The North Face company wanted to promote its brand and increase foot traffic in its Manchester UK store. They knew a tried and true way of getting attention was to give potential shoppers something fun to do, so The North Face created an interactive snowboarding game.

The game, called “The North Face race,” appeared outside a busy train station on a nine-story high digital billboard. A message on the screen encouraged passersby to dial a local-rate number from their mobile phones. Once connected, a recording asked that they use their keypads to select one of three characters. The race then started and characters sped down a digital slope.

After the race, players received a congratulatory SMS-text message containing a gift voucher code that was redeemable at The North Face store. Even though the store was a fifteen-minute walk from the screen, a healthy 88% of those that played redeemed the voucher.

The game ran in October for two consecutive Saturdays. Each day it appeared on the billboard for four hours. During the first Saturday, people engaged with the screen for 10% of the total run time. During the second Saturday, the rate increased to 26%. This increase was accomplished without any marketing beyond word of mouth.

Some brands try so hard to broadcast at potential customers that they forget to think about what people want. In this case, The North Face successfully engaged people and influenced their behavior by focusing on the basics. What do people like? Fun, games, and prizes. Sometimes, it’s just that simple.

(Thanks, Rob Edwards of Canditv)

When you walk into Clo wine bar in Manhattan, the first thing you notice isn’t the way technology maximizes a small space. The first thing you notice is the center table.

Interactive tabletop

The long table appears to be composed of multiple touch screens that allow customers to scroll through the bar’s wine list. What kind of technology is inside the table? There isn’t any. It’s a regular white coriander countertop. The technology is embedded in the ceiling above.

Three ceiling-mounted projectors turn the tabletop into a showcase of digital wine bottles. An infrared sensor (also in the ceiling) tracks customers’ hand movements, enabling them to scroll through the different choices. When a bottle is selected, its image is enlarged and information about that particular wine — such as the cost, year it was made, where it was produced, and tasting notes scribed by Clo’s sommeliers —  is displayed on the table.

According to Hunter Tura, managing director of 2×4, Inc., the design firm that designed Clo, the interactive tabletop was “a way to . . . advance the self-guided nature of exploring the wine selections.” (The architect of record was Gensler and the technology was developed in association with Potion). The self-guided nature Tura mentions is also demonstrated by the way Clo serves wine.

"Enomatic" wine dispenser

When customers enter the bar, they run their credit card with a sommelier and receive a branded Clo card. The Clo card keeps track of which wines they’ve tried and how much they’ve spent. Customers swipe the card at one of the self-serve “Enomatic” wine dispensers and make a selection (think high-brow vending machines). The dispensers, which line the walls of the space, then fill their glasses with tasting pours.  

By integrating technology with design, Clo adds new functionality to conventional fixtures. The table becomes interactive and educational. The walls become self-serve displays. The result is efficient service and a memorable experience.

(Thanks, Brian Smith)

In an interview with Harvard Business School’s online publication Working Knowledge, HBS professor Sunil Gupta discusses why companies shouldn’t buy advertising on social networking sites:

“The click-through rate of ads on social networking sites is extremely low . . . because people don’t go to these sites to seek information about specific products.” They’re there to look at photos and communicate with friends. So, rather than looking to older advertising-based models of reaching people, like static ads, companies should try viral campaigns that focus on active things, like contests and giveaways.

Say, for example, Dell wants to promote a new laptop on Facebook. Dell can pay to advertise and accept that most people won’t notice the ad. Or, they can give away free laptops to several fans on Facebook. The cost of the computers is probably less than the cost of advertising, and the giveaway is much more effective at getting people talking about the brand within the network.

The lesson: Use the cash you would’ve spent advertising your product at customers and put the money towards something that directly benefits them.

The wine company, Carlo Rossi, is holding a contest with a $10,000 grand prize. Information about the contest can be found on the company’s Facebook page. To win, people have to read a little bit about the company’s “legendary” founder. They have to answer a few quick questions, like what’s their favorite sport or TV show. Then, contest entrants have to write a one hundred word essay about why they should be chosen to lead “the Carlo Rossi Posse.”

The contest lets people interact with the brand, generates entertaining content, and gathers information about what the company’s customers like. The approach is more valuable to both Carlo Rossi and its fans, and is more cost-effective.   

(photo via Wired)

There are 159  Hard Rock Cafes  in places as widespread as Bahrain, Fiji, and Ho Chi Ming City. Each location displays rock relics from the company’s 70,000-piece collection (the most prized relic being the Hard Rock’s first  – Eric Clapton’s red Fender guitar).

So, what do you do if you want to see an artifact from their collection, but you’re not near the location housing it? The Hard Rock has solved that problem (in Las Vegas, at least) through digital signage.

In the Hard Rock Cafe Vegas Strip, there’s an eighteen-foot-long HD touch screen called the Rock Wall. The Rock Wall allows visitors to tour the restaurant’s locations and explore the memorabilia collection virtually. A deep zoom feature can give you a close enough look at the relics to see the tears in Jimi Hendrix’s coat or where the paint’s chipping on Slow Hand’s Fender.

(Thanks John. Thanks Kristen).

People don’t want blanket messaging. They want information that pertains directly to them. To provide this, marketers are using more “invasive” approaches.

For example, a new billboard for Castrol Oil in London offers motor oil recommendations, whether you asked for them or not.  

Here’s how it works.

As you’re driving, a high speed camera snaps a photo of your car’s license plate. The plate is matched to your particular vehicle through a database maintained by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Two seconds later, the roadside digital billboard broadcasts your license plate number and the proper Castrol motor oil for your vehicle.

The sign will help people protect the health of their cars while saving them time choosing the right (Castrol) product in the automotive aisle. According to dailydooh.com, the personalized message is only broadcasted for 7.5 seconds and no plate information is recorded. Still, the tradeoff of privacy for personalization could be unsettling for some.

The definition of privacy is changing. Will people be willing to sacrifice a degree of privacy for more helpful, customized messaging?

"Thanks for the recommendation, billboard. Now when should I rotate these tires?"

In today’s social media world, people have become addicted to sharing. They want to share information and opinions. They want to tell one another what they’re thinking and doing. Digital signage can play a role.

As an example, look at what Coldwell Banker did. To promote its realty service, the company erected an interactive billboard in Times Square, which prompts passersby to use the board as a real-estate search tool.

Viewers dial an on-screen phone number, text the word “homes,” and add in the zip code of the geographical area they’d like to search. Soon, house listings and photos from that area appear on the billboard. Their search goes public. Conversations and debates begin. Coldwell Banker is suddenly in people’s heads.

This principle is all about sharing in public. To incorporate it into your experience, think about the choices your customers have to make – especially those choices which prompt discussion (Obviously, nothing too sensitive). How can digital signage help your customers think things through with others?

Travelers Insurance is using redundancy and impressionistic digital imagery to get customers’ attention.  

At the Minneapolis - St. Paul Airport, the insurance company has installed four screens. Each screen bears an identical image – the company’s trademark red umbrella. When the airport hallway is empty, the screens look like carbon copies. But, as soon as people walk by the images morph and interact with them in a fun way.  

The big digital umbrellas scatter into hundreds of small leaves and slowly reform, until somebody else passes by.

If there was only one screen, it would easily be ignored. People would walk by and not notice. By having four screens, Travelers has an enveloping presence. In addition, the umbrellas send the message that Travelers’ coverage is flexible and responds directly to customers’ needs.

The signage is more about leaving an impression than explicitly stating facts. You don’t always have to tell customers that you’re there. Sometimes you can subtly show them. 

(Thanks, Scott.)

Leave it to Germany’s Metro Group to get grocery shoppers to take on a more interactive role in buying Froot Loops and bottled water. The giant retailer is testing a cell phone application for use in its “Future Store” that allows customers to use the phone to scan items as they put them in their cart.

The app (called the mobile shopping assistant) also allows shoppers to locate items in the store and pull up information about a particular product.

When it’s time to check out, the program creates a new bar code that is displayed on the phone, which the shopper scans at a payment terminal. The advertised payoff here is less waiting in check out lines because everything is already totaled.

The store (located in Toenisvorst, Germany, if anyone has a trip planned) is also  testing a wine tasting counter that offers 16 chilled wines for consumers to try out before buying. Slightly more creepy are the two talking, automated robots that roam the store telling shoppers about the various technology and new ideas being tested there.

The cell phone as a scanner concept also is available to U.S. consumers. A mobile phone software program called Compare Everywhere lets users scan in a bar code with the cell phone’s camera. The app then checks the best price at stores in your local area and on the internet, as well as providing product reviews. Alas, information is not available on every item with a bar code and at this point the software can’t be used with all cell phones. Another mobile phone application, Snappr, for use on the iPhone, offers similar assistance.

It’s another bit of empowerment for consumers and a reason retailers should offer something more than price to differentiate themselves.