Posterplus, in partnership with Dynamax, has taken the concept one step further, installing a large-scale digital billboard at Braehead shopping and leisure centre, near Glasgow, on behalf of media owner PosterPlus.

The billboard - a 4m x 2.5m-high resolution LED screen - is mounted on a monopole in a prominent position by the shopping centre's entrance and shows a variety of advertising from on-site retailers, such as Ikea.

Posterplus managing director Gavin Hollywood says: "With an annual footfall of more than 20 million people, Braehead is a prime site for advertisers. We therefore recognised that this was an ideal location for a 'digital poster', which could be used to target consumers with messages from a wide variety of brands."

Posterplus then turned to Dynamax as its technology partner due to its pedigree in the outdoor advertising sector. Dynamax director and head of sales and marketing, Chris Frampton, says: "I believe that 2007 will be the year that digital billboards become mainstream. They are now springing up all over the world and media owners, such as Posterplus, are determined to exploit the opportunities thrown up by 'Advertising 2.0' (the next generation of advertising). There is a demand for solutions that offer a return on investment and Dynamax is ideally placed to help network owners to make the most of this boom."

ScreenFX announced earlier this year that it will supply digital flat-screen networks to the top centres in Land Securities' portfolio, including in Glasgow, Liverpool, Sunderland, London and Aberdeen.

"This is a significant win not just for ScreenFX but also for the advertising industry," says Chris Green, head of commercial services at ScreenFX. "Moving our consumer footfall to approximately three-quarters-of-a-billion per annum provides our media-buying partners with the level of critical mass they are looking for.

"Advertisers can adopt our network to target the groups they need to reach in a very cost-effective manner."

Jo Morris, commercialisation manager in the retail division at Land Securities, says: "We own and manage one of the largest retail portfolios in the UK, with more destinations currently in development. Therefore, in creating a digital screen network, it was imperative that we found a partner with the capacity to deliver solutions to meet the differing needs of our retail centres, both now and in the future. ScreenFX demonstrated that it was a company that could help us achieve our ambitions and we are very much looking forward to working with the team."

ScreenFX has also launched a new initiative to maximise the exposure of any promotional campaign by running dual promotions incorporating mall promotions/RMUs and ScreenFX's InfoPods. "By running adverts on the infopods in the run up to an on-mall promotion," explains Green, "advertisers can raise awareness of the activity and drive consumers back into the mall for the campaign. For example, Dyson invested in an on-mall promotion campaign at the Victoria Centre, Nottingham. To support this, Screen FX ran content on the InfoPod screens advertising the activity to increase awareness and drive footfall to the campaign."

Screen door opens

ADtech.DSN has developed a unique product that has the power to project electronic animation on large format holographic screens within shopping centres. The flexible signage offers a cheaper alternative to the traditional billboard, which suffers from high manpower costs, and is currently operating in 15 centres throughout the UK, including Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh and London's Trocadero.

Managing director Craig Rossiter believes ADtech.DSN can capture a third of the UK mall market within the next two years. "Our product is new, dynamic and completely cost-effective in comparison to other advertising products," he says.

"It is essentially an electronic poster that delivers advertising on a large format digital screen within shopping malls. The technology is so extensive that the advertising potential is endless. Users can display and instantly update product messages themselves from a host computer so each advert can be changed to a specific offer for that day only.

"Some people are still happy hiring three men and a van to paste a poster on to a billboard, but we can deliver the same service from as little as £200 a month, with a flexibility that allows the client to change its message with the click of a button."

Contacts

Posterplus: http://www.posterplus.co.uk

Dynamax: http://www.dynamax.co.uk

ScreenFX: http://www.screenfxplc.com

ADtech.DSN: 01506 498546

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend