Today, Target unveiled six massive vinyl billboards in Times Square. The billboards were designed by four emerging artists, and according to Target, “capture the enthusiasm and vibrancy of New York and the Target brand.”

The billboards will come down at the end of October, but they won’t be dragged off to the landfill. Instead, the vinyl will be repurposed into 1,600 Anna Sui-designed handbags. The bags are selling for $29.99 on Target’s website, where buyers can choose which artist’s work will adorn their tote.

Target has found a clever way to recycle and repurpose its marketing dollars. It’s found a way to do more with less. 

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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?

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With the help of Saatchi & Saatchi, Cadbury created a video game to promote its Crème Eggs. The game can be played throughout the UK at metropolitan bus shelters.

A video screen beckons people inside the shelter to play “Goo the Egg.” The object of Goo is to splatter digital Crème Eggs as they rise up a screen. The player smashes the fast-moving eggs with their hands. An onscreen counter tracks the score.

The game turns the dull experience of waiting for the bus into a fun diversion. More importantly, it promotes active interaction with the Cadbury brand.

Games are powerful experiential advertising tools, even in large-scale public settings. The interactive digital games we helped create for Bank of America were seen by hundreds of thousands of people over the course of a few hours.  Here’s how:

The Bank of America location in Manhattan near Times Square sits in sight of the famous New Year’s Eve ball-drop. On that night, a million or more people crowd the neighborhood, waiting to celebrate.

Before the ball drops, people are desperate for things to do. Waiting in a crowd, in the cold, can be boring and taxing. The Bank of America digital game solves this problem.

Within the bank’s jumbo digital LED billboard sits a smaller hi-resolution screen. A phone number appears on the screen, which crowd members dial on their cell phones. The first person connected plays.

One year, the bank promoted its “Keep the Change” program with a game where players used their cell phones to control a cartoon character catching falling coins in a bucket.

Another year, the bank promoted its credit card program through a game of “Concentration,” in which players used their phones to turn over and match different types of credit cards.

High-scoring players got to post their name on the screen for the cheering crowd to see.

Both Cadbury and Bank of America found ways of using games to enliven a part of the customer experience that’s normally dead. Think, then, of the parts of your experience that put people to sleep, and brainstorm ways you can turn those parts into brand-enhancing games.

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ROBOTGALAXY sells robots – toy robots – whose parts customers themselves choose and assemble. Think, “Build-a-Bear in Space.”
The store’s experience begins cafeteria-style:

Children pick one of a dozen different robot bodies. Then they select its arms (possibilities include a claw that opens and closes, a drill that spins, a crossbow that fires a projectile, and a searchlight, among others) and legs (again, the options have different functions: one pair of legs walks, another rides a skateboard, and so forth).

Using a key, a ROBOTGALAXY employee locks the pieces together, presents the child with the key, and escorts them to the “Lab,” where the toy is programmed to repeat a few simple words, such as the child’s name and the nickname given to it by the child. (A ROBOTGALAXY staff member said older children anoint their creations with violent nicknames, like “Crusher” and Destroyer,” while younger children opt for softer names, like “Robbie,” “Robo,” and Skater Dude.”)

The robot is placed inside “The Seventh Ring of Saturn,” which is a twelve foot tall  tower with a motorized platform, LED lights, topped off with a replica of Saturn. The tower, whose job it is to power the robot by using energy from Saturn’s rings, doesn’t serve any practical function. But it’s an important emotional part of the experience.

Staff members get the attention of everyone in the store, place the robot on the platform, hit a button, and, amidst flashing lights and a character-specific theme song, narrate the toy’s journey up the tower to Saturn and back.

Once the robot is fully powered, a staff member uses a USB cable, and helps the child connect the toy to the Internet and ROBOTGALAXY’s virtual environment. There, the child registers the robot, sees its avatar, and can play online games. Based on the number of points the child racks up, he or she can win downloads, such as a new sound effect or eye color for their robot.

Depending on the parts chosen, robots range from $27 to $75. Children can also switch out the toy’s limbs, combine robots, purchase accessories, and read about the robots in ROBOTGALAXY comic books. The stores have been profiled on Rachael Ray, Donny Deutsch, and The Today Show.
The retailer has three locations: Freehold, NJ, West Nyack NY, and the Toys R Us Mall in Times Square.

Those of you in Manhattan for the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & Expo, may want to hop over to the Toys ”R” Us Mall to see it. The mall is under a mile from the Javits Center.

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