See how small-pitch LEDs are equipped with the Internet +

By equipped with technologies such as mobile Internet+, touch control, virtual and enhanced display, outdoor small spacing will not only be an advertising medium, but an intelligent interactive terminal. This means that not only will the LED display screen become an "eye-catching" tool for outdoor advertising again, but it will also bring all smartphones and tablets to outdoor advertising to seize attention. Outdoor LED large screens are difficult to approve, and are notorious for disturbing people due to "light pollution." The development of outdoor LED media, which was once a "golden media", has been in trouble in recent years.

Now, the rise and maturity of outdoor small spacing technology is expected to bring the entire industry out of trouble. By equipped with technologies such as mobile Internet, touch control, virtual and enhanced display, outdoor small spacing will not only be an advertising medium, but an intelligent interactive terminal. This means that not only will the LED display screen become an "eye-catching" tool for outdoor advertising again, but it will also bring a new business model to outdoor advertising.

I share an article with you below. Maybe after reading it, you will be more aware of the significance of outdoor small spacing to the entire industry.

Many advertisers are thinking that if more people look at their mobile phones, there will be fewer opportunities to look up, and the exposure and reach rate of outdoor advertising will drop. Therefore, companies must reconsider the advertising budget invested in outdoor media. However, if you look at third-party advertising statistical survey data, you will find that outdoor media is still the most stable and growing market in the advertising market. In 2014, when traditional media were in mourning (TV advertising dropped by 0.5%, newspaper advertising dropped by 18.3%, and magazines dropped by 10.2%), outdoor media grew by 9.5% (CTR Media Intelligence Data). In the camp that everyone classifies as traditional media, radio and outdoor are growing (radio up 10.6%).

The answer should be easy to find: the development of broadcasting mainly relies on car owners and its extended mobile methods including APP. Outdoor media is relatively stable - the pace of people's lives is accelerating, and the movement of time and space is changing faster. Therefore, there should be more opportunities and points of contact with outdoor media.

At the same time, everyone has to face the reality that the mobile Internet is developing very rapidly, and small screens are taking up more of people’s fragmented time and time on the move. This also poses a certain degree of challenge to outdoor media: If people really don’t look up in most outdoor media spaces, will it really be outdoor? Will media effectiveness decline? How can outdoor media survive in the mobile Internet era?

Content creativity + cross-border integration: the way to survive for traditional outdoor media

Faced with the changes brought about by the mobile Internet, outdoor media indeed needs to actively think about how to adapt.

First of all, outdoor media faces the vast space. With the power of creativity, it can become a source of topics in the Internet era and a carrier of mobile social sharing. The case that everyone was talking about at one time was Vanke Eslite’s Fanke Object. However, the source of Fanke Object’s success was outdoor advertising. Therefore, for outdoor advertising, it is necessary to think about outdoor creativity and content from the perspective of the Internet context, so that outdoor media becomes the source of topics. This also requires outdoor media to come up with creative ideas that can become topics, thereby breaking the old model of traditional advertising and triggering users to share on social media and the Internet.

Secondly, from a cross-media perspective, outdoor media should think about how to establish a relationship with the mobile Internet.

Whether it is the establishment of WiFi channels in various public places or the establishment of links between close-range outdoor advertising and mobile phones, the application of new technologies such as QR codes, WeChat, and interaction can enhance the influence, interactivity and media value of outdoor media. For example, in the second half of 2014, Focus Media's building elevator advertisements added WiFi hotspots and added interconnection and interaction functions. Focus Media promptly seized the mobile Internet+ and transformed from an outdoor life circle media into an LBS (location-based service) company. Through the building's geographical location-based advertising platform, it can interact with all clients on the mobile Internet. On February 13th and 14th, Focus Media launched the "City-wide Expression of Love" event, allowing girlfriends/boyfriends to express their blessings in the form of barrages on the Focus screens at each other's locations, making the downstairs of communities, office buildings, and shopping malls become confession release centers, pushing outdoor media into an era where offline means online, online means offline, media is the channel, and the channel is the media.

Thirdly, more consumer experience and interaction can be added to the channels on which outdoor media relies. For example, in a high-end fitness club, fitness members will stay for about 2 hours. Making good use of this time and cleverly planning some themed marketing activities related to the fitness club environment can leave a profound impact on consumers. For example, BMW North District is located in a fitness club. In addition to informing the fitness club of the promotion information of the BMW 3 series in the media, it also carried out a "Looking for Sports King" activity in the fitness venue. It proposed the "Three Challenges for the King" combined with fitness behaviors to attract member interaction and successfully brought in-store sales.

New technologies bring more value growth points to the outdoors, rather than replacing it. Only mobile people have more time to contact media outdoors. Therefore, the audiences of mobile Internet and outdoor media are highly matched. In the future, how to combine it with the Internet, mobile Internet, and big data is worth thinking about for outdoor media.

Use the advantages of time and space to enhance audience participation

In the era of mobile Internet, in order to enhance the consumer experience outdoors, it is necessary to incorporate creative planning so that consumers can connect through mobile phones. For example, Clear Channel Outdoor in the United States released a technology platform called "Connect" in mid-2014, which connects outdoor advertising with consumers' smartphones across platforms. This platform turns outdoor devices into digital interfaces, such as newsstands in shopping malls or airport signs. When pedestrians pass by, the mobile sensors installed in them will activate the device after being sensed. For example, in a car advertisement set up at a bus stop, consumers are asked to click on the screen to obtain more information, and then a mobile URL or APP will be sent to them. These wonderful interactive advertising creatives will make consumers happy to participate. For outdoor advertisers, this is undoubtedly a good opportunity to reach consumers who were previously out of reach through small mobile phone screens at preset locations.

Secondly, it is to combine consumer sentiment and time to create thematic time marketing. That is, based on specific themes, festivals, and hot spots, corresponding theme activities are planned and combined with social media topic sharing to amplify the brand effect. For example, when the winter vacation of 2015 came, Wong Lao Kat launched the charity event "Let Love Go Home in Good Time", booking special carriages on three lines of Guiyang-Guangzhou High-speed Railway, Wuhan-Guangzhou High-speed Railway and Xiamen-Shenzhen High-speed Railway, and successfully helped thousands of students go home during the Spring Festival.

Once again, we make a breakthrough in advertising creativity and give the advertising itself a certain experience. Finally, you must be able to use the integration of technology, the shaping of scenes and atmosphere, and the increase of experience to present content that can be shared by the audience. For example, when Coca-Cola launched mini cans in Germany, they opened some cute kiosks to sell them. There are even small vending machines at each kiosk. The slogan reads "The little things in life make us happy." And many media can do some creativity that combines scenes. For example, media in subway passages can use their spacious space to design some games that can interact with consumers, thereby enhancing consumers' impression of advertising and brands.

Leveraging cross-border hubs to create atmospheric effects

Mobile Internet is integrating with various cross-border content and is an important hub for cross-border integration. However, from a brand's perspective, we must consider its creative synergy, that is, the identity and theme of cross-media communication - similar content should be presented on TV, mobile media, and outdoor media, but different creative ideas must be considered in different media.

Mobile Internet should be more interactive and participatory. Outdoor media should pay more attention to topicality, explosiveness, visual sense and impact, while TV should achieve more exposure and magazines should have more in-depth content. For enterprises, the biggest challenge currently lies in the ability to integrate various media. In addition, outdoor places and scenes must be explored and applied, and the concept of symbiosis with the environment must be more prominent. It is necessary to consider what emotions and needs consumers will have when they are in different outdoor scenes, and then graft them through experience, Internet + or mobile Internet.