Media Interaction Goes Offline and into the Outdoors
Over the last two days, two different types of interactive billboards have come to my attention. One bus stop billboard advertisement for Vitamin Water, which allows users to charge their phones using a USB port under the guise the drink gives you alternative energy. Another ad, from Australia and promoting the Sun Smart Cancer Council Western Australia, offers passersby free sunscreen. These ads show an incredible use of interactivity and neither of them involve a screen!
This interesting blog post from Razorfish’s scatter/gather discusses how typical digital/interactive approaches are making their way into print and other platforms, and how it affects the digital content strategist. The author points to the increased use of QR codes in print magazines, Wired Magazine’s web-inspired layout and Yahoo!’s Bus Stop Derby promotion where San Franciscans played games with people waiting at other bus stops across the city.
Since traditional media is creating real-world interactive experiences, this offers a great time for the online world to understand these different communication worlds and, as the author says: “start thinking about handoff opportunities, places where our work can pass the baton.”
I feel lucky to have a basic understanding of international TV program distribution, broadcasting strategies and TV series production works as it translates into being able help television show producers effectively create digital media entertainment for their linear experiences.
By wanting to learn how other medias communicate in your industry, you could help eliminate silos and create the next cross-media experiences that reach out to audiences in a new and interactive way.