And the best interactive outdoor holiday campaign goes to … Zozzy TV? (via postie)
Interactive outdoor display advertising has become a hot holiday trend, with Google displaying voice search results on a massive screen in Times Square. Across town at Saks Fifth Avenue, Microsoft sponsored a display to promote Windows 7, which Mac fans tried to hijack.
But bootstrapped Dublin startup ZozzyTV.com may have quietly stolen a march on them both by enabling users worldwide the chance, a la David Hasselhoff, to be huge in Europe. Or at least Dublin.
In a joint promotion with Vodaphone, the video startup is selecting user-submitted videos to be â??streetcastedâ? onto enormous LCD screens mounted on busy sections of Grafton Street, Henry Street, and Temple Bar in Dublin.
While all video is pre-submitted and screened, Zozzy TV has added functionality to allow users on-location to request their own videos via a text message. (Like a jukebox, the video will be played within an hour of the text request.) A Zozzy TV Android application, potentially available within the next two weeks, will enable users to shoot and upload on location.
Vodaphone is picking up considerable exposure from the promotion, with one in six videos providing a 30-60 second ad slot for the company. About 150,000 pedestrians daily are being exposed to the displays, says Billy Brennan, chief executive of Fireworkz Interactive, which owns the ZozzyTV.com site. Brennan sees the trial paving the way for new participatory outdoor display opportunities, for example where users can shoot and upload video at sporting events or music festivals.
Zozzy TV will apply no restrictions on non-copyrighted content, and submissions so far have run the typical viral gamut, including musical performances, stupid pet tricks, impressions, and apparently an angler catching fish. If you want to say hello to relatives or try being an Irish busker, submissions will be accepted throughout the holidays.
