Walgreens big LED board goes live today in Times Square

November 20, 2008 by Dave Haynes

 From Marketing Daily: This 17-storey, three-sided LED monsters gets officially switched on at 8 pm in New York’s Times Square.

In a press release, the the installation is described as the nation’s largest, most advanced digital super-sign, soaring 341 feet above the street.

The Walgreens One Times Square spectacular was conceived and designed by strategic brand consultancy Gilmore Group, New York City. The firm supervised its construction in partnership with Walgreens and technology firm D3 LED.

“In designing the spectacular our goal was to achieve the pinnacle of urban branding,” said Arthur Gilmore, President and CEO of Gilmore Group. “We want to tell the public that Walgreens has returned and to send a message that this traditionally quiet company has aggressive plans. Walgreens is driving home this point by becoming the dominant brand presence in the center of the media universe.”

New York-based D3 LED, the designer of the hi-tech hardware and software for the spectacular, says the sign has unparalleled high-resolution graphics. To create this digital marvel, the team employed 10,987 modules, each containing 1,024 to 1,600 pixels.

“Not only is the Walgreens spectacular the largest display of its kind in the country, but it truly breaks the mold in the way it interacts with consumers,” said Jason Barak, founding partner, D3 LED. “Using D3’s proprietary LED technology, we created a display that virtually reaches out and grabs the attention of consumers–from those 15 feet away to those halfway across the world.”

The store will also be surrounded by 13 digital signs at street level offering a wide range of advertising options for Walgreens suppliers. Visual campaigns for mega brands L’Oreal, Johnson & Johnson, Colgate and Kraft will launch on the signs tonight.

ABC New Media Sales, a unit of ABC National Television Sales, is Walgreens exclusive sales representative for the sign.

I assumed this was a set of LED modulesa from one of the big guys like Barco, but the technology is from much less-known D3 LED, which is based across the river in New Jersey and has a healthy chunk of the LED action in Times Square.