One of the biggest trends in experiential marketing in recent times has been the transformation of ordinary billboards into interactive, two-way brand experiences.
Numerous big names have added their unique twist to this long-established advertising platform, yet new activations continue to pop up, showing just how much creative potential remains.
To celebrate WestJet’s new nonstop flights from Toronto to Belize, Belize Tourism Board created a truly inspiring stunt. In the middle of Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto, Canada, a custom-made Belizean drum was installed and connected to a large billboard.
Surprised passersby were invited to play the bespoke drum which used built-in software to measure decibels from the instrument, which determined the speed a video of a dancing boy played in real time. This amusingly created the illusion that the harder partakers hit the drum, the faster the boy would dance on the huge screen.
Adding extra excitement to the stunt and positioning itself as a company that likes to give back to customers, Belize Tourism Board gave one lucky drummer a free flight to Belize. But to ensure it included those unable to attend the live activation, it also ran a competition on its social channels that encouraged the use of hashtags for a chance to win another free flight – prompting plenty of conversation and social buzz.
This was the world’s first drum-controlled billboard and the successful activation saw a total of 900 people take part. It’s essence made perfectly sharable video content, as well as a Facebook Live stream throughout the course of the two-day campaign that gained over 18,000 views.
This playful use of a billboard reminds us of KitKat’s bus stop dance challenge, as well as the chocolate brand’s staring contest activation. All took an out-of-the-box idea and made it a reality thanks to the use of cutting-edge technology – providing consumers with fun experiences that are destined to be recollected fondly for many years to come.