Aap! - Alternative Advertising Possibilities

Softbank Mobile, NTT Data and Hitachi and Dutch smart chip maker Gemalto are testing a new technology that aims to replace printed QR Codes and provide participats digital information by simply swiping their compatible cellphone or laptop near posters or other advertisements.

The first “field test” for the NFC or Near Field Communication, a short range, high frequency wireless communication medium is being conducted in Chiba, Tokyo in WALL-E and Tinker Bell movie posters embedded with the new technology tags.

Test participants will be able to receive and view digital content such as movie stills and trailers simply by holding their NFC-compatible phones (containing NFC-USIM cards) next to the smart posters. Along with the digital content, users also receive an access code that, when transferred to a compatible Hitachi HDTV at home, allows them to view a WALL-E trailer in high definition (via Hitachi�??s content distribution service).

The tests, which are designed to help the companies evaluate the effectiveness and potential of NFC smart posters as a promotional medium, could be a sign of things to come in the field of poster advertising. Should NFC smart posters become cheap and easy to produce, they have the potential to replace the ubiquitous QR (2D) code that commonly appears in Japanese advertising posters. NFC is seen as more convenient than QR code because the user does not have to scan a code and visit a separate website to view the data. Instead, digital content can be accessed directly with a simple swipe of the phone.

NFC aims to provide improved accessibility when compared with traditional QR code because the user does not have to scan a code and visit a separate website to view the data. Instead, digital content can be accessed directly with a simple swipe of the phone.

The technology sounds great, but the added cost of additional tags installation, a non universal platform, and additional required content may limit the potential of this technology.

[Source: Nikkei Net, NTT Data]

More on NFCs

General information on Near Field Communication - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NFC - Industry Forum @ http://www.nfc-forum.org/home

Industry Coverage @ http://www.nearfieldcommunicationsworld.com/

Sex and the City - Integrated Alternative Advertising from aapglobal on Vimeo.

Warning - Shameless Plug:
Integrating different mediums is an effective way to build and drive a successful client campaign. This is exactly what New Line Cinema has done by integrating alternative advertising mediums Aap!Rails, escalator handrail graphics and Aap!Motion lenticular billboards with traditional flyer and poster work in Norway via Aap!Global distributor MediaLoop. We’re excited by the implementation and will be sharing some more pictures, videos and more shortly. In the meantime check out Sex and City the Movie at your local cinema or learn more about alternative advertising.

[Sex and City - the Movie]

More on

Aap!Motion - Lenticular Billboards

Aap!Rails - Escalator Advertising

W

While there are countless  websites providing a creative outlet for review and critique of advertising (Ads Of The World, etc) - Oshiuri (�?��?��?��?�), a recently launched Japanese site  throws something new into the mix.

Besides providing a space for the advertising community to share work - the forum provides a mechanism in which any idea/pitch hosted on the site can be bought and sold.

The site aims to become the creative agency of the internet allowing brands to scope pitches for brands directly from creatives.  Brands can also submit ads for creative pitches and will provide the best with contracts.

Not sure how the site is going to work collectively and avoid “idea” theft but so far there are some creative ideas for brands ranging from Axe to National Geographic that have been purchased through the site.

With pricing starting as low as 100,000 yen to priceless - the venue might be an opportunity for brands to connect directly with creatives.

The site was launched by Design Barcode, Inc - the little design studio that specializes in Barcode Design (Read our coverage on their amazing work for artistic product barcodes)

Visit Oshiuri [Sadly only accessed from Japan...]

“Advertising is a tax you pay for unremarkable thinking.” -  Robert Stephens of the Geek Squad and head of one of the growing number of brands that have been built without the help of major advertising agencies or budgets.

Read more in BusinessWeek’s Re-cap on Advertising and Branding 2007

Outside of our office is a beautiful massive 40 floor wall scape that was just waiting to be covered with artwork. Using common vintage overhead projectors, a set of EVD 400V lamps, and artwork transparencies we were able to project large format graphics to create a fun, professional wall scape.

Want to see it person - visit the corner of Kearny / Pine in San Francisco on week nights.

Up Against It is a public art competition. The winning entry will be seen by up to 2,000 commuters daily on a wall over 60m2. The competition is open to all types of creative and artistic expression. The entries will be judged on your response to the words “Closer than you think”.

How to enter:

1. Go to www.upagainstit.com to find out more.
2. Click ‘Enter the Competition’ and download the wall template, this is a guide for laying out your design.
3. Fill in the online application and upload your entry, alternatively send you artwork with the application form to: Up Against It, c/o Raw Nerve, B209 Faircharm Studios, Creekside, London SE8 3DX
4. Tell everyone you know to vote for you (every vote counts).
5. The top 20 entries voted by the public will then be judged by an influential panel of artists and designers. The winning entry will be displayed on the ‘Up Against It’ wall in Deptford, London.

Aap!Global is presenting @ Pecha Kucha - San Francisco August 29th on the topic of Legal Graffiti and New Media!

Come meet with us and others to talk about design, art, entrepreneurship and innovation.

New to Pecha Kucha?

Pecha Kucha (pronounced peh-chak-cha) was started in Tokyo, Japan in 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture, as a way to attract people to SuperDeluxe, an event space they had set up in Roppongi.

A Pecha Kucha night is an event format in which presenters show a slideshow of 20 images, each of which is shown for 20 seconds �?? giving a total presentation time of 6 minutes 40 seconds. Each event usually has 14 presenters. Presenters (and much of the audience) are usually from the design, architecture, photography, art and creative fields.

The event format has been replicated in 42 other cities, including New York, London, Mexico City and Shanghai. Events are usually limited to one each month per city.

More info @ http://www.pecha-kucha.org/

Download and print the Graffiti Report Card, inspired by Graffiti Critique, that allows you to give feedback to good/and bad graffiti. Just print out the PDF, fill it out when you come across some street art that could use some critiquing.

Wonder if anyone is using these for outdoor media in general?

Related Art / Marketing Project - Yellow Arrow the are project created and run by Counts Media in New York. Yellow arrow stickers can be obtained from their website and placed anywhere in the public realm. When encountering a sticker on the street, one can send the unique code printed on it as a text message to a particular phone number. Moments later a text message will be received with a message left by the sticker’s original owner.

The Yellow Arrow symbol means �??there�??s more here: a hidden detail, a funny story, a memory, and a crazy experience.�?? Each arrow links digital content to a specific location using the mobile phone. As an underground phenomenon, the project has grown a vibrant and tight community internationally, and Yellow Arrow stickers have been placed in 280 cities and 22 countries. Since appearing first on the streets of Manhattan’s Lower East Side in May 2004, Yellow Arrow has been featured in The New York Times, Wired Magazine, Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, CNN and NBC…

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
” �??�?��?��?��?Suica�?�?�帯�?��?�??�?��?�??�?��?��??�?�??�??�?�??�??SuiPo�??�?�??�?��??�??”

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…

Well at least according to research that appears in June’s Journal of Consumer Research. The research paper “An Examination of Different Explanations for the Mere Exposure Effect” concludes that repeated exposure to a product via banner ads generates a positive feeling towards that product.

The research is based on previous experiments that revealed the repeated exposure to a stimulus, even one that is barely perceptible will lead to the viewer developing positive feelings and thoughts to an otherwise neutral object. These feelings can include a liking or more subjective and complex associations such as “fame, truth, duration, loudness, stimulus brightness and darkness.”

The authors hypothesized that banner ads should work in a similar manner, given that “most viewers pay minimal attention to banner ads.”

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