Talking Billboard Campaign Breaks New Ground in Interactive Marketing

Billboards Defy Conventional Advertising

Albany, NY — Zone 5, a marketing communications firm in Albany, NY, recently unveiled a series of "talking" billboards across the state that represent the next step in the evolution of today's instant gratification advertising. The billboards promote the agency's client, Clarkson University (www.clarkson.edu).

"We believe that Clarkson University defies convention. So it stands to reason that how we tell our story should also defy conventional advertising," said Kelly Chezum, Clarkson University's head of Marketing and External Relations.

In the past 12 months, Zone 5 has risen to that challenge by creating a series of print, interactive cable video, and outdoor advertisements designed to tell Clarkson University's story in a unique and memorable manner. The "talking" billboards are the next out-of-the-box component in the Clarkson University marketing campaign.

The "talking" billboards have radio transmitters developed by Zone 5 mounted on them, and are designed to entice drivers to tune into a prominently displayed AM radio frequency. What will curious drivers hear? A series of minute-long entertaining stories ("infotainment") about Clarkson University. Because there is no need to remember a Web address, the billboards avoid the possibility that a driver might forget the University's URL. Instead, the driver can instantly access the University's message at the point-of-contact.

A key partner that helped to actualize the "talking" billboard campaign is Lamar Advertising. When first approached about the concept of talking billboards, the outdoor advertising company accepted the challenge and worked to ensure that the radio transmitters would be operational. "We thought it was a great idea when Zone 5 proposed it to us. Naturally, being in this business, we were enthusiastic about offering a new dimension in outdoor advertising to our customers." said James Lamar, of Lamar Advertising.

Zone 5 attributes the creativity and innovation of its Clarkson University campaign to the unique nature of the client's brand, executed by a similarly unconventional mix of people on the client account team. Unlike traditional advertising and marketing agencies that stratify their personnel by job function, Zone 5 accepts that great ideas can come from anyone in the room. For example, the agency's Chief Technology Officer, who oversees Zone 5's IT systems, is a short-wave ham radio operator who contributed his personal expertise on short-wave radio frequency to the talking billboard campaign.