Maximizing Out-of-Home Impact with Billboard Extensions
The Project X Newsletter: Volume XXIX
As we celebrate President's Day weekend, take a few minutes to read about some great leaders of our past, such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln - it's amazing what history can teach us. We took a look back at George Washington’s life and specifically the time when he began to command the Continental Army in 1775. It is absolutely incredible how he took a “loosely and poorly coordinated band of militias and citizen-soldiers” from the 13 colonies and turned them into a fighting force that defeated a powerful British army.
The Continental Army he inherited had no set protocols for transporting and feeding troops, supplying troops with ammunition, or making battlefield decisions. Despite what he was handed, Washington organized his troops into divisions and encouraged morale. His attention to supplies, logistics, and training were key to the success of the Continental Army. He took a professional approach to managing the details of his task, ultimately winning a war.
If Washington were alive today we could see him being one of the great management gurus. It goes to show how creating a plan and managing the details are important in both business and life.
Read more about George Washington here: mountvernon.org
Moynihan Train Hall
While on the topic of history, last month on the morning of January 1st, the new Moynihan Train Hall officially opened its doors to the public, marking a historic day in New York City Transportation. The redesign of the iconic Farley Post Office successfully blends the best of the past with the future of New York’s West Side, through a classic and contemporary style. The train hall will be a mixed-use facility housing Amtrak, LIRR, and subway riders connecting to the West Side of Manhattan, as well as commercial office space and high-end retail & restaurants. And with all the great new venues of the future, comes great new signage! Moynihan will offer a mix of brand new digital & static opportunities for brands to take advantage of, reaching a highly sought after audience of upscale commuters, locals, and tourists alike. The main concourse features four 200’ wide, 4mm pixel pitch screens, with direct exposure to main tracks, retail, restaurants, and Amtrak / LIRR Lounges. Additionally, there will be main entrance/exit screens, staircase landing spectaculars, digital ad ribbons (adjacent to track information), vertical column displays, and backlit lightbox dioramas throughout the main concourse and retail areas. The wide variety of placements will allow brands to either fully dominate the venue, or simply saturate specific areas of interest depending on their goals/objectives.
Out-of-Home Spotlight: Billboard Extensions
Billboard Extensions are embellishments to static billboards that allow you to utilize the space surrounding your billboard. You can either make your billboard larger in height and width or have certain elements of your design extend past the face of your billboard. For example, depending on the market and location, you can potentially extend a 14’ high x 48’ wide billboard to 19’ high x 52’ wide! Talk about impact! Creating a larger rectangular space for your creative team will win you kudos but where we feel extensions really shine is when design elements extend off the face of your billboard. Check out the examples below and please reach out to us to discuss incorporating extensions into your next billboard buy.
Campaign Freeze Frame
News & Views
The 3-Word Billboard That Launched One Of America’s Fastest-Growing Tech Companies (via Forbes)
The CEO of Twilio wanted to reach executive decision-makers who knew little about his company. He bought a billboard in San Francisco and then it took months to develop the perfect copy. Read the article to see how the story played out.
The Evolution of Street Art (via Creative Review)
Street art has crossed into the mainstream in more ways than one. As one example, a street artist is suing a large corporation for copying their work. As street culture evolves, these street artists are collaborating with major brands and commissioning their work for a new generation of art buyers.
Aunt Jemima Is Now Officially the Pearl Milling Company (via Adweek)
The pancake and syrup brand has been officially rebranded after 100 years to remove the racial stereotype. Changes to the brand have been made over the years but it just was not enough so the complete rebranding was undertaken with inclusivity in mind.
