WindowGain, based in Newton, MA., has developed a unique model around outdoor video billboards. They have gathered ideas from event/staging companies, digital signage networks, retail displays, and billboard ad sales, then greatly extended the practices and technology to create a first of it’s kind network of large-scale daylight-visible video billboards. There are lessons here for everyone in the marketing, exhibit, and advertising industries.
The opportunity: WindowGain realized there are plenty of empty storefront windows around the country that create inexpensive opportunities to place content in busy public locations. They needed a way to get great quality content on those surfaces, keep them constantly changing, and keep the costs reasonable.
The technology: They needed very bright images and a system of distributing content to multiple locations. Similar to the edge-blending techniques that are being used for large scale video projection at corporate events, they created their own blending and warping technology that allows them to combine multiple video projectors to seamlessly produce massive High-Definition images with twice the light output of any single projector on the market. Arrays of smaller projectors have other big advantages: They tend to be cheaper to buy and maintain than big single projectors and they require a fraction of the projection distance so they can fit in tight storefront window-sized spaces. Once they had the image projection problem solved, they created their own digital signage software that allows them to distribute content to all the signs in their network. Similar to the big signage platforms, they can mix media – video, flash, powerpoint, and live feeds – and combine different content types onto one screen. They can tailor the content by time of day, day of week, time of year, and location. It sounds like a very comprehensive solution.
The most popular storefront signage solution that I have seen uses see-through holographic screens, which do not block the windows for visitors trying to look through the window. But they tend to be small screens, since most holographic screens are only available in smaller sizes, and because they are semi-transparent, they can look quite cluttered if the area behind the screen is brightly lit. WindowGain has solved these issues by targeting windows that no one uses anyway and using solid screen materials.
Content creation: While they accept content from automatic feeds and from customer’s agencies, they also produce content for customers upon request. Their ability to automatically receive and publish content from data feeds also means that these displays can provide information such as news, stocks, weather, and scores that viewers will appreciate in return for having to look at the big advertisements.
The result: They have created a network of high profile high quality digital signage opportunities that they sell to advertisers – local, national, and global. They have also taken dull empty windows and filled them with brilliant images, breathing life into a busy business district. This is a great story about finding ways to reach people, overcoming technical obstacles, and delivering something attractive in place of emptiness.
I suspect the people from this thread will have something to say about the possibility of lots of big video displays around the city, but I personally love the idea. I think that as long as they can maintain a minimum level of visual quality and appropriateness for a public space, and mix it up with artistic elements that people find attractive, then the lack of precision targeting will be forgiven and the visual improvement to the area much appreciated.
Tags: Advertising, Displays, Signage
I recently saw one of the “video billboards” in the downtown crossing area. It’s absolutely amazing. Like nothing I have ever seen before. Keep up the good work!!!
The sign down on Landsdowne Street really caught my eye. What an excellent idea!
As a building owner, this seems to be an excellent proposition to capitalize on unused window space and share in the revenues. Great idea. Great technology.
As a professional in the advertising and marketing industry, I absolutely admire Window Gain’s creativity in media planning. They recognized an opportunity to reach customers from a new communication channel and proceeded to hit a home run with their business model.
The graphics are absolutely amazing. Nothing else currently available compares to it. It completely captivates viewers.
Fantastic, these screens look so cool !
Amazing clarity, I’ve seen the sign on Lansdowne Street as well as the one in Downtown Crossing. Very cutting edge and vibrant.
I remember thinking what a great idea this was. Very impressive, can’t wait to see more of these! Keep up the good work!
I used to own some streetfront property in the Boston area. If this had been available during then, I would have definitely used WindowGain’s technology. It is just such an innovative technology that makes people think “How come no one did this before?”. Brilliant.
Unbelievable!!!
I walk by the board in downtown crossing that Megan mentioned every day. It is certainly eye catching, but placement is important. That particular board is too large for the narrow sidewalk. The only place you can effectively see the content is from across the street. I’ve also heard people comment on it as I walk by and it seems like everyone is chattering about the technology itself rather than the content. Perhaps this will pass as these boards become more and more popular, but I’m not convinced that making people stop and look is going to work for the busy commuter.
How much energy do these babies drain? So much for green technology.