interview with Jcdecaux

I have an interview with Bjorn Erik yesterday; he is the market manager in JCDecaux Norway.

The notes about the conversation (B=Bjorn Erik)

Question: What do you think the interactive advertising? How you launch them here?
B: In my point of view, the interactive advertising is dividing into two parts or two different kinds of arenas. On the one hand, we have an installation that main to give responders the positive experience. Like in Bus shelter, we put something that you can touch, smile, look at the screen, with interaction with pedestrian, that is more than passive poster.
We launch the interact Ads only in 2-3 places, depend on what client wants, what available, maybe some central area, like national theater. But it is just very small part of the campaign.

What I find more interest is what we can do outdoor ads with mobile phone, give people new way of using the phone, new ways that remind them that they can do outside the normal habit of using the phone. For instance, we have the posters inside the bus and tube, which is the channel that can talk to you in a different way; because you have what we call “capture audience” there. The community can drive mobile content in many other countries, like China, London, Tokyo, when you have a cell phone, and you use it by half hour, one hour to communicate, you try to use your phone as an entertainment. Then you can talk to the responders.
Community is one other reason that, for instance Japan is so far had, because it is so long community every day, The Japanese want to be entertained all the time, the billboard talk to them, And remind them , that they can download the last episode, perhaps the commercial program just specialize for the tube. Or a trial, a game, and competitions.
Community is very important to learn the mobile users, how they can use mobile phone, for instance, download the recipes, or ordering movie ticket. We also talk about the further Bluetooth technology, we are very positive to have more billboards that have Bluetooth inside the posters. When you pass there, things will happened to your mobile, or you can just logon and say where is the nearest restaurant then you can have a map that provide by the bill board, but the technology is not allowed to use in Norway.
We have two types interaction in outdoor advertising, of course, all the billboard try to interact with you in some way. They try to tell you something. Billboard that you can touch always use in a very small amount, I think, for instance the poster inside bus and tube will slowly be more and more interest for mobile company. The amount of interaction ads production will go a small wave, go up and down , but the amount of billboard inside the bus and tube will rise, more and more people do interaction with their mobile is important for the campaign, the receiver for the ads are also see quite lots of use. The keyword there are entertainment and useful, it is the service that you can get information, helps you, inspire you.

Question: How to calculate the amount of viewers or responders?
B: Some campaigns are calculated by votes; there you can see how many people touch it. In central area, like national theater, we know around the billboard that people go and forth many times.
We have a system to calculate the Average amounts, about 50000 people pass by a billboard, not for people individual .so we say maximum 50% of people (25000) watched it.

Question: What do you think the successful point for interactive ads?
B:First, talk to people in a relevant situation, let them see the solution. That is a very positive way to look at the outdoor advertising. It not like TV commercial only feed you. Solving a problem, or define a problem that you can solve, pay you bill on the way to work, use this… something useful. And also Entertained, people look the poster when they are bored, give them something to play and entertain them are also a problem solving.

The other thing is Surprise people, making them do things. For example, there is a movie Aliens VS. Predator, it is about two monsters fight each other. People can give votes for who will win in the billboard. There are 25000 votes on just one billboard. It is not about what you can do on the poster, but what is meaning is important. Here is not the vote itself are funny, to engage people join this campaign and get the movie idea in vote way is important. The solution is more important than interaction itself.

Question: How you think the competition between outdoor advertising and online ads?
B:I think is very hard to calculate also in the internet, they have the Click. But what is that meaning? Have you like it? Have you understood it? Outdoor works in another way, it is closer to purchase, it is visually, and it stand out more than the web, in the web, everything is popping and blinking, perhaps hundreds message in one site, it is very hard to stand out like outdoor advertising.
We have different role, outdoor ads can drive traffic into a website, and website can take you further in the entrance.