What Happened
In an interesting case of digital out-of-home campaigns, Apotek Hjärtat, a Swedish pharmaceutical company, commissioned an anti-smoking billboard at a popular smoking spot in Stockholm. Equipped with hidden smoke detectors, the man featured on the billboard screen would start coughing loudly when the billboard detects cigarette smoke.
What Brands Need To Do
While it is debatable whether it is ethical or effective to encourage people to quit smoking by publicly shaming them, this digital billboard serves as the latest example of how sensor-laden billboards may transform the OOH ads. Similarly, a company in Japan has started testing camera-equipped billboards that can recognize the car models driving by and serve up targeted ads accordingly. According to a recent research from PQ Media, global OOH advertising revenue grew 6.2% in 2016 to $49.23 billion, with DOOH claiming most of the revenue growth. More brands should look for new ways to bring some interactivity and customizations to digital outdoor ads.
Source: PSFK
Header image courtesy of Apotek’s YouTube video
