MIDDLE EAST
PLANNING WEEK
WHAT NEXT
BIG QUESTION
The floor’s the limit
Alex Saber
Executive VP and COO
Publicis Groupe Media MENA
Nick de Fay, sales manager of LED products for IBS Stagesets LLC explains
why planners should be excited about his company’s video floor displays
I THINK there are some misconceptions
about video floors and what people have
done that looks like video floor. A lot of
people confuse it with projecting images
onto a floor. It’s not that. And it’s not just
a case of sticking a regular LED screen on
the floor then covering it with Perspex or
something. This is actually a purpose-built
floor that can display LED images. How does the proliferation
LED screens come in various resolutions.
of technology in outdoor
The closer together the dots, the better the
advertising affect the job
picture, but the more expensive the screen
of media planners?
is. Ours is an 18.75 mil pitch, which is
somewhere in the middle distance.
It’s modular in design. Each 0.6-metre
PLANNERS ARE always looking
for creative ways to get away from
tile comes with its own processor. They link
mupis, billboards and hoardings. So
together and you can, therefore, build a
we’re always excited to hear about
floor to whatever size you like. It’s a bit like
new technology and new ideas. But
Lego. You just lay all the squares next to it takes two to tango. Media providers
each other, plug it into a computer and fire
need to be willing to be creative too
it up. Obviously it can be integrated into a
and to invest in new technology. And
narrowcast network as well, so if you have a
sometimes that’s not the case.
It’s important, though, not to get
lot of screens around the mall, this can easily
carried away when someone introduces
link into that system.
new technology. Innovation offers the
It’s non-slip. It’s load bearing—it can
opportunity for greater creativity—in
take the weight of a car—and it can take both placement and execution—which
light rain and be mopped clean. So it could
is good for everyone. But you always
conceivably be used outdoors here, although
have to keep the brand in mind and
you need to be wary of the sun. You’d have
ensure that the medium is right for
the client. Recently, for example,
to cover it with a reflective material and keep
with the opening of so many new
it cool in the day. Otherwise it would just get
malls, LED screens—and other new
cooked. But you could use it in the evenings
IBS’s video floor in Dubai Festival City
technologies—have been becoming
quite easily. more and more popular. But take the
The major interest, we think, will come promotional material. So it’s dual-purpose. billboard, for example. Media owners should
floor screens. You wouldn’t expect a
from shopping malls and stores, because For instance, the floor we’ve installed in be looking to sell ad space by time slots, rather
burger brand, necessarily, to be keen
they’ve got the potential to get the most Dubai Festival City is used to stage events than a set fee for a month, or whatever.
on a floor display. Having people walk
all over your quarter-pounder may not
use out of it. It can be used as a point- and promotions, but they also lease it out The benefit for advertisers is that they’ll
send the best message.
of-sale promotion in a store. Because it’s as advertising space. That’s where its major have a captive audience. There’s a lot of
And location, of course, is so
a moving image, it attracts the eye. Its potential is—as a new ambient media. We people hanging around in malls here. When
important. LED on the streets was
uniqueness is the fact that it’s using the could see it being used in the metro stations people are sat around idle—as many are— a flop here. It never picked up. In
floor—which is generally free of clutter— and airports as well. And we’ve had a lot they do tend to get drawn to the floor. And this
outdoor, creativity is most evident
rather than the walls. of interest from events organisers too, as it definitely attracts people’s attention because
inside the malls. We’ve done some
It integrates entertainment with makes a pretty impressive dance floor. it’s so unusual to see the floor suddenly come
great executions inside them. And the
impact and outcome were superb.
advertising. It can be used as the stage for LED is an expensive investment at first— alive with images and text. When they did the
Advertising inside malls is generally
an event—it can do all the colours and for this floor you’d pay $6,944 per square Xmas display at Festival City, it was just full of
much less hassle as well. You don’t
effects—and then, in the intervals, it can metre. But once it’s set up, it’s much less kids running all over it, chasing the images.
need the permissions you have to
show the promoters’ and sponsors’ logos and hassle to run new campaigns than it is with a It’s certainly unique. get outside malls—with tenders that
take ages and cost an arm and a leg.
Logistically, it’s much easier. That’s
CREATIVE PLANNING WE LIKE
why we’ve seen growth and creativity
Rimmel
in these areas, but I think there’s room
for more.
Another issue with digital outdoor
Quick Dry
media is the question of maintenance.
If there are any technical glitches—or
even if the screen’s too dirty—it can
A SMART ambient media
really backfire on the brand. If any area
execution from JWT London for
of, say, an LED screen isn’t working
Rimmel’s Quick Dry nail polish.
properly, it diminishes the entire
Large sculptures depicting the
effect. It’s not like TV. On TV, the worst
polish pouring from the bottle
that can happen is for one spot to get
and seemingly drying (quickly)
messed up. That’s not the end of the
on the pavemenntt wer weree
world. But, out of home, the damage
placed outside Rimmelmmel
can be far greater.
high-street retailersrs. Outdoor in general—but particularly
The campaignn digital—can have a great impact. It can
continued in-store, raise awareness very quickly. So new
with actual-size technologies are certainly welcome.
versions placed on But we have to make sure they’re
the counters. implemented and maintained properly.
24 / 08 FEBRUARY 20099 www.mediaweekme.com
www mediaweekme com
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