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Bus Stop Boredom Beater

Bus Stop Boredom Beater

The last few years have seen a huge rise in DOOH (digital out-of-home advertising). Whether it's on-street or in-store there are now a dizzying number of screens dotted around towns and cities and customers are more comfortable then ever interacting with them.

While these screens offer huge advantages over traditional printed ads, many brands are missing a trick! Yes, you can use QR codes to capture customers and bring them to beautifully branded landing pages or experiences, but why not go a step further.

Give customer complete control by letting them take-over the entire screen! You can use today's real-time technologies to create highly engaging and fun experiences that let customers play-around and personalise the on-screen content in real-time.

An image of an arcade game and QR code at a bus stop display.
The activation runs on OOH (out of home) digital displays with a large QR code front-and-center.

An example of this is the bus-stop boredom beater arcade take-over. In this activation we're letting customer battle for the high score. Whether its a bus stop or shopping center, this experience is available to anybody with a smartphone and is sure to drum-up a crowd as they try to beat the top score live on the big screen.

Here's how it works:

  • A digital display advertises a QR code that can be scanned with a smartphone.
  • Once scanned the user enters a queue to play.
  • Within seconds they're in control of the screen and playing along directly in the browser - no messy downloads required.
  • As they play, their progress is beamed in real-time to the big screen, so anybody walking by can watch them win or lose.
  • When done, they add their name to the leaderboard, prompting other to get involved and claim the top spot.

Check it out:

A person scanning a QR code on-screen to start a brand activation experience.
Players use their smartphone to scan the QR code and are brought to a branded landing page.

A person looking at a branded landing page on their smartphone.
A branded landing pages asked them to enter their details.

A person playing an arcade game on their smartphone.
Players then begin the arcade game directly in the browser. No downloads needed.

A person looking at a real-time version of an arcade game on a bus stop digital display.
As they play, their progress is mirrored in real-time to the display, where other members of the public can watch them.

An arcade game running on a bus stop display with a high score visible.
They submit a highscore that persists on the screen throughout the campaign, tempting other players to try and claim the top spot.

Using cutting edge real-time technology, this activation can run easily in any environment. It doesn't need any app downloads or other off-putting interruptions.

What's more, it is:

  • 🏆 Competitive. Encourages friendly competition with a highscore scoreboard.
  • 👁️ Attention Grabbing. Highly visible on big OOH displays around the city.
  • 🗓️ Long Running. Can run for days, weeks or months.
  • 📱 Accessible. Anyone with a smartphone can get involved.
  • 🔏 Brand Safe. Allows engagement without onerous oversight.

Highly Customisable

This activation excels anywhere there's a public display:

  • 🏙️ Urban advertising displays.
  • 🚃 Bus stops and railway stations.
  • 🛍️ Shopping centers.
  • 🏟️ Sporting events.
  • 🎁 In-store popups.
  • 🍺 Bars and pubs.

There are also many different ways players can get involved:

  • ⚔️ 2-Player Showdown. Let two players battle directly against each other by turning the arcade game into a multiplayer experience.
  • 👯‍♂️ Massively Multiplayer. Get the entire crowd involved with a huge multiplayer game that lets 5+ people play on-screen at once.

Not to mention the huge number of different games that can be tailored for the experience:

  • Pong/air hockey
  • Old school snake game
  • Space invaders
  • Breakout
  • Pacman
  • Penalty shootout
  • Rugby conversion game
  • ...

To Summarise

With more digital screens than ever out in the real world, there's a huge opportunity to use them in new and novel ways.

Giving customers direct control of the on-screen content via their smartphone is the next step in digital out-of-home advertising and it's possible with today's real-time web technologies. All it takes is a bit of creativity!

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