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The Out-Of-Home industry will be gathering later this month in Toronto for OMAC’s Activate Event to share campaigns, insights and results. With digital and emerging technologies transforming OOH, the focus is turning to the delivery of immersive and interactive experiences. One company that is finding success in this space is U.K.-based Grand Visual. Its founder, Neil Morris, will be presenting at the event, sharing how to deliver successful DOOH projects that are part of an integrated strategy. He’s written this post to share how some of the work Grand Visual has done broke through to the consumer.

The evolution of digital media has transformed the traditional media landscape. Media plans no longer consist of just a few channels, and there are an ever-increasing number of ways in which you can reach consumers. In this complex and increasingly fractured landscape, creating something which cuts through the noise and grabs people’s attention can be a challenge.

Digital Out-of-Home offers a great canvas and potential to cut through the clutter while delivering messages and experiences to consumers that they will not only remember, but also share. Over the years, we have had some particularly successful campaigns that showcase how – with some clever planning and good creative – Digital Out-of-Home can deliver great results.

The work we did for the “Pepsi Max Unbelievable Bus Shelter” campaign is an example of how to deliver this cut-through and stimulate social conversation about the brand. The bus shelter execution was part of the wider “Unbelievable” campaign for Pepsi, which saw a series of “Unbelievable” events and stunts unfold all across the U.K. For the Unbelievable Bus Shelter execution, we used an existing technology – Augmented Reality – but executed it in a way that had never been seen before, enabling a unique experience that captured people’s imaginations while becoming a viral sensation.

Credits: Planned by OMD UK; Bought by Talon; Created by AMV BBDO; Production and creative technology by Grand Visual

With such a versatile canvas, digital Out-of-Home should also be able to deliver content that can surprise and delight and extend its reach beyond the billboard. Earlier this year, we worked with Disney Parks on a project that is a great example of extending reach beyond the OOH execution. The initial concept for the campaign was to re-energize the existing #DisneySide campaign. The social film made from the OOH execution was shared across Disney’s social networks.

Credits: Production and Creative technology by Grand Visual; Brand: Disney Parks

As soon as the video was posted it started to rack up the view count, and within 48 hours it had been viewed 58 million times across Disney’s social networks. To date, the video has had over 110 million views and has been shared around the world – a result that simply would not have been possible if relying on the Out-of-Home execution alone.

Our “Oreo Eclipse” activation was another great campaign that shows how much is possible when you have a strong concept supported by an integrated, cross-channel strategy. The activation, done in March this year, originated from thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to do something on DOOH timed to the solar eclipse?” It grew from there, resulting in a video billboard set to coincide with the movement of the sun. Sales of Oreo increased by 59% YoY for the month of the eclipse, the campaign has also gone on to earn industry acclaim picking up a Bronze Cannes Media Lion amongst other awards.

Credits: Creative idea & execution for DOOH by Talon and Grand Visual; Planning and booking across other channels by PHD; Brand : Mondelez.

Great OOH campaigns are ones that sit comfortably within the wider brand strategy and capture the imagination. I hope these campaigns will inspire your brand and agency teams to create something great.

Neil Morris is the Founder and CEO of Grand Visual, a U.K.-based production and creative technology company that has been driving the dramatic emergence of Digital Out of Home over the past 10 years. He is presenting on Oct. 28 at Activate in Toronto at the Glenn Gould Studio.