Lamar Honours ‘Heart Heroes’ on Cincinnati Digital Billboards
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Digital billboards are getting heart healthy in February, thanks to a media effort by Lamar Advertising Company, Baton Rouge, which has partnered with the Cincinnati American Heart Association to celebrate Heart Awareness Month in an interactive way.
The Heart Heroes campaign, which is running throughout the month of February, integrates social media and digital out-of-home to spread awareness about the importance of being heart healthy and to honor those who have been affected by heart-related illnesses.
People are encouraged to post photos of friends and family who have been affected with heart issues – otherwise known as ‘Heart Heroes’ – on either the Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati or The Heart Mini Facebook pages. From there, Lamar uses the technological capabilities of its digital network to display the user-generated photos and names from Facebook directly to digital billboards in Cincinnati. Webcam shots from the digital billboards are posted in a Heart Heroes album on the Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati Facebook page, so people can see their photos running on the billboards.
“This out-of-home campaign drives consumer interaction for Heart Awareness Month in a clever way on social media, and we love giving people the opportunity to share photos of their Heart Heroes on our digital billboards,” says Tom Fahey, territory manager of Lamar Advertising Company. “More importantly, we’re raising awareness for heart health. This is the fifth year that we have partnered with the Cincinnati American Heart Association, and we are thrilled to be in a position to help spread their important message to a mass audience in Cincinnati.”
In addition to the digital billboard component, the campaign’s message is being spread heavily through social media: the Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati Facebook page increased its post reach by 5,434% since the campaign started in February, as compared to the previous period in January. In the past week, post reach hit 65,143.
“We started asking for photo submissions a week before the campaign started, and they flooded in,” says Cindy Betsch, social media manager and artist for Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati. “We have displayed more than 125 photos on our digital billboards so far. Once people saw the photos running on our digital billboards, the campaign momentum skyrocketed on social media. The families of the heroes are sharing their stories on The Heart Mini Facebook page, and it has become a great support group for others living with similar heart issues.”
“The American Heart Association is so grateful to Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati for helping us spread a visual message that heart disease affects people of all ages,” says Lori Fovel, communications director of the Cincinnati American Heart Association. “The Heart Heroes campaign is the only one of its kind in the AHA throughout the country, and we are thrilled to partner with Lamar on such an innovative campaign to honor very special people in Cincinnati.”
Founded in 1902, Lamar Advertising Company (Nasdaq: LAMR) is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in North America, with more than 325,000 displays across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Lamar offers advertisers a variety of billboard, interstate logo and transit advertising formats, helping both local businesses and national brands reach broad audiences every day. In addition to its more traditional out-of-home inventory, Lamar is proud to offer its customers the largest network of digital billboards in the United States with over 2,400 displays.
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke.
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