Customers

Digital Out Of Home Advertising on Pole Position at Austin Fan Fest 2013

Zephyr Media Inc. partnered with BrightSign to deliver a high-impact Digital Out Of Home (DOOH) advertising network for Austin Fan Fest 2013, the interactive festival that runs in parallel with the Formula One 2013 United States Grand Prix. The four-day festival – which occupies 12 square blocks in historic downtown Austin – includes dozens of interactive and educational displays, as well as dining, entertainment and live music at every turn.

Festival attendees are drawn by activities for all ages. The event includes six stages hosting countless activities for children, families and race fans, including some of music’s hottest acts, an X-Games action sports zone, food trucks, and F1 race car simulators and interactive exhibits.

“Austin is known the world over for its ability to put on a show, and F1 racing is at the pinnacle of automotive engineering,” said Luke McEvoy, Zephyr Media’s vice president of marketing. “Working closely with BrightSign, we created a powerful DOOH network that reflects that fast-paced entertainment and cutting-edge technology.”

With four HD Mega screens measuring 12 by nine feet and the USA’s largest mobile 16:9 HD Jumbo screen at 19 by 33 feet, Zephyr Media created a powerful DOOH network. The screens effectively target a captive, engaged audience in excess of 300,000 people, taking advantage of extended dwell times, to provide a high-impact advertising opportunity.

For event sponsors, Austin Fan Fest 2013 delivers a captive audience of elite motorsport fans in a festive mood – individuals with a high level of disposable income. Zephyr Media’s DOOH network takes advantage of this dynamic, engaging market and enables advertisers to successfully target this audience.

Jose Costa, president of MAACO® commented, “Last year, the inaugural Grand Prix in Austin was one of the most highly attended, exciting races of the Formula One season – this year we knew we had to be part of the fun.”

The ability to generate awareness and build brand exposure and preference at this and other outdoor festivals has grown exponentially in the past few years – growth that is directly attributable to advances in DOOH technology and deployment.

“We chose to work with BrightSign as they offered the most flexible, robust, future-proof players and sophisticated software,” added Anika Herrmann, media manager at Zephyr Media. “We could easily combine 15- and 30-second advertising spots with still images and create complex timelines around festival events and key broadcasting such as the live race coverage that will air on all screens within Zephyr’s DOOH Austin Fan Fest Network.”

With nearly $60 million spent on shopping and entertainment during Formula One week, and an average individual fan spend of more than $1,500, the Austin Fan Fest Digital Media Network Powered by Zephyr Media provides one of the most direct and effective methods for advertisers to reach a high-spending, fully engaged elite motorsports audience.

While Zephyr Media’s DOOH Network was conceived initially to deliver high-impact advertising for event sponsors, the network will also be used as part of a pro bono effort to raise awareness for relief efforts currently underway in the Philippines, following the typhoon that recently devastated parts of that country.

“There are times when serving the greater good eclipses the need to sell ad space, and our network provides the perfect platform to rally event attendees to contribute to the relief effort in the Philippines,” added Zephyr Media’s Luke McEvoy. “We believe we’ll make an impact much greater than the monetary value of the ad space we’re donating to this very worthwhile cause.”

The Digital Screenmedia Association created a number of 15-second public service announcements that include instructions on how to easily donate to the relief effort. One of those 15-second spots will run twice during each 45-minute segment for three days, displayed on a High Def 16:9 screen that measures 33 feet across. This is the largest screen at the event and is visible from nearly a quarter mile away. Zephyr Media will run the spots free of charge using BrightSign’s players, filling the urgent need to generate exposure and donations to provide typhoon survivors with water and other critical care items.

Key Facts

Industry: Outdoor Street Festivals/Formula One Racing/DOOH

Location: Austin, TX

Integrator: Zephyr Media Inc.

Project: Austin Fan Fest 2013

Installation

• Expansive DOOH advertising network spread across a 12-square-block area in historic downtown Austin
• Extensive network of screens targeting a captive, engaged audience of more than 300,000, taking advantage of extended dwell times
• Four Mega screens – 4:3 HD, 12x9 feet
• One Jumbo screen – 16:9 HD, 19x33 feet (largest mobile screen in the USA)

Challenges

• Outdoor festivals traditionally lack the ability to quantify advertising reach and ROI
• Most digital signage solutions that work well in a small-scale environment don’t scale well to larger screens/venues
• Many ‘purpose-built’ DOOH solutions function well for their intended purpose, but lack the ability to add functionality and scale beyond their original intent
• An outdoor festival of this magnitude requires a deft approach to advertising to successfully reach the intended audience
• Proprietary solutions tend to be expensive and complicated

The Solution

• Zephyr Media’s DOOH advertising network introduces a new level of accountability, centered on its metrics-based approach to advertising
• Zephyr Media/BrightSign solution goes beyond simple quantitative reporting to deliver important qualitative data that is critical to evaluate the effective reach of the advertising campaign
• BrightSign digital signage media players scale effortlessly, regardless of screen format/size
• BrightSign players future-proof the advertiser’s DOOH investment with scalability that adapts easily to future implementations
• BrightSign’s affordable hardware enables Zephyr Media to create an affordable solution for advertisers, with authoring and management software that is intuitive and easy to use

Benefits

• Advertisers are able to quantify the reach of their advertising spend, delivering an ROI that lacks in other, less-sophisticated forms of advertising
• The scalability of BrightSign’s players ensures that content will look just as the advertiser intended, no matter how small or large the screen

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