Virtual rep pitches shoppers at Atlantic Canada malls
December 11, 2008 by Dave Haynes
The two young guys, Jay Aird and Mike Beauchamp, who run Volt Media in Halifax, Nova Scotia are doing, as far as I know and read, the most aggressive and interesting work in the DS space in Atlantic Canada.
It doesn’t hurt that they are joined at the hip with the region’s biggest ad agency, but it’s also because they have a ton of energy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIs6P1UT5Z4
Aird passed along a video and information about a cool program they are doing with Aliant, the major telecom in the region.
Similar to a program Best Buy was doing in a US mall, this one has a life-sized Aliant “virtual rep” pitching people as they walk through a mall.
“The Aliant rep was shot on a green screen,” Aird explains. “The video – complete with sound – is then projected onto an acrylic screen cut out of the exact body dimensions. The virtual rep talks to mall-goers about Aliant’s Holiday promotions, products and services as they pass by. The image is rear projected using a high definition video source. Once people are within 10’ of the image, they can hear the rep talking about the different Christmas promotions that Aliant is offering.”
In the endless quest to get the attention of shoppers, this one is certainly up to the task … much more so, I think, than those floor projections most people whiz on by. It’s a novelty that wears off, of course, which is likely why the promo is being moved around.
I assume there is a security guard nearby watching the projector and the plexiglas man. Othewrwise, a couple of smart-assed 17-year-old boys would do the thing in within seconds if left unwatched.? It seems to be a minute-long loop, so I suspect the security guard would also be needed for whoever works in a nearby store, having to hear the “Hi there!” pitch 60 times an hour, lest they go postal on the Virtual Rep.
Leave a comment