Month: August 2016

Have you ever wondered how it’s possible to command more than a few seconds of someone’s time in the packed madhouse that is Times Square, a.k.a. the “Crossroads of the World” and the unofficial sensory overload capital of America?

As it turns out, the answer is easy: Lure the curious with the promise of a mega-selfie.

For two hours on Thursday, throngs of tourists and even a few locals took it up on the offer, lingering on a spot of concrete near 43rd Street and Broadway and whirling around to take a selfie with their own giant images displayed high above. Very meta.

Nicole Kankam, the managing director of marketing for the tennis association, said the digital takeover was an attempt to attract a new type of tennis fan: someone who is younger, someone who is more digitally savvy and, crucially, someone who might buy a ticket and help fill the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. (Thanks to renovations, the center can host an additional 100,000 fans by 2018.)

To draw a hipper crowd and sell those tickets, Ms. Kankam said: “We’ve really got to engage a more socially active, a younger, more diverse demographic. Socially engaging fans is a way to do that.”

Success would be measured by social media impressions, she said, like tracking usage of a special Snapchat geofilter created for the occasion and hashtags like #USOpen.

Not surprisingly, along with photos of visitors came a parade of advertisements: A retractable roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium! Serena Williams! Andy Murray! Lobster rolls! Justin Timberlake! Chef Morimoto!

A square packed with so many starry-eyed tourists and rowdy Elmos raises a question: Who would actually still be in town in this vacation month to buy tickets?

Birgit Caroen, a 24-year-old Belgian tourist passing through New York on her way to Canada, said that she was a tennis fan “10 years ago, when there were a lot of famous Belgian tennis players,” but that she wouldn’t be able to attend.

Still, she and her friends lingered for about 15 minutes, watching their photos disappear and recirculate. That’s the kind of exposure, or “buzz,” that Ms. Kankam said the tennis association was looking for.

The powerful allure of mega-photos like these comes with complicated back-end mechanics, according to Lara Herzer, a creative director at McGarryBowen who worked with the association and another agency, Horizon Media, to put together the project.

Here’s how it worked: A street team of eight people dressed in United States Open gear engaged with visitors and snapped photographs of people on their iPads. Another creative director, sitting in a conference room somewhere, downloaded those photos and sent them to the companies that pushed the displays to billboards for a 10-second Times Square broadcast.

Who knew? Also, how much does this cost?

Ms. Kankam said that the amount paid by the tennis association, a nonprofit, was “hard to quantify,” but that companies like Citizen, the watchmaker, allowed the U.S.T.A. to take over their digital billboards free.

Michael Galkin, a sales, research and marketing manager with the signage company Branded Cities, which leased two of the six billboards to the association, would not comment on the cost of the campaign, but said that talks for a short takeover, or “roadblock,” like this one usually start at about $25,000, beginning with one billboard.

The tennis association takeover involved far more billboards, of course, but in the world of Times Square billboard prices, the project was still most likely a bargain. Just down the street, close to where the Naked Cowboy hangs out, one of the most expensive pieces of outdoor advertising space on the market costs $2.5 million for a four-week takeover.

In the end, among the people who lingered the longest were two Bronx natives: Evelyn Hernandez and Esther Livé, who had journeyed to Midtown Manhattan for a manicure and a pedicure and spent more than a half-hour in the middle of the action.

Ms. Hernandez said she had friends coming into town to watch the Open, and that she would go, too, if she could just find a ticket.

Article Provided by The New York Times

Out-of-home advertising revenue rose 4.1 percent in the second quarter of 2016 compared to the previous year, accounting for $2.35 billion, based on figures released in a press release by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.

Year-to-date 2016 the OOH industry is up 3.8 percent, and is outperforming the local media sector, which was down the first half of 2016, according to an OAAA analysis of Kantar Media data.

“OOH’s appeal with the advertising community is demonstrated by the industry’s strong first half,” said OAAA President and CEO Nancy Fletcher. “OOH is also outperforming the U.S. economy, more than tripling GDP in the second quarter.”

Among the top 10 revenue categories, those outperforming GDP in the second quarter were Miscellaneous Local Services and Amusements; Public Transportation, Hotels and Resorts; Restaurants; Government, Politics and Organizations; Financial; and Automotive Dealers and Services, the release said.

Ranked in order of OOH spending, the top 10 advertisers in the second quarter were McDonald’s, Apple, Anheuser-Busch, Geico, Sprint, Coca-Cola, Universal Pictures, Verizon, Citi and Walt Disney Pictures.

Among the top 50 OOH advertisers that more than doubled OOH spend from Q2 2015 are (in order of growth): Deloitte & Touche Consulting, Amazon, Budweiser, Google, Chevrolet Dealers Association, Chevrolet, Anheuser-Busch and the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene.

“While digital is driving the most significant growth in OOH, printed formats are achieving impressive increases for the year. This reflects the value of OOH in connecting with audiences of all types, because it generates some of the highest levels of reach among consumers,” said Stephen Freitas, chief marketing officer of the OAAA.

Article Provided by Digital Signage Today

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Some of the 330,000 daily visitors to Times Square over the next five months may see an unusual whisky beaming down on them from not one, but 11, of the square’s massive electronic billboards.

Taiwan’s premier whiskymaker, Kavalan Distillery, has joined the thousands of iconic American and global brands that over the past century have advertised at “The Crossroads of the World,” one of the most popular commercial intersections in the world.

As part of its push into the US market, Kavalan’s award-winning whiskies are currently being projected onto the Thomson Reuters Building at No. 3 Times Square, central Manhattan.

Kavalan Founder Mr YT Lee says he hopes the US market will become a leading market for the brand. “This is about telling people Kavalan Whisky is available in the US. We’re here and we’re in business,” said Mr Lee.

“Why not try an unusual whisky from Taiwan that has earned top awards, including the ‘World’s Best Single Malt’ and the ‘World’s Best Single Cask Single Malt’ last year and this year?”

The prestigious World Whiskies Awards (WWA) named the Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique its 2015 “World’s Best Single Malt Whisky” and the Solist Amontillado Sherry Single Cask Strength the 2016 “World’s Best Single Cask Single Malt Whisky.”

So that New Yorkers get a chance to try Kavalan for themselves, Kavalan retailers will be offering special tastings and promotions over the next five months. For more information, contact Kavalan’s US importer, Anchor Distilling www.anchordistilling.com.

About Kavalan

The Kavalan Distillery in Taiwan has been dedicated to the art of single malt whisky since 2006 and the recipient of more than 190 gold awards. At its distillery, a world-class R&D team, UK-trained master blender, and an international whisky consultant, oversee the production of an annual 5 million bottles of the world’s finest-tasting whiskies. Aged in American oak bottles in intense humidity and heat, Kavalan also benefits from sea and mountain breezes and the Snow Mountain’s spring water, which combine to create Kavalan Whisky’s signature creaminess. Kavalan takes its name from the old name for Yilan County and is backed by 30 years of beverage-making thanks to parent company, King Car Group. It is available in 40 countries. Visit www.kavalanwhisky.com/en/

Article Provided by PR Newswire

Today, Branded Cities Network (“BCN”) announces its partnership with social influencing company, Blog Meets Brand (“BMB”) which will give advertisers the ability to customize their Out-of-Home campaign with a tailored, cross-platform social program guaranteed to drive additional impressions across the blogosphere as well as on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

The partnership will give BCN and their clients the ability to promote their brand through a network of over 15,000 high impact influencers across categories and their blogs and social media channels. Impressions are tracked in real time, detailing level of engagement, adding a deep analytical layer to existing OOH metrics.

“I think what we are seeing here is another step in the natural evolution of the relationship of OOH and Online,” said Michael Galkin, Sales, Marketing & Research Manager at BCN. “Giving our clients the opportunity to extend their reach beyond the audience at our signage locations, and have the data to support that, is an exciting prospect.”

“As one of the most forward-thinking and sophisticated media companies in the industry, we’re honored to partner with BCN to help marry OOH marketing with social influencer amplification.” says Eric Beer, Co-Founder of BMB. “The speed and ease of our platform enables BCN to build, manage, and measure influencer marketing campaigns efficiently and effectively to create innovative marketing solutions for their clients both online and off.”

About Branded Cities Network Branded Cities Network is a digital and spectacular Out-of-Home media company with iconic signage in iconic destinations throughout the United States. The Branded Cities Network promotes national and local brands throughout its network of spectacular, static and digital sign displays.

About Blog Meets Brand. Blog Meets Brand is a influencer marketing platform that connects high-profile influencers with brands seeking exposure across social media platforms. It’s a faster, easier way to create unique native content for social engagements and implement promotional campaigns that leverage the reach and influence of today’s top influencers.