One of the driving forces behind this real and virtual billboard synergy is Posterscope, which announced back in March an agreement with IGA to run in-game billboard ads simultaneously with outdoor billboard ads.

Through that agreement, Posterscope were to place adverts in over 80 video games represented by IGA, including Race Driver Grid, Guitar Hero World Tour, Track Mania Nations Forever and the first of some of these has recently come to fruition. The ads of course are being placed in contextually relevant locations in those games.

Essentially, these kinds of blended campaigns are designed to increase exposure for outdoor billboard ads.

DRUG DRIVING YOUR EYES WILL GIVE YOU AWAY

According to James Davies, board director of Hyperspace/Posterscope, Posterscope began exploring the idea of blending real and virtual billboards “7-8 years ago due to the similarities between real world and virtual billboards.”

However, that kind of synergy wasn’t really feasible at the time, because of the “long lead times for getting advertising into a game,” which was obviously not consistent with the lead times for outdoor advertising.

But Posterscope felt that the synergy constituted “an interesting principle,” and “pursued discussions with IGA and Massive Incorporated.”

Finally, Posterscope decided to proceed with this kind of effort 18 months ago for a number of reasons: -

• in-game advertising is similar to real world advertising, considering that posters in games are similar in shape and size to real world ads
• in-game ads are consumed in much the same way as real world ads
• the creative execution of ads in games can be fairly similar to that for real world ads
• James Davies also notes that “game audiences are complementary with audiences for real world ads, affording an obvious synergy in that regard he says
• In addition, measurement of the number of people viewing game ads parallels that for real world ads*

*Ad impressions generated by such campaigns conducted by Posterscope and IGA will also be monitored through the Internet connections of gamers exposed to those campaigns

Davies stresses that Posterscope is careful not to divert money away from agencies devoted to game advertising, but to “add incremental revenue” to the mix in the process of running blended real and virtual billboard campaigns.

Real or virtual race track billboard

Research conducted by Posterscope relating to blended real and virtual billboard campaigns found that “game players welcome seeing real advertising within games,” – a whopping 66% of gamers surveyed said that “advertising in video games makes the game more realistic”.

According to Davies, Posterscope’s blended real and virtual world billboards are targeted at a variety of audiences…

1. The primary audience for these campaigns is composed of hardcore gamers, whom are essentially 15-24 year old males that he describes as “midmarket.”
2. The secondary audience which is “much broader and mainstream,” ranges from 15 to the 40s and is both “upmarket and downmarket,” with a definite bias towards males though it does comprises “plenty of females.” as well. Davies “sees increasing integration between real and virtual billboards, but there is no perfect pitch yet for these kinds of campaigns” he tells us

The proposition for such campaigns needs to be refined, and “more data is required” to validate the value of those campaigns. Overall, blended real and virtual billboard campaigns must gain “more momentum,” contends Davies.

He emphasizes the need for “more trials” and research to understand better this kind of integration.

Some interesting statistics from the recent ‘Drug Driving’ campaign showed that In Game Advertising delivered the same attribution levels (14%) as broadcast online social networking portals like facebook – very impressive especially when you think that IGA is not (really) a broadcast platform.

Perceptions of in game advertising are also incredibly good – 91% of gamers agreed that they welcome the drug drive message in a game (as previously stated this is we believe because they like that it makes the games more realistic).

Although such blended real and virtual billboard campaigns are still at an early stage, their appearance is yet another indication of the increasing integration of the in-home and digital out-of-home advertising market, and of the need for the digital out-of-home market to expand beyond its traditional environment.

According to Boyer, V.P. of Product Management at RMG Networks, two key factors must be taken into account when developing mobile digital signage:-

• utilizing the right technology
• developing the right customer experience

As Boyer stressed, “there is no single right approach” to marketing-oriented mobile digital signage- a choice should be made based on “the advertiser’s needs” and “the context” in which the mobile signage is deployed.

She advised attendees to keep in mind that consumers have three main expectations concerning mobile digital signage:-

1. they expect context
2. they expect utility and compelling entertainment
3. they expect to be in control

In this context, “the iPhone has completely changed consumer behavior,” with consumers using the web on their phone regularly for such applications as “news, social networking, mobile video, and music,” she pointed out.

SMS mobile signage is best suited to such applications as “sweepstakes, polling, and couponing,” Boyer observed.

It’s particularly useful for “local couponing and building a database of phone numbers,” she added. However, it “doesn’t typically work well as part of a broader campaign.”

Boyer highlighted the positive response to an SMS mobile signage campaign called ‘Nicholas vs. Cancer’ her company ran for St. Jude, which “drove a significant number of donations to that client.”

Boyer believes SMS mobile signage is more suitable for “smaller companies and non-profit organizations,” but has mixed value for larger companies.

Eventually, she feels that signage will be adopted on a broader basis. Boyer cautioned attendees about the challenges of implementing Bluetooth mobile signage, especially regarding technical issues.

She stressed that it’s particularly important to “format material correctly” in Bluetooth mobile signage campaigns so that it “works properly on the mobile phone” utilized for those campaigns.

Boyer also noted the need to establish clearly beforehand the kind of content that will be delivered in a Bluetooth signage campaign.

In her view, video content, especially exclusive content, works well on Bluetooth mobile signage campaigns. She contended that Bluetooth/wi-fi mobile signage campaigns with good, exclusive content will generate higher adoption rates.

Boyer called attention to results from a number of Bluetooth/wi-fi mobile signage campaigns mounted by RMG, including a campaign for the TV show ‘Dancing with the Stars’ which she claimed was very successful.

According to her, Bluetooth and Wi-fi signage (not SMS) campaigns run by RMG for such clients as ABC, Electronic Arts, and HISTORY had a strong impact- on average, 10% of the audience in those campaigns set their mobile phones to “discoverable,” and “28% of that audience” opted to receive the mobile content download, which translated into a “net download rate of 3% of total venue traffic.”

The campaigns utilized Blue Bite’s Bluetooth/wi-fi technology.

Boyer emphasized the importance of executing Bluetooth/wi-fi mobile signage campaigns that generate “enough volume to meet advertiser needs.”

Boyer also addressed strategies for employing mobile signage campaigns based around interactive games. She noted that such campaigns are great for cafes and bars but aren’t typically effective in locations consumers quickly pass through, such as grocery stores.

In this regard, Boyer discussed an AT&T-sponsored game developed by LocaModa, which ran on a number of digital signage networks.

According to her, “our network drove the most in-venue interactions” for that game.

Boyer predicted that game-oriented mobile signage campaigns will become “part of broader experiences with a network effect.”

Wendy Weatherford, V.P. of Marketing and Promotion at VH1, Dan Levi, Senior V.P., Digital Media & Strategic Partnerships at Zoom Media & Marketing, and Steve King, VP of Sales for LocaModa, provided a broad perspective on the impact of integrated digital in-home and out-of-home projects and campaigns.

From Weatherford’s presentation, it was apparent that VH1’s/MTV’s content provides a veritable treasure trove of material for blended digital in-home and out-of-home projects. MTV’s passionate, techno-savvy audience is ideal for these kinds of integrated, large scale projects.

‘The Great Debate,’ a debate program on pop culture that VH1 ran in July, was the centerpiece of Weatherford’s presentation. The program, which married mobile, social networking, digital out-of-home, and on-air interactivity, lent itself naturally to mixed media interactivity and to avid audience participation in bars/nightclubs with its emphasis on such galvanizing pop culture issus as the best band between the Rolling Stones and the Beatles and the best science fiction property between Star Trek and Star Wars.

The program was shown in over 500 bars and nightclubs of Zoom Media & Marketing’s digital signage network, and also on VH1’s digital billboard in Times Square.

Unfortunately, little data was revealed at the event regarding audience participation in ‘The Great Debate.’ Prior to the OVAB event, King did disclose that the program generated over 350,000 messages, 1% of which were mobile. Levi noted that implementing the overall campaign for ‘The Great Debate’ was fairly straightforward, given the all-digital nature of the project. King added that planning for the project took less than one month.

VH1’s presentation made clear the importance of the entertainment industry’s involvement in integrated in-home and digital out-of-home projects.

Such projects as ‘The Great Debate’ add key visibility to cross-channel marketing and entertainment efforts blending in-home and digital out-of-home media, and help pave the way for even more ambitious projects of this kind.

Although the 3D/holographic digital out-of-home market is still in its infancy, some elements seem to be coming together for that market to come to some form of fruition, including: -

• significant technology improvements
• greater support by some industries, particularly the entertainment industry
• lower content costs for some systems
• clearer evidence that these systems can be impactful

3D digital signage has also gained momentum from the drive towards more immersive experiences and greater media convergence in both the digital out-of-home and home markets.

Results from recent tests of Provision Interactive’s 3D holographic systems highlight the potential marketing impact of 3D/holographic systems in the digital out-of-home market.

For example, according to Curt Thornton, CEO of Provision, 3D ads on Provision’s system “generated a typical sales lift of 30-40% sales lift over a 90-day period” and “up to 91% sales lift with one brand” during a recent test at TGIF restaurants in Phoenix”

Customers in the test reported being “motivated or very motivated” to buy products shown in the 3D ads at those restaurants.

In addition, “61% of patrons viewing 3D ads on our system said they would recommend others view the ads” at TGIF restaurants in Phoenix participating in a recent test of the system.

Provision experienced similar results in a test it recently conducted at Fred Myer retail stores in Portland Oregon, with 3D ads on its system “generating sales lift as high as 43-47%” in those stores, reports Thornton.

The coupon redemption rate for coupons on the 3DEO system in the trial was 17%, compared with an average redemption rate of 1-1 ½% for coupon redemptions in the U.S., he claims.

A recent test Provision Interactive conducted with Unisys Japan also yielded a strong response. In that test, 3D adverts on Provision’s 3DEO system were “tied to distribution of coupons at or near the front door of the stores,” explains Thornton.

“The results of that trial were equal, and, in many cases, better” than the Portland and Phoenix tests mentioned above, he reports. Thornton maintains that Provision’s holographic system has a distinct advantage because of its greater cost-effectiveness compared with other systems.

Costs for the system runs from $3,000 to $10,000-$12,000, including the software platform, “depending on the quantity of units deployed, features, and options,” says Thornton.

Provision claims to have a capacity to produce content at a much lower cost than more traditional 3D systems. For example, it produces 30-second 3D ads from $200-$300 at the low end to $2,000 in comparison with the typical production costs of $10,000-20,000 for other systems, maintains Thornton.

He also notes that 3D holographic ads are “much cheaper” to produce than traditional TV ads. Critics have often dismissed 3D holographic technology as simply a fad in the past, but Thornton believes that position holds no weight today, as “the technology for 3D has finally come into the 21st century.”.

The strong commitment of the entertainment industry to 3D is helping propel the technology forward, he contends. He points out that “virtually every major studio has released 3D and 2D films,” a growing number of theaters are converting their screens to 3D, including Regal Entertainment, and “Sony will be soon introducing 3D TVs in the home market.”

One key hindrance to the success of 3D signage systems in the past was inferior content but according to Thornton, content quality will be the key element determining the success of 3D digital OOH systems, especially five years from now, after the initial novelty factor of 3D wears off.

He does warn against becoming “overly enamored with the technology.” Thornton acknowledges that 3D systems are in “their infancy,” and says that it typically takes 6-8 months now to achieve a return on investment for 3D systems, but predicts that ROI for those systems will be achieved in much shorter times as “3D becomes more mainstream and widely accepted.”

Mike Fisher, Convergence & New Technologies Consultant with Futuresource Consulting, takes a more cautious view of the near-term market for holographic digital out-of-home systems. He believes that market is at “a very early stage,” and that it will remain primarily a specialty “niche market for some time.”

Initially, he feels the market will be “entertainment-driven,” with a few retail applications added to the mix. Despite some notable differences, the likely development of the 3D auto-stereoscopic DOOH market has some key implications for the holographic DOOH market, he believes.

Fisher expects the 3D digital out-of-home market to be essentially a “niche, high-end market,” until 2012, when he believes it will gain significant momentum. At that time, “7% of B2B large format flat panels will be 3D,” and that percentage will jump to “30% by 2015,” he predicts.

Currently, the key applications for 3D digital signage are “entertainment-oriented,” installed in such locations as “casinos and museums;” and “brand positioning” content, which is displayed at such “high-traffic locations as airports and train stations,” says Fisher.

“As with the existing digital out of home market, a lack of industry-wide metrics for measuring viewers, and the complex supply chain for digital signage are sure to provide a barrier to growth for 3D deployments, especially in advertising/brand development applications,” he believes.

Fisher expects that “entertainment” applications of 3D digital signage “will gain the greatest traction” in the short term. In his view, the 3D content shortage will be ameliorated in the near future, with 3D content development “ramping up fast” during that period, and 3D content costs declining significantly in the near future, especially as the “consumer 3D market” grows, and the pool of trained 3D content developers increases.

The business-to-business 3D market will also gain momentum as a result of the introduction of 3D TVs in 2010,  and greater production of 3D TV content in that period, says Fisher.

Interestingly, he believes that much of the “innovation” in 3D digital signage in the near term will come from “smaller digital signage content providers and networks.”

Those were key messages behind some of the more farsighted presentations at the Digital Signage Investor Summit in N.Y. this week.

Rob Gorrie, President of Adcentricity, flatly predicted that integrated media strategies combining “mobile, social networking, and digital out-of-home will drive the digital OOH market.”

Chris Phillips, Manager of Meeting Production at Target Corporation, also alluded to his company’s 360 degree marketing approach, combining “mobile, online, in-store, circulars, print, and evolving social media.”

In this new 4-screen world the aim is to “connect digital media connections at home, in-store, in-life, and at-shelf,” as Laura Davis-Taylor, Principal of Retail Media Consulting, described it.

Daina Middleton, Senior VP and Director of Sunao at Moxie Interactive, emphasized the need for digital signage to deliver a “complete customer experience” that exploits new technologies. She noted that augmented reality, for example, enables marketers to offer consumers unique experiences.

The impact of new technologies on the digital out-of-home market is increasing in significance, as many speakers noted. From the perspective of Stuart Jacob, President of Programming and Creative Services at CBS Outernet, digital signage companies must consider that “the consumer takes brands with them wherever they go,” utilizing such new technologies as the iPhone to interact with brands. In this regard, he maintained that the integration of the iPhone in kiosks will dramatically improve consumer acceptance of kiosks.

Alan Schulman, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at UDIG-The Digital Innovations Group, asserted that “the future belongs to brands that travel with consumers” wherever they go, making particular reference to the iPhone’s impact on brand marketing.

Beyond that, technology is playing a major role in “unleashing creativity in the DOOH” market, according to Jeff Bell, Chairman of DOmedia.

As a number of speakers noted, interactivity and two-way communication will be at the heart of the digital out-of-home market. Schulman underlined the importance of interactivity and personalization for digital signage, contending that digital signage networks will be “more compelling if they’re interactive.”

Middleton also called attention to the key role of interactivity in digital signage, which was central to the participant model she advanced for the DOOH market. That model entails affording consumers the tools and assets to interact with brand experiences themselves.

As some of the presentations made clear at the Strategy Institute’s Digital Signage Investor Summit DOOH is becoming part of the broader marketing landscape.

The event also illustrated the need for greater coverage of this new paradigm for DOOH.