A Creative Review: Daft Punk
Welcome back to A Creative Review with James Cooper. Today Coop delves into Daft Punk.
There was a time when agencies believed in ‘matching luggage’, or leveraging the same idea, art, and copy across all media. Back then - this is probably the late 90’s - all media meant TV, outdoor, print, and some banners. 360 marketing was the big thing. Every agency wanted to prove that it had the capabilities to produce a coherent message across different shapes and format. And it was a good idea.
But, without today’s more reliable analytics & targeting, you couldn’t guarantee or track if a consumer who saw your TV spot had also seen your banner, and so the message was often repeated until it got really boring. Eventually, the idea of matching luggage became shorthand for a lack of creativity.
Photo credit: ADstruc
That’s why this Daft Punk billboard is great. The simplicity demonstrates confidence - confidence that its audience already knows what it’s talking about: Daft Punk’s upcoming album Random Access Memories. Further, while it matches the other media in play: wild posters in SoHo, Vice’s Creators Project videos, viral clips from Coachella, etc, it’s not repetitive. It’s light on messaging and big on impact.
Engaging an audience doesn’t require matching luggage, rather a talented storyteller.
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That’s all folks! Want to get involved? Send us shots of the best [or worst] outdoor advertising you’ve seen, and we’ll choose one every week. Just email coop@adstruc.com.
A Creative Review: The Grammys
Welcome back to A Creative Review with James Cooper. Today Coop rocks out to the hashtag heavy ads for this week’s Grammy Awards.
The World is Listening
It’s always tough to follow a really good campaign. The Grammys ‘We’re All Fans’ campaign with Lady GaGa a few years ago was somewhat of a watershed moment. GaGa was at the top of her game, she was the undisputed Queen of Social Media. Kids were uploading stuff on YouTube - genuinely - rather than because a brand told them to. It was a time, and the Grammys nailed that.
A few years later and we have a hashtag #TheWorldIsListening.
I did a brief search on Twitter and it seems the world is not. Apart from a few retweets from people like Carly Rae Jepsen, no one is using that hashtag. It’s not natural. For starters it’s too long. The best tweets are short. They travel the most. But it’s also confusing.
Photo credit: marianne237 via instagram
If the Grammys was on radio only, then yeah maybe. I bet they thought about the ‘world is watching’ but then went ‘no, it’s about music’. And then someone said, “How about just #Grammys’ and some smart ass said that would be too boring.
Photo credit: xaviscorner via instagram
But even with a boring hashtag, they still could have done some amazing work - the promo film with Rihanna is pretty cool. In fact, I bet it would have made everyone concentrate on producing better content rather than worrying about a ‘hip’ hashtag.
By the way, when the band The #Hashtags finally launches, you’ll know that’s the time to pack it all in and go live in the desert.
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That’s all folks! Want to get involved? Send us shots of the best [or worst] outdoor advertising you’ve seen, and we’ll choose one every week. Just email coop@adstruc.com.
A Creative Review: Manhattan Mini Storage
Welcome back to A Creative Review with James Cooper. Today Coop digs into Manhattan Mini Storage’s NYC-centric outdoor campaign.
Play to the Location
As a non-native New Yorker there is something I have always liked about the Manhattan Mini Storage work. A good outdoor campaign plays to the location, and too few billboards do that these days. Perhaps that’s cost, but it’s probably more like laziness.
Photo credit: ADstruc
For years now this work has had a consistent tone of voice - which is also increasingly rare. They are confident, they know who they are talking too, and are not afraid to poke fun at people. Like New Yorkers I guess. As someone who couldn’t care less about religion - I’m not even bothered enough to say that I’m an atheist - but is mildly obsessed with sneakers, this particular execution hits home.
My one gripe with this billboard is that there is a little too much going on. If they want to talk about price or a free move option, then I think they should run individual executions highlighting those offers. It will be a little harder to write a funny line about it, but hey, that’s where us writers earn our coin.
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That’s all folks! Want to get involved? Send us the best or worst billboards you’ve seen and we’ll choose one every week. Just email coop@adstruc.com.
A Creative Review: Clorox’s Bleachable Moments
Welcome back to A Creative Review with James Cooper. Today Coop’s all about Clorox’s interactive billboard.
What Happens in Vegas…
Judging by most of the gas on Twitter, CES seemed like a pretty yucky affair. What with the booth babes and let’s just say a ‘less then stellar’ keynote, perhaps the opportunity to cleanse onself is a pretty good one. This interactive billboard from Clorox lets you do that for all to see.
Photo credit: Daily DOOH
This is not a new idea - Method did a very successful site where you could wash your hands of something you regretted - but it is a cute use of technology and placement. I do like it when brands like Clorox try things like this, as we used to be told that there was no place for packaged goods in the digital space: Go to a website for a bleach? Why would I do that?
This campaign joins the Domestos Flush Tracker, a site in the UK that tracks your - well, you get the idea - as a good example of a fun way to get people talking about your brand.
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That’s all folks! Want to get involved? Send us the best or worst billboards you’ve seen and we’ll choose one every week. Just email coop@adstruc.com.
A Creative Review: MailChimp
Welcome back to A Creative Review with James Cooper. Today Coop digs into MailChimp’s enigmatic SoHo billboard.
Advertising, Art, or Audacity?
You know what? I actually took a picture of this MailChimp billboard and posted it to Instagram. I’m not lying – look: here. That’s a good thing right?
Photo credit: ADstruc
Certainly this is all about the location. Downtown New York is where there are a whole bunch of internet start-ups that are familiar with the MailChimp, er, chimp. And also creative companies that like the idea of an almost non-branded billboard. Not being a MailChimp user myself, I had a feeling that I had seen the image before and couldn’t quite place it, but still thought it interesting enough to snap it. I think a lot of tourists might do the same. Is it an art piece or an ad?
Sometimes start-ups like MailChimp do things like this, just because they can. It’s a show of strength. It says to potential clients and investors, ‘Our shit is so locked down that we can spend thousands of dollars on a billboard on a prime time New York block and not even put our name on it’.
I have to admit, I kind of like that. Happy New Year everyone!
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That’s all folks! Want to get involved? Send us the best or worst billboards you’ve seen and we’ll choose one every week. Just email coop@adstruc.com.
Out-of-Home 101
This article highlights the traditional process of buying outdoor advertising. For our readers, it’s important to understand how OOH was previously bought, in order to appreciate the new innovations in the market today. At ADstruc, we have brought the OOH industry online with powerful tools to help buyers and sellers better manage their operations. We hope you enjoy the post.
Out-of-Home advertising for your business
Out-of-Home, outdoor, or OOH, advertising refers to a broad range of advertising media including billboards, closed-circuit TV networks, cinema advertising, transit media, and even skywriting. In fact, any time you travel, commute, or walk out of your front door - OOH is all around you!
Whether you are launching a new product, directing users to a retail location, promoting an upcoming event, or just building brand awareness, you can achieve your goals with outdoor advertising. You can learn more about how advertisers are using Out-of-Home here.
Advertising firms which own and rent billboards are referred to as operators, and include large integrated firms such as CBS Outdoor, Lamar Advertising, Van Wagner Communications, Adams Outdoor, Titan 360, Fairway Media Group, and many other local and independent firms.
A detailed look at planning an OOH campaign
Planning your first Out-of-Home campaign need not be daunting. The following flowchart illustrates the traditional buying process, including major milestones and the average time necessary to put up your first billboard. To avoid delays, we recommend planning your campaign at least 6-8 weeks in advance.
Submit a New Request For Proposal
In order to find billboards and get quotes, you must contact individual operators and send them a Request for Proposal, (RFP).
This process is very similar to your last home remodeling project. However, instead of inviting contractors into your kitchen to evaluate your old cabinets and countertops, your RFP is a document that defines the goals and criteria of your advertising campaign including location, timing, the type of media, and budget.
However, using ADstruc, you can submit your online RFP to dozens of operators with one click. We work with hundreds of operators across the country so that you can focus on finding the right billboard instead of the right phone number. You can learn more about creating an RFP through our online tutorial.
Review Proposals
Once an operator receives your RFP, a sales rep will identify which of their billboards fit your criteria and send you a customized proposal. This proposal can be online (via ADstruc) or offline via Excel spreadsheets and PDF maps. Depending on the number of markets and operators you send your RFP to, it can take several business days to receive all of your proposals.
ADstruc proposals live online and use interactive Google maps to illustrate where each board’s location is and why it was selected for you. Instead of shuffling inpidual spreadsheets and email attachments, you can compare price, location, and other sales data in one streamlined view.
Negotiate and Accept a Proposal
As with most service proposals, OOH pricing is often negotiable. It’s a good idea to compare pricing and coverage across operators before negotiating a discount. If you are purchasing multiple units from an operator, you may be able to secure a discount or other concessions.
You can use ADstruc’s built-in messaging tools to negotiate with each operator on individual billboards or entire proposals. Afterwards, you can accept the proposal to initiate a media contract.
For an explanation of the factors influencing OOH costs and a comparison against other media, please refer to our detailed help center article.
Sign Contract
All outdoor advertising operators will require you to sign a contract to secure and finalize the purchase of a billboard. The contract will be similar to a self-storage lease and covers the terms and conditions of the sale. Operator may also require a basic credit check for new customers.
Whether you use ADstruc or go direct to operator, contracts are always written between yourself and the operator.
Deliver Art to the Printer
If you’re new to Out-of-Home, printing a billboard may sound trivial, however it’s an important component which affects your budget and campaign timing.
A standard billboard is 14’ tall, 48’ wide, and printed on special type of vinyl. As a result, you must contact a specialized OOH printer to produce it. Most printers will accept digital art files (e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc). Both the artist designing the advertisement and the printer will require production and design specifications which will be provided by the operator.
ADstruc has partnered with Circle Graphics, the leading OOH printer in the country, to offer you extremely competitive production rates.
Print, Ship, and Post the Vinyl
Regardless of the printer, it takes several days to setup, approve proofs, print your billboard, and deliver it to the operator’s installation department. Operators typically ask that the billboard vinyl arrive 10 business days prior to your campaign’s start date. Once the operator receives your billboard, an installation crew will install it the evening before or morning of the start date specified on your contract.
Receive Photo Confirmation
A couple of days after your billboard has been posted, you will receive a Proof of Performance report from the operator. This report will contain photos of the actual billboard and certifies the date it was posted. If you are buying the billboard as part of a co-op marketing program, you will need this report for reimbursement.
Get started right now
In order to get started, sign up online. Our getting started guide is a must read, and our RFP tutorial will walk you through your first RFP, step by step!
Of course, ADstruc always has your back - you can reach our account team by calling 646.692.4966 or emailing us.
A Creative Review: Old Navy & The Gap
Welcome back to A Creative Review with James Cooper. Today Coop compares two spectacular executions for sister fashion retailers Old Navy and The Gap.
Do, Don’t Say
There is a rule we creatives like to tell ourselves - actually for a profession that is supposed to be more like art, there are a ton of rules we try to live by - anyway, I digress, the rule is that any ad should do or be what you want to say rather than say it. There is nothing less cool than saying ‘hey, I’m cool’. You should just be cool. And so here we are with two billboards about brightness.
Photo credit: Gelatobaby, via Flickr
The Gap board says, ‘Be Bright’. I guess it is quite bright and there is a slim play on words as bright can mean clever. I quite like the use of the t-shirts, it’s a good product demonstration - remember the product! – but, I’m just left a little underwhelmed by it. I do worry ever so about the dirt on those nice pastels.
When a Billboard Is Not a Billboard
Photo credit: BoweryBoogie
If literal brightness is the goal, then this Old Navy billboard takes the cake. But when does a billboard cease to be a billboard? When it’s a sign. To some this is just a glorified sign - and an over-illuminated one at that. In previous posts we have talked about getting people to comment in billboards and share content. People are talking about this one alright, but perhaps not in the best light. ‘Borderline blinding’ was one comment, ‘spewing out copy’ was another.
Clearly our job is to sell, and to do that we need to get noticed. This billboard certainly does that, but at what cost?
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That’s all folks! Want to get involved? Send us the best or worst billboards you’ve seen and we’ll choose one every week. Just email coop@adstruc.com.
A Creative Review: The Dark Knight Rises
Welcome back to A Creative Review with James Cooper. Today Coop critiques one of the fantastic promo billboards for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.
Photo credit: Rob Sheridan, via Instagram
Talkability
Will people talk about this billboard? Of course they will. Ok, you have a rabid fan base that is just waiting for any Batman related content - but still there is an epicness (if that’s a word, spellcheck seems to think not) about this that would work even if people weren’t nuts for the Dark Knight.
Six characters
Holy editing Batman! We talked about trying to keep text to a minimum with the mini ad last time. This does that brilliantly. Six words? Nah, try six characters.
Destruction
There have been a lot of billboards destroyed for effect so this is nothing new, but I like the bat shape. It draws you in and is not gratuitous. There is a reason for the destruction. It’s always great to see a bit of sky in the middle of a billboard. I just think it makes people do a double take.
Energy
This is an ad for a film. A moving image, a highly polished moving image that is super-fast high-paced adrenaline pumping non-stop! It’s hard to capture that on a flat piece of board. Yet this has all of that energy. In your mind you visualize a giant bat ripping this board to shreds and streaming down the highway. Crap, I really need to go see this movie!
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That’s all folks! Want to get involved? Send us the best or worst billboards you’ve seen and we’ll choose one every week. Just email coop@adstruc.com.
A Creative Review: Mini
Today we’re introducing our new weekly feature, “A Creative Review” by longtime friend and advisor James Cooper. ‘Coop’ enthusiastically volunteered to share his thoughts on some of the most innovative and effective Out of Home ads he’s seen around the world.
Based in New York, James has spent over 15 years leading creative projects for several top agencies including Anomaly, Saatchi, and JWT where he was the Chief Creative Innovation officer. He recently won a Gold Lion for Mobile at Cannes for the Band-Aid app featuring the Muppets. James is now pursuing consulting, tech start-ups and entrepreneurial projects in the retail, film and music industry.
Photo credit: Coloribus Creative Advertising Archive
Can A Billboard Go Viral?
Pretty much every client I have worked with over the last 10 years has wanted a viral. What they mean by that is that they want to do something that will reach a ton of people without spending any money. Of course it doesn’t work like that. Who could ever predict that a cat playing a keyboard would turn into a cultural phenomenon? The more you try to force that the more obvious everything becomes.
So really the only thing left is to create a piece of work – it can be a film, a billboard, a postcard – it doesn’t matter, but it needs to be so simple and interesting that people feel compelled to share it. If people want to share something they will find a way of doing it. I don’t think this piece is the strongest in terms of sharability but it does have a simple strong message that a lot of people would have found engaging. I would assume some people shared it with their friends.
Is Your Piece True To The Product?
It seems simple to say this but a lot of billboards just don’t feel like they belong to the product. They don’t ring true. However, this one does. The best thing about it is that although it’s a static image, everything about it implies movement. The ropes and the copy are all about speed and trajectory. How many times have we seen billboards with tire tracks in an attempt to do the same thing. This works so much better. It also leaves a little to the imagnation which is great. The consumer creates in their head what would happen if the catapult was released. Anything where the consumer fills in the last part of the story is also great – as everyone will have their own version.
Just Two Words
The general rule of thumb was that if your billboard uses more than seven words then it’s too complicated. Maybe now that’s not as true, as people are more used to deciphering messages at speed, but for me it still makes a huge amount of sense. And two words is better than seven. Of course everyone knows what a mini is so there is no need to waste any time explaining the product – this is pure branding but it’s still brilliantly economical. If your billboard is purely visual then I would suggest that a visual that can be summed up in seven words or less will also work much better than an intricate piece of layered art.
It’s Intriguing
Not only is the visual intriguing, the copy is too. Agrippez Vous? What the hell does that mean? The literal translation in French is ‘Hold on Tight’ – which obviously works in this context. This was posted in France, so it makes sense, but even if you didn’t understand French this works. It has a cheekiness about it that feels spot on for a European brand.
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On to the next one. Want to get involved? Email your favorite or worst billboards you’ve seen and I’ll choose one a week to critique. Just email them to coop@adstruc.com
ADstruc’s blog - we’ll teach you outdoor advertising from the ground up
So the ADstruc blog officially opens…just as we prepare to open our online marketplace for outdoor advertising. As if I don’t have enough to do, I am now committed to keep up a blog – so bear with us as we go through this, but I plan on providing some general information around the industry. We’ll touch on topics like how-to buy outdoor and how to get your creative designed and printed, as well as what other outdoor advertising is there besides billboards (think lamp posts, pay phones, wallscapes, and more). Our content will focus on helping make the process of buying and selling easier and more profitable (hey that’s our motto, so I guess we should do it eh’)
Over the last year we have talked to as many people as we could in this industry to learn more about outdoor, listen to people’s passion for this business, their problems, and the opportunities currently in outdoor advertising, as well as discuss how ADstruc can help. What a great industry with an incredible footprint, made up of so many experienced people. Our learnings, mixed with their experiences have enabled us to build a platform by the industry, for the industry.
I can’t promise you this will be a weekly blog, but come sign up for our RSS feed (coming soon) or follow us on twitter @adstruc and check back often to follow our learnings, our thoughts, product updates and overall, our passion for outdoor advertising.
More later!
The ADstruc Team
