Brand Republic has an article written by Steve Hickman, of WWAV Rapp Collins Media today. WWAV are one of the big names in direct marketing in the UK scene.
The article explores “new” developments in outdoor media and that (pause for the fanfare) posters can now be made interactive by using technology. He goes on to give illustrations such as an Abbey (a bank) campaign which encouraged small business owners to sms for more information. Or even being able to click on a poster advertising a film and being able to preview the trailer and look up showing times.
Nothing against Steve, but why is the direct marketing industry so slooooow to get its head round this fairly basic concept? I remember talking to the very same WWAV 4 years ago about ideas like this – actually I was invited to present to the whole of the agency at the time. I distinctly remember a big round of applause followed by a deafening silence in the next few months as it became increasingly clear that they weren’t going to take my evangelism to market.
Well, maybe I’m a crap evangelist. But about the same time, Flytxt were appointed by JC Decaux (one of the UK’s largest outdoor media owners) to launch PosterTxt “the first opportunity for advertisers to plan street furniture advertising campaigns with fully integrated direct response wireless marketing components”.
So, what happened to PosterTxt? I assume it quietly died as there’s no mention on JC Decaux’s website these days. And the only reason it could have died is lack of demand for it….mainly by agencies, who book most of the sites.
And yet 4 years later, one of the foremost publications for marketing in the UK is writing articles implying that this interactive stuff is all new.
Give it another 3 years or so and we might see this idea become mainstream. But I’m still bemused why it’s taking these undoubtedly very bright people so long to get their heads round something as basic as offering a direct response channel in a direct response campaign.
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