DOOH4Relief Update: New US and French-Canada ads

March 21, 2011 by Dave Haynes

We continue to see some great industry support for the Japan relief effort.

Groupe Viva, a Montreal DigitalOOH network operator and digital signage services fiorm, has produced a very nice 30-second spot for the Francophone market in Canada.

This follows on an email blast sent around by the Canadian Out of home Digital Association (aka CODACAN) asking its members to use the ads is inventory time was available.

CODACAN would like to aid in this campaign as a National association and look to our members to help in this project.

The 15 second creative piece can now be downloaded, in both English and French, in a variety of file types at: http://www.dooh4relief.com/videos-can

We ask that you download the creative with the appropriate file type, and run the spot on any networks you operate. We would ideally like to see this spot on the air for at least a few weeks. Participation is of course at your discretion, though we do encourage everyone to take part and donate to the relief efforts. If you do decide to involve your network, please advise me with regards to the extent of your involvement so we can maintain accurate records of the association’s participation.

The Digital Place-based Advertising Association in the US has also produced a spot, specifically with the help of Outcast. It sent a note around today:

As an industry with the power of communicating the Red Cross relief effort, running a similar campaign across our multiple networks spanning a huge variety of venues, we can help reach consumers numerous times at various touch points throughout their busy days. The Digital Place-based media industry has an opportunity to join together to run a common PSA spot for the Red Cross that will demonstrate the powerful influence of this media to reach and move the consumer to action.

Many of you have reached out to offer assistance to the Japan disaster relief effort. Toward that end DPAA has been in close contact with the Red Cross. If you are interested in creating your own PSAs to help spread the word about the Red Cross disaster relief operations in Japan and the Pacific, go to www.redcross.org/brand for the necessary information about Red Cross graphic standards. All PSA spots must be approved by the Red Cross.

We have also reached out to Dave Haynes of The Preset Group. His company has set up a site, www.dooh4relief.com, which is acting as a clearing house for Red Cross-approved PSAs. They are welcoming additional Red Cross approved PSAs to be housed on this site, and/or to have network operators run any of these PSA spots on their networks. If you are going to submit new PSAs to the relief site, please make sure they do not have your network logo on the spots. On the relief site there is a section, DOOH Content Developers, for easy instructions to upload files.

Actually, Insteo set up the site and are managing it, and me and Preset are just chipping in like everyone else. But no biggie.

Cineplex is finishing off a pair of spots and we are still happy to see new creative from anyone who can chip in. Spanish language is needed!

The MENA region is teed up to help, but as in the UK, there seem to be slightly odd views of the need. While Red Cross organizations there and in the Middle East have specific pages about the Japanese relief need, the societies say they are not specifically riaising money for Japan because Japan has not asked for help.

We have suggested Doctors Without Borders as a credible, known entity and that organization has physicians working in the Tsunami zone.

Thanks, by the way, to Digital Signage Today and DailyDOOH for coveraage (and anyone else, if I missed them/it).