Lines of engagement

Originating from the need to convey messages to people who were largely illiterate, it is believed that the oldest known billboard was posted in the Egyptian city of Thebes over 3,000 years ago—offering a reward for the capture of a runaway slave.

Throughout Europe, before the late 1700s, what may be considered as the predecessor of the modern billboard was billposting, which was used simply as a means of imparting informal information rather than advertising as we know it. With the invention of lithography in the late eighteenth century, billboards developed into an art form—the first art poster being a playbill created in 1871 by Englishman Frederick Walker. The first large scale use of billboards as advertising tools were as circus posters, secured or printed onto horse-drawn wagons.

During the early 1900s, electric billboards were introduced into cities and in the late 1920s, with more people buying motor cars and travelling greater distances, billboard advertising expanded in order to reach a wider audience. Art and design changed to reflect the mood of the times and embrace new technologies, an evolution that continues today with innovative solutions such as scented, ‘living’ and viral billboards, as well as print and digital options, which are still the most widely used.

The pros and cons

So, what are the relative strengths and weaknesses of these two popular formats? The main advantage of digital is that, with its brightness, colour and movement, it is almost impossible to ignore.

“If you provide motion it creates a greater opportunity for communication as the movement itself attracts more attention,” explains Mungo Knott, insight director of Primesight.

Digital billboards provide the flexibility to display multiple messages, which can be changed quickly and easily if important facts change, such as the date of an advertised event.

They can also be customised so that messages are specifically relevant to the time of day or changing situation in which they are shown.

However, on the downside, a digital billboard may have to be shared with other advertisers and, because ads rotate quite quickly, yours may not always be seen. In addition, although there are no production costs other than for artwork and design, they do tend to be a more expensive option than traditional print.

While print billboards are a known quantity and low-tech, you do get exclusivity and your message is on view constantly. Furthermore, static displays can accommodate vertical and lateral copy extensions and other embellishments to create dramatic two- and three-dimensional effects.

Conversely, print has been shown to have a lower memory recall than digital and if located near a competing digital billboard, its message will certainly be overshadowed.

“Print has always been a classic backdrop to our landscape. The sheer size of print billboards gives strength to powerful communication,” says Knott.

An example of that power is Clear Channel’s ‘Cromination’. Located on London’s Cromwell Road, it is the longest continuous advertising display in the UK at 200ft/75m in length, made up of six consecutive back-lit 96-sheet billboards.

“The strengths of ‘traditional’ billboards have long been established. They deliver a strong broadcast branding message to a high quality audience of mobile connected consumers,” summarises marketing director of JC Decaux Aiport UK, Steve Cox, adding: “What digital screens add is flexibility. As yet they may not provide quite the same degree of UK-wide coverage, but in key hub locations such as airports, rail stations, or shopping centres they add extra engagement for this desirable audience. Messages can be tailored to be relevant in terms of time and location—and can be updated ‘live’ if this is appropriate.”

Singular options

While advertisers are increasingly embracing digital and frequently using a combination of print and digital for their campaigns, I posed the question whether there were instances where one or other format would be recommended exclusively.

Cox believes there will always be a demand for cost-effective high coverage campaigns, where print would be the preferred medium, suggesting: “For advertising that reaches the core market quickly in appropriate locations with a simple, memorable branding message—the sort of advertising that used to be seen more often on TV, but is now harder and more costly to achieve in a more fragmented TV landscape.”

The case for digital only would be where there is a requirement for a tighter time-frame for communication.
“If a level of interactivity is required, digital is much easier and more dynamic,” comments Knott.

And Cox concurs, commenting: “At its best, digital out-of-home is about tailored relevant messaging in key ‘contained’ locations. It’s ideal for advertisers who wish to communicate with consumers who have a little more time to engage with their message, and who welcome the fact that it taps into where they are and what they’re thinking at that precise moment.”

While we tend to think of digital engagement being used largely in a more frivolous and light-hearted way to generate sales or footfall, their use to engage and reinforce a serious message, with a very strong call to action, can be equally effective.

The National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) recently used an interactive billboard campaign at Euston Station to raise awareness about how people can intervene to help put a stop to domestic violence. The campaign, run on JC Decaux’s large format e-motion screens, encouraged passers-by to get involved in the advert by controlling the scene using their mobile phone.

Created by JWT London and produced by Grand Visual, ‘Drag Him Away’ featured an abusive domestic situation between a man and a woman with the call to action ‘Use your phone to stop this now. Go to ncdv.org.uk/stop and drag him away’. Users could either enter the web address or scan on the featured QR code to start interacting immediately. The participant was able to control the characters by dragging the man away from the woman and onto an adjacent billboard. The screens then synchronise to urge people to report any domestic violence situations to the NCDV so they can intervene on the victim’s behalf.

It was the first time that e-motion screens had run user controlled content. It was also the launch campaign for Grand Visual’s Agent platform which enables mobile and digital out of home interaction. The five-screen execution is supported by four additional e-motion screens plus D6 formats featuring QR codes that take the user to the website to activate their phone as the remote control.

“This engaging advert perfectly demonstrates the way in which NCDV helps victims of domestic violence, namely, we can put distance between them and their abuser. It encourages people to call the NCDV and start the process of securing an injunction against the abuser,” counsels chief executive officer of NCDV, Steve Connor.

Emerging trends

The growth of digital is one of the drivers of the medium, with more outside and internal digital sites being developed. Outside advertising expenditure on digital is increasing—some 17 percent of out-of-home advertising (OOH) spend is now on digital.

With Primesight set to put 100 screens into cinema foyers across the country, Knott says, “Digital is the fastest growing sector with some advertisers using exclusively digital media while others are using it in combination with print as part of their overall OOH communications.”

JC Decaux has seen advertisers increasingly looking to build on the success of digital to incorporate extra interactivity and involvement.

“A major focus at the present time is on investigating how best to connect screens and mobile devices to turn what was once exclusively an ‘advertiser monologue’ into more of a digital conversation between consumer and brand. Currently the technologies involved are QR codes and Near Field Communication (NFC), ” Cox explains.

NFC and QR technologies were used by Primesight for the EA Games Battlefield 3 campaign, which the company claims was a media first. The campaign was designed to be highly impact and create a ‘buzz’ in the crowded gaming market.

“It utilised the sites we have around Waterloo station to get a domination effect to make the campaign unmissable,” says Knott.

As well as NFC technology and QR Codes, the campaign used a unique wifi network, built specifically for the campaign. Passers-by were able to interact with the billboards at  touchpoints next to the panels and download an exclusive trailer for the game.

Clear Channel’s marketing director Emma Newman says that the company has experienced a step-change first hand at Clear Channel with 2011 being the year of exponential growth in technology-enabled advertising being used by clients and agencies.

“Recent research tells us the number of UK shoppers who own a smartphone is now a staggering 51 percent and this figure is set to rise to 72 percent by year end. So the average consumer is armed or soon will be armed with the technology needed to engage with interactive advertising whilst out-of-home. The last few months at Clear Channel have seen the likes of the UK's first motion recognition research in out-of-home launched in partnership with Kinetic and 3D Exposure and this has since been used commercially,” says Newman.

Clear Channel has also worked with Plan UK to deliver a UK media first—facial recognition combined with touch screen and sound. More than 27,000 people interacted with this advert at a bus stop on Oxford Street.
“Again, this highlights the appetite amongst both brands and consumers for this kind of interactive advertising,” Newman concludes.

The rapid growth of the digital market, driven by constant development and enhancement of the technology behind it, has opened up a huge range of advertising options that really engage and create dialogue with their target audience. Sometimes, as in the case of augmented reality, this literally draws the public into the advertisement. So the diversity of opportunities to create an effective and memorable message are far ranging. However, the print billboard still very much has a place in the scheme of things, especially in terms of domination by size, which can be particularly effective in major roadside locations. The combined effect of both print and digital used creatively has the potential to generate really memorable advertising campaigns.