The out-of-home advertising giant has picked Singapore as the location for its first NFC-enabled smart poster network and plans to use it as a test bed and case study for the rest of Clear Channel International.
Clear Channel Singapore is to add NFC functionality to 300 of the most influential out-of-home advertising sites in Singapore.
The network of smart posters, delivered in partnership with NFC advertising specialist Tapit, will include six-sheet, 12-sheet and Media Portal panels at bus shelters across the island.
NFC phone users will be able to tap on any of the advertisements to receive music, videos, applications, brochures or other information directly to their phone. Advertisers will then be able to mine actionable consumer data based on interactions with the posters, such as the number of users and overall response rates.
The new NFC network forms part of Clear Channel’s existing ‘Play’ digital and mobile offerings, which include QR codes, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth along with SMS, MMS and augmented reality.
“This is a massive opportunity for us and what we believe will be a step change for out-of-home,” says Adam Butterworth, CEO of Clear Channel Singapore. “For the first time, advertisers can combine the traditional power of the out-of-home medium with real activation and engagement on a broad scale, driven by the technology device of the 21st century — the mobile phone.
“What we have developed with Tapit will enable brands to build on the mass reach, frequency and efficacy that Clear Channel Singapore already delivers, and actively engage with their customers,” Butterworth adds. “Just one tap with your phone, and a whole new avenue of engagement opens up to you — you can access websites, engage in social media, obtain vouchers, download content, etc. The opportunities are endless.”
Tapit’s Jamie Conyngham says “Clear Channel Singapore comprehensively reaches the majority of Singaporeans while they are using public transport and generally, out and about. It is unbelievable the OOH dominance Clear Channel has in Singapore, this enables us to conduct some really special and innovative campaigns.”
Earlier this year Clear Channel International CEO William Eccleshare outlined his belief that outdoor advertising will be overwhelmingly a technology business by 2020, and that the introduction of near field communication technology to billboard advertising will be “transformative” for the industry.
The Singapore NFC service is set to go live in November 2011 and is expected to act as both a test bed and a case study that can be used globally by other Clear Channel International offices around the world.
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