Skoda Nudges UK Getaways On Digital Bilboards, Using GPS, Real-Time Traffic Data

May 10, 2017 by Dave Haynes

Here’s a simple, relatively easy example of how brands are using real-time data to make their digital OOH advertising more contextually relevant.

The Czech Republic automaker Skoda is marketing a new SUV in the UK by updating ads across 10 different out of home networks with journey times from the ad poster location to four specific tourism locales.

Says a press release from campaign producer Grand Visual:

The activity forms part of ŠKODA’s new brand push ‘Driven by Something Different’ and highlights the importance of taking time out every day to reconnect with what really matters. The nationwide campaign runs across multiple city and roadside formats spanning 10 different media owners from the 6th April through to 14th May.

The creative featured four unique locations across the UK which lend themselves to reconnection, Rye, Wales, the Lakes and Norfolk. Each location was chosen for its natural beauty, offering Britain’s finest scenery, greenest countryside, grandest views or prettiest seaside villages, to demonstrate to drivers how simple it is to rediscover your surroundings and reconnect with the real and natural aspects of life.

The digital OOH campaign used stunning imagery of the Kodiaq in each location to entice drivers away from their day-to-day journeys. Each digital billboard displayed the time it would take to travel from that exact spot to the location featured in the visual. OpenLoop, the DOOH platform from ad tech specialist QDOT, dynamically updated journey times based on Google’s API traffic statistics to reflect real-time travel estimates.

The digital OOH activity was created by Fallon, produced by Grand Visual, planned and booked by PHD and Talon, and supports a broader traditional Outdoor, Digital and TV push.

I don’t have the details, but I don’t think this is much more difficult than overlaying visuals wit a line of text that’s tied to the Google estimated travel time from the billboard’s GPS coordinates to those of the target location, like Rye (which, if you’ve not been, is worth a visit).

As are the others, actually …