continuing to develop interactive games for the street level environment. When a person is walking on the street and sees someone interacting with a digital screen through his cell phone, you see the true meaning of stopping war. The use of mobile technology in this manner breeds a truly social and participatory media experience. Let's hope this marks the beginning of many future projects between MegaPhone and Monster Media.

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Nice mix of vinyl and digital spotted over the weekend in Planet Hollywood, London. It’s a Monster Media UK install, and sold via Wrigley’s USA direct by Monster Media. The installation will be up until the end of March and is the first of several campaigns planned for this summer.

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Local advertising firm Monster Media has joined forces with HBO Video to launch an interactive holiday advertising campaign at Virgin Megastore's 11 nationwide locations -- including the Downtown Disney store. The storefront campaign, which runs through Dec. 31, promotes HBO Video's top DVD titles on 52-inch LCD flat-screen TVs. The displays will allow consumers to interact with motion-detected screens, which show a wrapped gift box opening into an HBO Video recently released DVD. Once the gift unwraps, interactive snowflakes appear over the screen. Orlando-based Monster Media has developed advertising platforms for some of the nation's top brands, including Target, Hewlett-Packard, Lexus, Miller Brewing Co., Travelzoo and Orbitz. The HBO Video campaign is the firm's first national retail program, says John Payne, Monster Media president, in a prepared statement.

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Surprisingly we haven't seen that much digital out of home activity with regard the latest 007 Bond film.

Mind you, Harrods always does cracking window displays and here we see yet another fine example - this is all using Monster Media systems.

David Mckie, European Director, told us exclusively, "We were very excited to work with Harrods on this famous movie release, we feel our interactive technology is perfect for high impact brand visibility!"

He added "Monster Media UK can always deliver a special 'wow' for all that pass the window"

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Harrods is experimenting with interactive displays in its store windows as part of a James Bond-themed display.

Four 70-inch LCD screens have been installed in the department store's Brompton Road exhibition windows, and use sensors to trigger special effects when shoppers walk past.

The screens have been installed together to create a substantial display in one of Harrods windows, playing clips from the new release Quantum of Solace.

As shoppers walk past a screen, the system tracks their movement and slowly turns the screen black, mimicking the famous special effects used to introduce many Bond movies.

The two-and-a-half minute trailer only plays in response to motion, rather than running on a loop.

The screens are joined in the windows by an Aston Martin car and Sunseeker boat that were both used in the movie. Also on display are a suit and dress worn by the main characters in the film, as well as a Bollinger champagne bar.

Harrods says that it is the first time the technology, created by Monster Media, has been used in retail within the UK. The installation is a trial, but Harrods says it will consider using the system again for other promotions.

The MonsterVision system and the content it plays can be managed remotely. It can also let consumers send messages to the system by mobile phone.

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Monster Media & DSN have recently installed an interactive screen within the Zavvi (Virgin Megastore) window at Piccadilly, London. The technology as used for our Adobe campaign at the same store in May 2007 allows the viewer to control content on the screen through their body movements & gestures. Campaigns can be bought on the screen with immediate effect and various ‘off the shelf’ and bespoke interactive content options are available.

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In a continuing look at interactive outdoor advertising, 3 Minute Ad Age goes behind the glass with Monster Media. The 4-year-old Orlando, Fla., company's computer-controlled, rear-projected animations and video displays are now among the country's largest and most physically engaging forms of street-level advertising. Monster also works closely with JCDecaux and CBS Outdoor on interactive airport signs that respond like huge video-game screens to pedestrians.

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Projected high-definition video ads on walls throughout the subway system are the MTA's newest attempt to attract more advertising revenue as well as the often-elusive attention of New Yorkers.

At Grand Central, where it costs $200,000 to saturate the subway station with ads, an 8-by-20 foot video projection on a passageway wall is enticing riders to travel to Chicago, Toronto and even far off Bali. The Travelzoo commercial, which kicks off the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's projected ad campaign, has been on the wall since the start of the month.

MTA officials are looking to expand the campaign into 19 other stations, including Union Square and Herald Square.

The ads are meant to entice advertisers to spend their money in the subways rather than a billboard elsewhere, said Rocco Krsulic, the MTA's real estate chief.

"They get your attention because they look like a TV," said George Boseman, 25, as he headed to an acting job on the 42nd Street Shuttle. "If they make more money, that's good."

The video projections are now a part of the MTA's station-blanketing ad efforts, which is expected to boost revenues between 15 and 20 percent through this latest promotion avenue. Besides Travelzoo, BMW already has signed on for a wall in Union Square for the month of February.

"People are used to looking at posters and I think they'll notice this more," said Jorge Cuello, 15, as he wandered through the travel ad in Grand Central, where when passersby walk through the light stream from the projector, digital snow globes are shaken up to reveal fares for different getaways.

"It's cutting edge technology," the teen said.

The MTA is also scoping out the infrastructure on highly-trafficked station platforms to see if it can support equipment for projections onto adjacent tunnel walls, Krsulic said.

Projected commercials is a growing medium, particularly in a city that offers a huge canvas, said Jeff Golimowski, spokesman for the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.

"It's the reason why outdoor advertising is the fastest growing advertising media outside of the Internet," Golimowski said.

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Trains, passengers and rats are not the only things moving in subway stations these days. Billboards are beginning to move, too.

CBS Outdoor, which holds the subway advertising contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, installed its first motion-activated display screen at 34th Street-Herald Square about a year ago. (Target and Adidas are among the advertisers who have used the screen there.) Last week, CBS did some tweaking on a new display screen at 14th Street-Union Square. And two more stations may get the screens, said Larry Levine, the president of displays for CBS Outdoor. He added that no one has complained about being caught in the bright beams.

“As people walk by, elements of the ad will change,” Mr. Levine said. Some sense of how they work can be seen on the Web site of Monster Media, which developed the display technique, called MonsterVision.

Normally, the screens will be sold in “station domination” deals, where single advertisers take over an entire station. And — for a moment — anyone who comes in their path.

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HBO Video is teaming with Virgin Megastores on an interactive window display designed to get shoppers to wrap—and unwrap—HBO DVDs as holiday gifts.

The window installations, set to span all 11 U.S. Virgin storefronts, feature 52-inch LCD flat-screen TVs that project images of HBO DVDs covered in wrapping paper. Through motion-detection technology, shoppers can wave their hands in front of the windows to tear off the paper and view what’s inside the gifts. The Sopranos and The Wire will be among the hidden titles.

The campaign kicked off on Nov. 19 and runs through Dec. 31.

An enhanced version of the advertising scheme will be built at the Times Square location, where multiple consumers will be able to unwrap various gift boxes simultaneously. A different HBO DVD will be revealed each time someone removes the wrapping paper.

“We’re always looking to develop unique ways of marketing HBO Video DVDs—from our award-winning advertising campaigns to ground-breaking retail programs,” said Sofia Chang, senior VP of marketing and creative services at HBO Video. “The Virgin Megastores’ metropolitan locations provide the perfect window for this unexpected showcasing of HBO programming on DVD.”

Dee McLaughlin, Virgin Entertainment Group VP of marketing, added, “Our brands complement each other; we both pride ourselves on bringing something special to the customer in new and exciting ways. Virgin Megastores offers the full range of HBO products, from apparel to DVDs, so we’ve worked together to find a new way to engage and communicate our offer to our customers."

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Passengers at Miami International Airport may soon be seeing advertising everywhere from flight information displays to ticket counter monitors and jetbridges, and the facility may have its first magazine, as part of its search for a new ad company.

Even the parking garages can be named for a price, as MIA Tuesday puts out its first request for proposals for a new advertising firm in more than 13 years, hoping for a new, innovative program.

But the revenue generated may not be a financial windfall. And there are only two major players in the industry, though other companies are nipping at their heels and may join the bidding fray.

A total of 320 locations at MIA will be available for advertising, including displays at ticket counters, gates and baggage claim, luggage carts and jetbridges, and on its website, as well as a request to publish a magazine, said Patricia Ryan, Miami-Dade Aviation's division director for commercial operations.

''Hopefully the new advertising program will be so innovative it will create an avenue for passengers to be entertained and inspired and provide new revenue opportunities for our business partners,'' Ryan said.

That would include more new technology such as the interactive video wall that MIA's current ad company JCDecaux installed at MIA's Concourse D. Put up a few weeks ago, it is the third such interactive display in the country, after those at New York's JFK and Chicago's O'Hare airports.

But passengers at MIA won't see any ads for cigarettes or promotions for alcoholic beverages that show people actually drinking. And nothing too risqué.

''We are a family-centered airport, so we watch the amount of exposure of a body -- male or female,'' she said.

Just two companies dominate the airport segment of the outdoor advertising industry: JCDecaux, which has held the contract at MIA since at least 1994 and Clear Channel Outdoor, which holds the contract at major airports such as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, and was recently ranked No. 1 by Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood's selection committee, and is in negotiations with the airport.

But other companies are trying to enter the field, as long-held, politically-ingrained airport contracts come up for bid.

Among those is Corey Airport Services, an Atlanta-based airport ad firm that has won contracts at Atlantic City and Cincinnati airports and is eyeing MIA.

''Our only concern [at MIA] is they will put minimum requirements in to exclude everyone but those two companies,'' said Steve Moody, vice president at Corey, who ran JCDecaux's southeast regional office out of Coral Gables until 2001. ``We just want a level playing field and to be inclusive of smaller out-of-home media companies and not just the media behemoths.''

CBS Outdoor, which, along with other firms, attended meetings on the proposal at MIA, may also enter the bidding.

''We are definitely interested in pursuing the opportunity and seeing if it's something we are going to actively seek,'' said Jodi Senese, executive vice president of marketing for CBS Outdoor in New York. The company is not at any airport locations, but is at rail and bus terminals and malls.

Overall, the outdoor industry segment is a $7 billion business and the second-fastest growing medium in the ad industry, after Internet advertising. In fact, outdoor ads are growing at twice the rate of the total ad industry, said Stephen Freitas, chief marketing officer for the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, a Washington, D.C., trade group.

The airport segment is particularly attractive to advertisers because it reaches white-collar business professionals who travel frequently and are otherwise elusive, he said.

''There is a unique opportunity in airports,'' Freitas said. ``They typically have consumers and travelers who are waiting and have time to kill, which allows the travelers to engage with the advertisement for a deeper, richer experience, and to be able to learn more about the products and services.''

JCDecaux's contract at MIA was originally granted for four years, with a three-year extension that took it to Feb. 28, 2001. But since then, it was extended on a month-to-month basis until May 1, 2005, and then on a permit, expiring April 30, 2008. The reason for not putting it out to bid sooner: construction at the airport, Ryan said.

The ad company generated $4.4 million in ad sales in fiscal 2005; $5 million in fiscal 2006, and an expected $5.8 million in fiscal 2007, MIA figures show.

The airport itself, which gets a portion of those sales, received $3 million in fiscal 2005; $3.5 million in fiscal 2006 and more than $3.6 million is expected in fiscal 2007.

Unlike the previous contract, in the new contract, the advertising company -- rather than the airport -- will be responsible for the capital outlay for the fixtures, such as the backlit displays used for the ads. As a result, the percentage of gross revenues generated by the ads will be less than what MIA currently receives, Ryan said.

In fact, the new contract will carry a minimum annual guarantee of $3 million, though bidders can offer more. The airport will get the greater of that minimum annual guarantee or 50 percent of monthly gross revenues -- or higher, if bidders propose a higher percentage.

''We would hope that we would have no less than the current revenue we have now,'' Ryan said.

The Miami-Dade County Commission on Oct. 16 voted that wording be added to the proposal, requiring that any bidder disclose whether it has received any notices of any violations of the county's sign code, or is currently in litigation with the county regarding any provision of the sign code.

As of Thursday, neither JCDecaux nor Clear Channel Outdoor had any outstanding violations, said Miami-Dade spokesman Owen Torres. Clear Channel had previous violations that have been corrected, he said.

Expected to be approved by spring, the contract will extend 10 years, with one two-year extension, Ryan said. Bids will be due Dec. 7.

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Monster Media, working with JCDecaux North America, the world leader in airport advertising, has expanded its airport presence, rolling out a new campaign using its MonsterVision product in three major airports.

The program features MonsterVision's interactive advertising system at airports in Miami, Orlando and Houston where JCDecaux holds the advertising concession rights, and will give advertisers the ability to reach more than 12.5 million passengers each month.

Monster first installed the program at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas earlier this year (via Houston Business Journal). With the addition of these new locations, Monster Media will have the ability to reach more than 12.5 million passengers each month with MonsterVision systems in U.S. airports, according to the company.

The first campaign to use these interactive billboards will be from Orbitz Worldwide and will appear in airports in Las Vegas, Houston, Miami and Orlando.

MonsterVision is a patented advertising medium that uses advanced motion-activated technology to deliver branding messages in high traffic areas. Oversized images are activated by passers-by who then "participate in the advertising," writes Mediaweek.

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A vacant storefront at 326 N. Michigan Ave. has been outfitted with a video panel to promote the Chicago-based travel company’s new Orbitz TLC Travel Update service. Those walking by the billboard are shadowed by an image of a traveler, who then relays information about the new service. Travel Update, found on Orbitz’s Web site, allows travelers to post and access information about wait times at airport security lines, weather and where to get Wi-Fi service.

“The idea is to get you to stop,” said Tom Russell, vice president of brand marketing for Orbitz Worldwide.

Mr. Russell said the combination of available space, price and location factored into ultimately selecting the Michigan Avenue location.

"Obviously it gets a lot of tourist traffic," he said of Michigan Avenue. "And it gets a lot of business travelers."

The billboard, created by Orlando, Fla.-based Monster Media, is the first of its kind for Chicago. Monster Media has other products in Chicago, such as a floor display in the lobby of the Chicago Theatre that changes when someone steps on the image.

A similar Orbitz billboard has been installed just outside of New York’s Grand Central Station. Other video ads also have been placed at Miami International Airport, Orlando International Airport, McCarren International Airport in Las Vegas and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

The marketing campaign will run through the end of the month.

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From USA TODAY reporter Roger Yu's Airport Check-in column: "Las Vegas McCarran is the latest airport to feature advertising that encourages traveler participation. A new advertising display for Travelzoo, an Internet travel company, allows passersby to spin the reels on a slot machine. The reels spin when the device detects movement of travelers pulling the lever in front of an 8-feet by 20-feet image. The reels stop on announcements of various travel deals and have no pay-out. It's in Concourse D. That and other techno ads by the company on other concourses will run for two months."

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TRAVELZOO IS TEAMING WITH MONSTERVISION to create interactive place-based displays in Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport, the company announced Monday. The campaign, which will convey news about travel deals, uses Monstervision's technology to draw consumers. The goal is getting them to interact with the projected digital displays.

The ads will run 24 hours a day for two months at McCarran, which sees monthly traffic of about 3.5 million travelers.

Monstervision's system detects the motion of individual passers-by, and the display "reacts" to them, hopefully catching their eye and exciting their curiosity. Once engaged, the displays also react to motions like waving and "pulling" the lever of a giant virtual slot machine--part of the long-term appeal.

The Las Vegas ads also use Monstervision's interactive plasma screens to put the individual in the advertising with immersion technology. Users are projected into the plasma screen and receive a personalized greeting from Travelzoo, if they opt to do so.

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"We are thrilled to be the first to show consumers the best deals published by Travelzoo in real time, interactive projections," said Erik Qualman, Head of Marketing North America, Travelzoo. "The high impact and large scale of the wall projections and plasma screens are not only memorable for travelers who pass by but it gives them a chance to directly interact with the brand." The interactive "What's the Deal with Travelzoo?" campaign encourages travelers to participate in the advertisement. In Concourses A and B of Las Vegas Airport, gigantic projections show real time travel deals currently featured on Travelzoo's Web site as travelers walk past. In Concourse D real time travel deals "spin" on Travelzoo slot machines when consumers engage the 8' x 20' advertisement. In Concourse C, travelers can get the chance to star in their own ad as they are projected into two huge interactive plasma screens using immersion technology. This is the first time this technology has been used in advertising anywhere in the U.S. Along with being projected into the plasma screens, travelers are personally greeted by Travelzoo in the advertisement. All five advertisements feature the Travelzoo Top 20(R) ticker which lists real time travel deals published by Travelzoo. Las Vegas McCarran International Airport is frequented by almost 3.5 million travelers per month. The Travelzoo interactive advertisements will run 24 hours a day for two months. The interactive advertising systems are called MonsterVision and are part of a national advertising network from Monster Media. MonsterVision is patented technology that tracks consumers' body movements, allowing for real time interaction with the display graphics.

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As some 600 Subaru of America dealers gather for their national meeting in Las Vegas this week, they will see interactive ads from Monster Media supporting the 2008 Tribeca and Impreza WRX, two new cars from the company, throughout the city.

The Orlando, Fla., agency has a network of interactive walls set up throughout Las Vegas. There are roughly 25 currently in place, with plans to reach 55 by year's end.

"It allows our clients to play high-definition content and have people interact with it," said Chris Beauchamp, shop CEO. "Everything is done in Flash and it uses close to real-time data."

This means, for example, that one installation on a highly trafficked floor displaying the Impreza switches to a Tribeca ad once contact is made with a consumer.

"The idea is to generate enthusiasm and let people know we're [Subaru] here," said Lisa Fleming, communications manger at Subaru in Cherry Hill, N.J. "It draws you in and your eye notices that it changes in response to movement. There are lot of lights here but this stands out."

The theme of the meeting, which began on Sunday and ends on Wednesday, is readiness and Subaru wanted to reflect that with its advertising.

"Having interactive boards up is our way of saying, 'We're ready, are you ready? Let's get ready,'" said Fleming.

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The cruise industry is sailing rough waters when it comes to selling Caribbean itineraries—a product that typically draws first-time passengers.

Some cruise lines have countered the Caribbean slump by sending more ships to the hot European market, which attracts more seasoned sailors and wealthier travelers. However, Norwegian Cruise Line is still plying for first-timers with unconventional outreaches that complement Freestyle Cruising—its unregimented and free-spirited approach to ocean vacations, a platform it has used on its ships since it was acquired by Malaysia-based Star Cruises in 2000.

Thanks to MonsterVision visual-display technology (from MonsterMedia, Orlando, Fla.), baseball fans at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., as well as theatergoers at New York’s New World Stage Theatrical Complex, can interact with NCL-themed wall and floor projections. Consumers can play games like smashing clocks, or select ensembles for virtual cruise line guests. Both contests convey the idea that NCL guests are “off the clock” regarding meal times and don’t have to abide by a dress code like they would on other cruise lines.

NCL also will advertise on two million dry cleaning bags to be distributed at Los Angeles and New York dry cleaners. The bags will be emblazoned with “Our dress code: Wear something.” Finally the cruise line will serve onboard co-branded aluminum bottles of Bud Light. The bottles will include the NCL graphic—a white fish swimming against the tide of blue fish.

NCL spent $38 million on advertising in 2006, per TNS.

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Interactive, high-tech 'advertainment' is making its presence felt in Las Vegas

An Orlando, Fla.-based media company believes it has come up with a way to take people's minds off lengthy, irritating waits at McCarran International Airport: Become one with the advertisements. It's a new wave of marketing -- or "advertainment," as Monster Media CEO Chris Beauchamp likes to call it.

His company has a preliminary contract to operate its five interactive and immersion-based visual ads at McCarran, which began engaging passengers this month.

With some units still under installation, Beauchamp is banking they will outperform traditional "static" signs in capturing and retaining travelers' attention in the airport's four concourses.

Two plasma-screen units already are operating in Concourse C. They are immersion-based, meaning they digitally capture the likeness of passersby and instantly make the person appear in the ad. Three projection units -- one in each of the other concourses -- don't copy and paste a person onto the screen, but are similar to the interactive, Flash-based advertising common to the Internet. They will be up and running later this month.

A BRICK THROUGH THE WINDOW

People usually stop dead in their tracks when they see these ads, Beauchamp generalizes. The theory is people are less likely to tune them out, a key challenge with older forms of advertising (i.e., static signs) that fueled the need for new media, he adds.

"It's really tough to throw the brick through the window and get a consumer into your brand," he admitted. The hope is that the element of fun will reduce consumers' sense they are being prompted to buy something. "They're having too much fun entertaining themselves."

Monster Media has installed its interactive products in several other venues in town, including Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, the Thomas & Mack Center and the Las Vegas Monorail. McCarran is the company's first airport, a market Beauchamp has been pursuing aggressively for two reasons: heavy passenger traffic and because those passengers are, at times, in need of a chill pill.

"When's the last time you were on edge, sick of sitting around? You were probably in an airport," he said. 'Advertainment' could help take passengers' minds off the arduous waits, he asserts.

For example, Internet travel-bargain publisher Travelzoo Inc. will be the first advertiser at McCarran to make use of this emerging medium, Beauchamp says. One ad is an interactive slot machine, which allows tourists to pull the "virtual one-arm bandit" and win a travel deal.

As for the company's immersion-based products, they automatically take passengers' picture and show the image on a screen without permission. But since none of the data is recorded, Beauchamp insists no release is required.

"Any time you enter into a public space like a transit system, you give up that right," he said, likening it to accidentally appearing in a tourist's photo. "It's almost like walking past a mirror and appearing in it."

A WINDFALL FOR MCCARRAN

Monster Media secured its two-year agreement to operate in the airport through the contractor that sells indoor static advertisements for McCarran, Alliance Airport Advertising. Alliance oversees wall signs, ads at the baggage-claim carousels, banners and floor displays, according to the Clark County Aviation Department.

Alliance CEO Shauna Forsythe says the signs reflect her ongoing pursuit of media that best grab passengers' attention and grow ad revenue. Alliance reported gross revenue of $13.5 million in 2006, 85 percent of which went to the Aviation Department, spokesman Chris Jones says.

Forsythe predicts the signs will remain indefinitely and eventually could quadruple ad revenue "from those particular locations." To advertise on one static sign, it costs about $3,000 per month. Compare that with the estimated $12,000 per month yielded by each of Monster's products.

"Our anticipation is it will double the exposure time," Forsythe added, giving some rough estimates: A static sign in a concourse with a walking public could garner 10 seconds of exposure from pedestrians. The same sign in a concourse with a slower-traveling, moving walkway could see twice as much exposure. Baggage claim can hold an audience captive anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes, and a cab line can last as long as 15 minutes.

Despite the new media's advantages, static signs are far from obsolete, especially in airports. Forsythe says one or two signs in each concourse may be replaced someday. "We will put them (Monster's products) in a few select locations. We will never replace everything," she said.

Why not? Because the interactive signs' effectiveness in halting passengers could backfire, so Alliance must maintain a balance. "We like to have the longer exposure but you can't bottleneck," Forsythe said.

Beauchamp argues this advertising evolution is not "a flash in a pan." His belief is buttressed by Monster's ongoing negotiations with other airports to feature the proprietary technology, which he leases exclusively from a Canadian developer -- not to mention interest he's received from carmaker Subaru and retail giant Target.

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The advertising industry is dreaming up uses for motion capture that literally stop consumers in their tracks. Recently, with little fanfare, Target (TGT ), adidas Group, and Clorox (CLX ) began running interactive ads on subway station walls in New York. One Target ad, a 6-by-20-ft. projection, featured snowflakes gently fluttering from the sky. It seemed unremarkable until you approached the wall. If you swiped your hand in the air, the background scene transformed from a wooded winter scene into a city skyline. And by waving both hands you could send the snowflakes into a swirl.

Adidas chose a similar approach for its ad in the entrance of the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The ad perked up when people walked by and responded with a shower of shoes. The more they gesticulated, the bigger the deluge became. "People don't ignore the ads—they want to play with them," says John Payne, president of Monster Media, which created the campaigns for adidas, Clorox, and Target. "It's like Willy Wonka."

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Lexus is spreading its message about safety with new interactive ads consumers can manipulate. The campaign promotes the RX 350 luxury SUV in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco storefronts with full-motion ads that engage with consumers as they pass by.

The ads lets people watch a car collision that appears to crash through the window on a video display. Consumers can "undo" them by interacting with the ads using body movement. The campaign, which launched last week, promotes Lexus' latest message about its vehicles and safety: "The safest accidents are the ones that never happen." It runs through April 15.

"These attention-grabbing ads allow us to really engage our consumers, involve them in the brand and streets our commitment to style, safety, luxury and performance," said Robin Pisz, national manager, Lexus advertising and media, in a statement.

Lexus will promote its Actively Safe campaign nationally starting April 1 with TV spots, print ads, out-of-home and in dealerships. Online at ActivelySafe.com, visitors can undo simulated damage to an RX 350 SUV with a click of a mouse. On the site, consumers can learn about Lexus' 14 Actively Safe features. "The goal is to communicate the unique proposition that Lexus vehicles don't just keep you safe in an accident, but they help you prevent accidents before they happen," Pisz said. Monster Media, Orlando, FL, created the MonsterVision technology used in the Lexus ad.

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Interactive advertising has come to Las Vegas McCarran International Airport through a partnership between Monster Media and Travelzoo.

The partners are using Monster Vision, a system that uses visual display technology and sound that allows consumers to physically interact with the display, using body movements across the projected image.

Monster Media has two different projects, said company CEO Chris Beauchamp. “One is projection based and one is LCD-plasma based. The projection system paints with infrared light and tracks your movements in that zone and moves accordingly,” he said. “LCD is contained within the sign, where the camera tracks your movements and allows you to move things and interact in real time. You see yourself and you’re actually part of the ad.”

‘People Get It’

The system is called advertainment, said Beauchamp. “You never see people dragging over others to see how an ad works. We wanted people to get it immediately. It’s fun to see people use it for the first time,” he said.

Monster Media is excited about using the technology in airports, said Beauchamp.

“Since 9/11, people are spending much more time in airports. A lot more people are waiting around now, and our system gives people something to do rather than just walk by a poster.

Travelzoo, which offers travel deals over the Internet, is always interested in doing cutting-edge advertising, said Erik Qualman, Head of Marketing. “We offer our travel deals on a real-time basis. We think it’s great that users can interact with our brand in a fun way with Monster Vision,” she stated. “Plus this system allows us to update our deals in real time, rather than just having a static board.”

Using Monster Vision at McCarran just seemed to make sense, said Qualman. “We picked it because it’s one of the most traveled airports with lots of international travelers. It’s the right place to get the message across,” he said. “The airport has people we need — those with high disposable income who want to travel. The ads have a high impact, with travelers remembering that they can interact with our brand.”

Travelzoo is using three large-format wall projectors and two LCD immersion screens placed in the airport’s concourses, said Beauchamp. “The unique thing about the Travelzoo screens is not only can they interact and engage travelers, but they can change the deals in real time from their offices, so consumers see the latest deals,” he explained.

People from all over the world come to Las Vegas, said Beauchamp. “We’ve done things for companies like Microsoft, Adidas and Target. Airports are great because you can use a wide variety of brands to reach these consumers,” he stated. “We’re in the process now of finalizing a few other installations. We hope to see Monster Vision in other airports by the fourth quarter ubiquitous by 2008.”

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Michael Beno from Ruder Finn sent me a simple, straight forward pitch today. The pitch is relevant to what I write about at my other blog.

Maybe he took the time to read my blog and confirm that I've been writing about car marketing and advertising since before Oprah gave a bunch away (along with big tax bills).

Hello Kevin, Lexus launched its newest ad campaign this week in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The safety-focused ads are larger than life, flaunting color, sound, and motion at once, communicating the brand's latest safety message, "The safest accidents are the ones that never happen."

The ads, which leverage the latest interactive technology from Monster Media, allow participants to witness car collisions on huge video displays and "undo" them by interacting with the ads using their own body movements. I've pasted the full press release below.

If you're interested in speaking with representatives from Lexus and/or Monster Media, please let me know. I also have high-resolution images and video of the installations available upon request.

Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.

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Monster Media, a provider of interactive advertising systems, has joined forces with Lexus to launch their newest ad campaign for the RX 350 luxury SUV. Monster Media is using its flagship product, MonsterVision, to make store-front windows interact with passing consumers. Lexus revealed its MonsterVision ads on retail storefronts simultaneously in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco on 3/15. The storefronts are covered by enormous, full-motion ads that react to pedestrian movement and engage consumers in a new interactive way that allows them to literally control the ad. The ads allow participants to witness car collisions on huge video displays and "undo" them by interacting with the ads using their own body movements. The safety-focused ads are larger than life, flaunting color, sound, and motion at once, communicating the brand's latest safety message, "The safest accidents are the ones that never happen." "Lexus is proud to offer consumers an opportunity to experience Monster Media's revolutionary technology and excited to connect with consumers in more relevant, innovative ways unseen in the industry before now," said Robin Pisz, National Manager, Lexus Advertising and Media. "These attention-grabbing ads allow us to really engage our consumers, involve them in the brand, and stress our commitment to style, safety, luxury and performance." MonsterVision integrates rich, visual display technology with sound to captivate audiences and deliver effective branding messages in high traffic areas. Oversized images splash across the display and invoke everyone who passes by to become part of the projected brand message. Viewers are able to physically interact with the display using body movements across the projected image. RADIO BUSINESS REPORT observation: We saw MonsterVision demoed at the AAAAs recently in Vegas and it really is impressive. They've already lined up a variety of large traffic areas like subway systems and sporting venues. MonsterVision really gets the attention of those passing by. This takes the out of home ad medium to a new level, as folks become part of the ad, in a sort of "psychedelic" fashion, for lack of a better word. Expect to see these things all over the place in the next couple years.

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Lexus has launched a campaign in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco in which storefronts are covered by large, full-motion ads that react to pedestrian movement and engage consumers.

Working with Monster Media, the campaign uses MonsterVision to promote Lexus's RX 350 luxury SUV.

The ads allow participants to witness car collisions that seem to crash through the storefront windows on huge video displays, and to "undo" them by interacting with the ads using their own body movements. The safety-focused ads are "larger than life, flaunting color, sound, and motion at once, communicating the brand's latest safety message, 'The safest accidents are the ones that never happen,'" according to Monster Media.

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A Lexus RX 350 will “crash” through the plate glass window of a vacant storefront in San Francisco at Van Ness and Jackson Street over and over, starting tomorrow. In New York, at a former restaurant space at the corner of 57th Street and 6th Avenue, the same thing will happen. In Los Angeles, at a deserted bank where Hollywood and Cahuenga Boulevards meet, ditto. The crashes will occur for the next 30 days.

Lexus is teaming with Monster Media of Orlando, Fla., in focusing on the safety aspects of the luxury SUV via computerized projectors and video windows for the crashes.

In San Francisco and New York, passing pedestrians will trigger a motion detector and launch the vehicle into its fated journey, while in Los Angeles the action takes place in a video loop, since no one walks in L.A. When the RX hits the window, text reading “safe helps you survive an accident” pops up, the words fade except for the word “safe,” then, as the vehicle reverses from the wreckage and the “glass” appears to repair itself, the words change to read “Actively safe helps you avoid one. The 2008 Lexus RX.”

It’s an out-of-home element of the “actively safe” campaign from Lexus, via Team One, Los Angeles, that pushes Lexus’ top-selling vehicle.

“Pedestrians will see an animation of this car as it starts in part of the window and then crashes, in animation,” said Bill O’Neil, svp-sports and entertainment at Monster Media. “In the walking cities, it will be triggered every time someone walks by.”

The endeavor will reach an estimated 1.5 million people in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and 1.9 million in N.Y.

“While everyone else has a safety message where we see cars slamming into walls and airbags going off, we took the position of accident avoidance,” said Robin Pisz, national advertising manager for Lexus. “We want to leave the idea that the passenger is protected.”

Lexus spent $296 million on ads last year, up 4% from previous year, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

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The lights of Sin City just got brighter with news that Monster Media plans to ad several of its MonsterVision displays throughout the city.

Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, the Las Vegas Monorail, and several hotels are planning to house the interactive displays, which will provide advertisers with access to a highly-targeted and massive audience.

MonsterVision is a patented advertising medium that integrates visual display technology with sound to captivate audiences and deliver effective branding messages in high-traffic areas.

TravelZoo and Adidas are among the first advertisers to sign onto the project.

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Consumers are stopping in their tracks at sports stadiums, convention centers, performing arts venues, concert halls, and movie theaters across the country, as Monster Media begins the nationwide rollout of the revolutionary GroundFX system, the latest technology in interactive advertising, developed by GestureTek.

The patented advertising system draws consumers into each ad by using state-of-the-art interactive video technology projected onto an eight-by-ten foot (or larger) floor display, where consumers use a range of body motions to interact with dynamic animation, such as wiping away one image to reveal another.

“Consumers now have the ability to engage with advertising like never before, literally bringing static ads to life and creating memorable and personal experiences,” says John Payne, President of Monster Media, the U.S. company that licenses the new system through an expansive media network.

The cutting-edge GroundFX technology enables consumers to take control of advertising as they view it. For instance, with a quick wave of a hand or foot, consumers can manipulate car colors and styles in automobile ads. Some advertisers have elected to turn their ads into games, prompting consumers to putt golf balls or race around a car track while observing an advertiser’s brand.

“The product is limited only by creativity,” says Payne. “For instance, travel clients can literally bring their destinations to life by adding the soothing sound of ocean waves that ripple as consumers stroll through the visual display. In one case, tropical fish dart around the feet of unsuspecting consumers.”

GroundFX is the only product of its kind to integrate sound to enhance the interactive feature and further immerse consumers into the advertising environment. In addition, GroundFX advertisers have the ability to monitor customer reaction to their ads at any time utilizing a proprietary built-in monitoring feature.

GroundFX has already been installed in many venues across the country including Angels Stadium in Anaheim, California; American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas; and the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The system will be introduced into dozens more professional sports stadiums, entertainment venues and theaters across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

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MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN DOWNTOWN Chicago are literally waiting in line to grab advertising as they push through the turnstiles of Chicago's transit system. Monster Media recently unveiled the first-ever transit application of its patented Turnstile AdSleeves as part of a unique pilot program with Viacom Outdoor. Nearly 300 turnstiles are now dressed with the adsleeves bearing insurance provider Geico's message.

"Millions of Chicago commuters are physically touching Geico advertising every day," says John Payne, president, Monster Media. "This kind of daily repetition is sure to build brand equity." Monster Media is the preeminent provider of turnstile advertising throughout the United States and in 14 other countries. The Florida-based company patented the concept nearly seven years ago, which allows sleeves to be custom fitted to any turnstile or crowd management equipment.

More than 200 million sports fans passing through turnstiles at sporting events each year have encountered adsleeve advertising from brands including Cingular Wireless, Pepsi, and Blimpie. The adsleeves are also found on turnstiles at concert halls, convention centers, and golf tournaments.

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During the season-ending weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, NASCAR fans may have played footsie or batted their hands at a new technology in interactive advertising.

A GroundFX system draws consumers into each ad by using interactive video technology projected onto at least 8 feet by 10 feet of floor space. There, consumers use body motions to interact with dynamic animation. For example, by waving a hand or foot, consumers can manipulate car colors and styles in automobile ads.

Some advertisers turn their ads into games, prompting customers to putt golf balls or shoot basketballs into a hoop while seeing an advertiser's brand.

Systems are already installed in venues including Angels Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.; American Airlines Center in Dallas; and the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

"The product is limited only by creativity," said John Payne, president of Monster Media, the Lake Mary company that licenses GroundFX.

Over the next 90 days, the company said it will install the GroundFX system into dozens more professional sports stadiums, entertainment venues, performing arts centers, convention centers, concert halls, shopping malls and movie theaters throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

"Stadiums and theaters are not just where athletes and entertainers play, but where the world's top brands compete for consumer attention as well," Payne said. "Instead of simply providing a visual impression, GroundFX engages consumers with advertisements in a way that makes them unforgettable. And it allows the advertisers to gauge the effectiveness of each message in real time, and to alter those messages instantaneously based on the audience."

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