Pop out Notifications Target Passerbys’ on Digital Billboards

It’s one of those out of the box successful marketing concepts created by DDB Stockholm for Samsung, one of those innovative, unique and genuine ideas that end up being appealing to the desired audience. To promote the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ phone and its exciting features in Stockholm, the brand was looking to showcase the live notifications that appear on the edge of the phone and it did so in the least expected way right on the corner of a street. They decided to place a digital billboard in a crowded street corner in Stockholm that would serve as a live notification system. The billboard encouraged people to "see beyond the edge with information stream" and that’s how the campaign focused on edges and the element of surprise with tag lines such as, "edges are fun, you never know what’s around the corner." Everyone that passed by the specific street corner was surprised to notice the digital billboard that 'magically' found the right tagline to say for each passerby. Notifications like "Be careful bike ahead!" and "Hope you’re a dog person" popped up on the screen, with people stopping and trying to figure out how this really works. There were even useful notifications for drivers looking for a parking spot, or informing a runner about the weather. The inspiration for all those instant popping messages is credited to an editorial staff that was waiting at a nearby café, sending the relevant message among a list of prepared ones they already had for each occasion. People were amazed by the idea of cool and live notifications, and wanted to get closer and ask more about the concept, which helped the brand get the exposure it was looking for. Ambient advertising is not always easy, but when it’s properly done, it leads to impressive results for the brand and the advertising agency that dare to be creative!