A Wider Net

The Maxtor Heap was at Macworld, too. This interesting public marketing campaign was designed to position Maxtor’s backup solutions as a “life saver” because losing data, such as digital photos, can literally be like losing a part of your life. After seeing the heap of photos in the Las Vegas Airport, and the heap of CD’s at the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall, and then the cityscape of CD’s at the Maxtor booth, I figured I had found the end of the rabbit hole. Apparently not: 500 miles later at Macworld, the home of the iPhone launch, I spotted another Maxtor heap (of photos). This time, the signs adjacent to the heap were adorned with small Maxtor backup drives permanently affixed to the signs. I guess they figured that the drives would have been stolen in Las Vegas too quickly (or maybe they were?)

I watched for a few minutes while waiting for the show doors to open and no fewer than five people tried to yank the drives off the signs. I dearly hope there was a hidden camera on this sillyness as it would make a great viral marketing video for YouTube.

Apologies for the blurry photo.

I took less product shots today (partially because I was running around more and partially because I was running out of juice - can you believe they don’t sell AA’s on the floor at CES?)

Here’s a quick tour of North Hall where all the Car stuff was (mostly car shots)

And here’s some assorted shots around Central Hall, South Hall, and at the Sands.

Here are some of the CES photos I took so far.

When someone needs reminding, I’ve been known to offer “Do you want an email, a post-it note, a voice mail, or do you want me to put a ginormous neon sign over your desk?” Well, it’s not ginormous - maybe weenormous - but it IS a neon sign, and you CAN spell out whatever message you want and hang it over someones desk. NeonClick is the “Lego” of neon signs, and as you might expect, it will probably get your short message read - so make it a good one.

Apparently these are available from International Robotics, but you can read more about it here since it’s not on the IR site yet.

Thanks Gizmodo

Philips has an exciting entry in the 3D TV space - the 42″ WoWvx display. Using a built-in lenticular lens, this display produces three-dimensional images without the need for glasses. It also has a wide viewing angle - something uncommon among static lenticular 3D pieces. I’ve seen displays like this before, and this one has a much higher brightness spec, and it has a much higher resolution, so I’m pretty excited to see it at Innovation Day. This is an obviously great fit for exhibit traffic-stopping, as well as visualizations for biotech, high tech, and real estate. As I mentioned in a previous post, there is a chance this device is compatible with the VuCAM 3D capture binoculars.
I find anything that can break free of the “flat” of flat panel displays is a major win. I’m a big fan of moving screens, oddly shaped screens, and really anything that departs from what you’d see in your neighborhood Circuit City.

Spotted in a bathroom in Melbourne, this hand-dryer-billboard makes us wonder where it will all end. I thought the printed toilet paper and talking urinal screens were bad enough. I imagine there’s no audio with this puppy, since it would sound pretty much like a hand dryer anyway, but you have to wonder if they’re choosing ads that appeal more to the types of people that: A. Use public restrooms, B. Wash their hands, and C. Dry them the “environmentally friendly-way”. I won’t risk a guess at who it wouldn’t target, but I will say I’ve seen them and they are everywhere.

Seriously though, isn’t this is a better solution than a video screen above a urinal or on the back of a stall door? While I suspect there are products out there that want to be associated with #1 or #2, isn’t the hand-dryer just “cleaner”?

From Engadget.

Cool Hunter catches a lot of great billboards and other forms of large-scale public advertisement. They even have a section devoted to ads (highly recommended). From this section are a couple of my favorites. First, the ultra-low-tech door peephole micro-billboard has me wondering if anyone opened the door while they were applying them. Next, I’m still in awe of the humongous soccer promo that created the illusion of a giant player stretching across a highway. My favorite billboard was the Big 3D Cyberworld/Simpsons billboard (below). As you drove by, Bart Simpson appeared to skateboard through the billboard in 3D. Large outdoor displays can be technically complicated, but when properly executed, they generate category 5 PR.

Update: Forgot to mention another great resource for creative outdoor advertising examples: Billboardom.

I love USB gadgets. Expect to see a lot of them here over time. This one appeared on Everything USB, one of my favorite USB gadget blogs. It’s simply a little LED display that you can program and more importantly, charge, through your USB port. It can be worn as a nametag or magnetically stuck to a metal surface. You might want to consider using these as mini digital signs around an exhibit, or as a daily “note to self” in your office.
USB Rechargable LED Badge

Mirage Motion Media produces a unique wall-mounted lightbox that creates the illusion of 3D moving images as you walk by. What makes this remarkable is the fact that this sign has no moving parts, and no electronics other than a couple of light bulbs. The illusion is created by producing a special ultra-high-resolution print piece that is viewed through a series of incredibly narrow slits. Depending on where you stand, you see through the slits to view a different part of the printed graphic. As you walk by, you see a continuous series of images through the slits, creating the illusion of moving video. While loosely related to the Zoetrope, the stereo effect and larger images make this a powerful advertising medium. (I guess another BIG advantage over the Zoetrope is the fact that this is only 4″ thick, and a Zoetrope capable of images this large would be the size of one of those inflatable swimming pools at Walmart.) The illusion is startling and often results in people walking back and forth to make the image animate forwards and backwards. It’s clearly most effective next to moving sidewalks and areas where traffic flow is continuous. New graphics can be printed and inserted by simply lowering the hinged (and locked) front glass.

 ADDENDUM - They appear to be out of business.