Engage Me: Marketers Turn to Social Media & CBS Outdoor to Talk to Their Audience

Combining social media and outdoor advertising efforts creates buzz, drives traffic

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Jun 17, 2010, 10:00 ET

NEW YORK, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Advertisers are becoming more innovative, engaging consumers with their message by promoting their most creative contests and event concepts with out of home advertising media from CBS Outdoor—a direct response vehicle. Here are some of 2010's most interactive executions:

Rockit Bar and Grill recently contracted a Chicago Billboard in the Wrigleyville area to promote their Facebook contest. The two-week contest encouraged people to take a picture in front of the Billboard and then post it to Rockit's Facebook page to receive a $25 gift certificate. The photo with the most comments and "likes" on Facebook was announced at a Rockit party, and the lucky winner's picture will be featured on the next Billboard. Rockit received a lot of buzz with the campaign and increased their Facebook 'fan page' followers by the hundreds.

The German Embassy in Washington DC hosted a "Spot the Bus" contest. Three vibrant, blue buses traveled the streets of the Washington DC metropolitan area, inviting commuters and pedestrians to "Explore Germany" on the website, www.Germany.info. Viewers who spotted the bus were asked to take a picture and upload the image to the website for a chance to win cool Germany.info gear, like travel mugs and aprons. The Washington DC bus advertising campaign has been successful not only in driving traffic to Germany.info but also in increasing awareness about Germany in general among Washington residents.

Ford Drive One Fast Change: Over a four-week period in Washington DC, Ford's 60 Metro Two-Sheet Posters were each replaced every weekday with different copy. The constant refresh engaged riders on a daily basis, creating a storyboard effect. Ford also used the new QR coding technique, a scan-able bar code printed on the posters that allowed viewers with camera phones with QR software installed to connect directly to their website by taking a picture.

Daffy's, a discount clothing retailer, created 40 different puzzle piece creatives in multiple "hip and trendy" subway stations in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Commuters were asked to take photos of each puzzle piece and upload them to the website to assemble a puzzle that formed an image. The New York transit advertising campaign garnered a lot of media coverage and was even featured on the cover of Advertising Age.

About CBS Outdoor

CBS Outdoor, a division of CBS Corporation (CBS.A and CBS), is one of the largest out-of-home media companies in the Americas (United States, Canada, Mexico and South America), and has a major presence across Europe in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and China. With both traditional outdoor and transit advertising properties, this division gives advertisers both breadth of coverage across vast geographies and depth of coverage, providing multiple media opportunities in key markets. For more information, visit www.cbsoutdoor.com.