Aap! - Alternative Advertising Possibilities

We’re please to announce that in the coming months we’re launching in a new market with our Venezuelan friends and partners - Kinetic Solutions.

From MetroVISTA to Aap!Motion we’re expanding our reach in South America by partnering with Venezuela’s premier alternative out of home media company serving some of South America’s largest media buyers!

Look for our work around the region!

We welcome continued coverage on the Sao Paulo Billboard Ban and the effect it has on out of home media. The balanced video covers the topic from multiple angles.

“São Paulo’s conservative Mayor, Gilberto Kassab, put into effect the “Clean City Law” this month, outlawing nearly all forms of outdoor advertising. Interviews with lead singer of Brazilian band, Nação Zumbi, Mayor Kassab, city officials, and advertising industry.”

Read more Winners and Losers in the Sao Paulo Billboard Ban

A few days ago we wrote about the rather tasteless, but effective rural marketing exploit in the UK of a painted field with a corporate logo and URL.

A German artist has mowed a large 160 meter square Semacode (data matrix code) cut in a field in Germany.

From the project website: “A Semacode measuring 160 x 160 meters was mown into a wheat field near the town of Ilmenau in the Land Thuringia. The code consists of 18 x 18 bright and dark squares producing decoded the phrase “Hello, world!â€?.The project was realized in May 2006 and photographs were taken of it during a picture flight in the following month.”

Cute- the message when read by a semacode or data matrix reader blurts “Hello! World!”

The young German quotes : ” With “Hello, world!â€? the code serves as a kind of branding of a digital culture whose omnipresence is obvious, yet whose modes of action are unknown in wide parts of society.”

See more @

Project Website

Flickr Series

Via [Ars Technica]

Aap!Global is pleased to congratulate Chris Seta - Director of Operations on the birth of his newborn - Noah.

Noah Seta was born on Tuesday at 6:14am @ 6 lbs. 8 oz and is quite a little champ coming pre-branded as a SETA.

While we’re obviously joking on branding the new born - What is scary is that a couple in Manitoba in 2005 actually successfully sold advertising on their newborn but after a negative backlash from the Canadian public decided against it.

Read the release and news on the ‘branded baby’ after the break…

Read the rest of this entry »

‘GATWICK Passengers landing at Gatwick airport are being greeted by a giant naked pole dancer. The 9,000 sq m (100,000 sq ft) image is painted on grassland under the incoming flight path

.

Planning officers are investigating whether permission was granted for the advertisement, which promotes a website. The Council to Protect Rural England said that the display was “a tacky advert which set a nasty precedentâ€?’

Expect copy cats to follow suit.

And yes - of course we took a peak at the site…

Co-Core, a joint venture between the Transcosmos marketing firm, the Sankei Shimbun news organization, and the From Software game development agency is developing a 3D virtual world catering specifically to the Japanese called Meet-ME.
Dubbed “Second Life, Made in Japan,” by the Japanese Media, the software was announced on June 5th and is set to be released in a winter alpha. Meet-ME’s main difference from Linden Lab’s pioneering Second Life virtual world is its user-friendliness and sex free environment. The project aims to cater to Japanese people of all ages. The metaverse will recreate the streets of Tokyo’s 23 wards and prohibit the adult content prevalent in Second Life.

Although being initially developed for machines running Windows Vista, the developers plan to expand the compatible systems to even mobile phones. They also plan to expand the metaverse beyond Tokyo to other regions of Japan and eventually other countries. Co-Core is aiming for one million users by the end of 2008.

Like Second Life - the development company will profit from taxing transcations on virtual world currencies and economy.

Not much else is known but we’re curious to know where and how in game and or avatar advertising is going to fit in this model.

Will this system be popular with Japanese users? That will have to wait and see.

More information  @  IT Media Japan

RFID-enabled posters have been installed at the JR Shinjuku Station of Tokyo adding yet another medium of interaction between static outdoor media and cell phone equipped users. These “Suipo” short for “Suica + Poster,” billboards interact with passengers when passengers “swipe” their RFID tickets (SUICA cards) at the posters. The posters then parse relevant information, prizes, coupons and ads to user cell phones in the same fashion as QR, Bluetooth or other mobile marketing communication formats. ”

RFID readers located between the posters. First time users need to associate their RFID ticket IDs with their mobile phone email addresses, using a nearby kiosk terminal.

What’s hot is how well the outdoor prints are directing users to interact with the Suipo points.
What’s not is that users must first initialize their cell phone with Suipa readers.

Very frustrating, but from early reports - there is a high rate of adoption.  Compared to QR Codes and Bluetooth - swiping your phone is very, very easy and comfortable.
All in all - more great stuff for bored commuters waiting.

Must Read Article on Suipo/Suica Posters
” ãƒ?スター＋Suica＋æ?ºå¸¯ã?§é§…ナカ広告ã?¯ã?©ã?†å¤‰ã‚?る？——SuiPo担当者ã?«è?žã??”

Learn more @ the Suipo/Suica website

Learn more about Jeki - the company building the RFID units

Oh yes - you do want to buy Peach John…

Press Release: Aap!Motion: Lenticular Motion Panel Technology
Aap!Motion lens combine the best of motion advertising with out of home placement.

(Los Angeles - California).  Aap!Global, an alternative advertising technology developer today announced the launch of  Aap!Motion, its new lenticular motion panel technology that combines the best of motion advertising with out of home placement.

Aap!Motion is a new communication medium from Aap!Global that creates animated motion pictures through the use of static photo frames WITHOUT the need of complex electronics displays or moving parts. Sequential frames from any film clip can be overlain in a precise fragmented manner that, when seen through a specially designed optic lens, generates motion picture animation to the enjoyment of any viewer.

Aap!Motion aims to combine the advantages and enjoyment of motion picture media with the size and impact of out-of-home placement. Aap!Motion can be installed in a variety of scenarios and will be enjoyed by people in motion whether on foot, escalators, moving sidewalks or even inside subway cars.

Possible examples include placement at airports, malls, convention centers, cinemas, casinos, office hallways, arena/stadiums, subway tunnels, railroad tracks - anywhere with large amounts of moving pedestrian traffic.

Aap!Motion pedestrian motion panels work similarly to Aap!Global’s MetroVISTA subway tunnel advertising platform using the psychological phenomenon known as ‘persistance of vision.’ Aap!Motion works at any speed and is effective in natural or illuminated light, with or without backlighting.

Aap!Motion consists of only two core elements - an optic lens made from strong acrylic plastic, designed to withstand outdoor environments and a printed picture, generated using a patented algorithm to separate, compress, and overlay the frames. Aap!Motion boxes can be made to any size, length or dimension.

Aap!Global provides multiple procurement options from fully finished pedestrian motion panels made to any specifications or merely the lens and printed picture from a customer sourced media clip. The simplicity of the product lends itself to extreme flexibility in placement. Already installed traditional lightboxes or signage can even be retrofitted with an Aap!Motion lens and print material to create a unique animated billboard.

Aap!Global invites individuals, agencies and the community at large to learn more about Aap!Motion @
http://www.aapglobal.com/aapmotion.php

About Aap!Global

Aap!Global specializes in creating and managing high recall, high impact advertising spaces worldwide.  Some of its patented advertising platforms include MetroVISTA - subway tunnel advertising, Aap!Rails - Escalator Handrail Advertising, Aap!Stripes - Floor Graphic Technology and a variety of other out of home, internet and mobile technologies that help client brands reach consumers in relevant, surprising and unconventional ways.

Aap!Global is a division of the Aedeas Group - a global concept development firm.

More information @ http://www.aapglobal.com

Press Contact:

Chris Seta
Director of Operations | Aap!Global
+ 1949 999 2035

Straight from the horse’s mouth, PQ Media reports that in the United States Alternative Out-of-home media is booming

While advertising spending in out-of-home media is healthy, alternative out-of-home media is booming, according to an analysis released Monday from PQ Media.

Compared to total out-of-home, which grew 10.6 percent last year, alternative out-of-home media (video advertising networks and screens, digital billboards and displays and place-based advertising), grew 27 percent in 2006 to $1.69 billion. For 2007, alternative out-of-home is forecast to grow at an accelerated 27.7 percent rate.

“Alternative out-of-home media is being electrified by what could be dubbed a perfect storm,� said Patrick Quinn, president and CEO of PQ Media. Ironically, the trends impeding traditional media, consumer fragmentation and control, advertising accountability and the emergence of digital technology, are the very catalysts stimulating the tremendous growth in alternative out-of-home advertising.�

Among the three segments of alternative out-of-home media identified by PQ Media in its latest forecast report, video advertising networks is the largest sub-segment, accounting for 60 percent of total spending against media provided by companies such as National CineMedia, Premiere Retail Networks and Gannett’s Captivate Network. Spending in the video sub-segment grew 28 percent in 2006 to just over $1 billion.

Digital billboards and displays rolled out by companies such as Clear Channel Outdoor, Lamar Advertising and Reactrix Systems, is the fastest-growing sub-segment, with spending up 55.4 percent in 2006 to $232.2 million.

Place-based media, the second largest segment of alternative out-of-home media, grew 14.1 percent to $446.4 million. ”

Source > Media Week Press Releases

We’re not really sure what to make of Justin.tv - the streaming reality web show portraying the life of Justin Khan 24/7 - but we’re betting this might be something that could explode in popularity. Is this the natural progression of video online? Will “you” be the next Big Brother? Are we gonna see a network erupt of other Justin’s or other streaming video loggers? I can’t wait for a hot girl 24/7. I’ve always wanted a human fish bowl.

Congrats to the guys @ Justin.tv from fellow monkeys at Aap!Global