Edmonton Journal: Edmonton bathroom advertising goes high tech
February 15, 2011 —
Newad targets younger demographic with digital video screens
By Bill Mah
EDMONTON — A Canadian advertising company wants to add some gee-whiz to your washroom visit. Newad, the firm whose restroom ads greet bar and restaurant patrons when they perch on the porcelain or stand at the urinal, is taking it a step further by replacing some of those framed posters with 22-inch high-definition, digital video screens.
“You can literally run a TV spot on those boards,” said Newad partner Brian Wyatt, an Edmontonian in charge of business development and client relations for the Montreal-based company.
“It almost becomes a closed-circuit television station targeting that 18- to 49-year-old person with an active lifestyle.”
The motion sensor-activated LCD boards — which resemble large iPads — broadcast 15- to 60-second video loops interspersed with 30-second clips of content aimed at a target market — music, fashion, local performers and upcoming events — produced by Newad division, Nightlife.
The advertising reaches a coveted, but elusive, younger market and can differentiate between men and women, Wyatt says.
“The 18-to-49-year-old segment is really hard to reach with traditional advertising methods,” Wyatt said.
“They’re spending more time on their phones and away from home. We’re able to connect with those people when they’re away from the home and in a social environment where they’re talking and sharing experiences with their friends.”
A staffer in a central control room manages the content for screens across the country.
“The key is, our old boards you could target, but it was a static board that someone had to go there physically and change the ad. Now, there’s a lot more flexibility.
“For example, if Budweiser wanted to go male-only boards from five to seven with this ad, they could manipulate and change that 15- to 30-second spot however they want.”
Newad is installing 550 units in its network of trendy bars and restaurants in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal in the coming weeks. In Edmonton, about 70 screens are being installed at establishments such as Hundred, Hudson’s, Original Joe’s, Century Grill and Earl’s.
The company is also planning installations in fitness centres and is looking at post-secondary campuses.
Over the next three years, the company plans to set up another 3,500 boards at a cost of more than $8 million, with $1 million in Edmonton alone. Wyatt expects there to be about 300 screens in Edmonton eventually.
Each board with installation costs more than $2,500 each, Wyatt said.
Newad rents space from bars and restaurants for a monthly fee. “We, in turn, go to advertising agencies or clients and sell them the space.”
He downplayed concerns about advertising intruding on people during the most personal of situations, citing in-house research which shows a large majority of people like the screens.
“It’s in an environment where we’re not intrusive. We’ve been around for 15 years and people expect to see us.”