The Singapore Airshow 2010 is here again. It is a biennale event which will taking place from 2 to 7 February 2010. The first 4 days are exclusively for trade attendees while the final 2 weekend days are open to public.
BMW is one of the key sponsors for the Singapore Airshow 2010.
TPM Outdoor is proud to feature BMW - Joy Takes Flight on the Queensway Shopping Centre LED Screen. Many car owners and shoppers will be able to view this advertisement featured at this key junction to the Leng Kee Road cluster of car dealers and showrooms in Singapore.
Enjoy the Show!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
BMW - The Singapore Airshow 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Scream and Shout in South Africa with VISA
TPM Outdoor welcomes the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa with our the installation of graphic display out-of-home advertising (OOH advertising) for VISA at VivoCity.
"Spend and Win; Then Scream and Shout in South Africa!"
So head on to VivoCity and shop your hearts out. Sounds like the only alternative way to enjoy the World Cup since Singaporeans may miss out watching live games over the cable thanks to the Singtel/ Starhub - FIFA.
It was reported in the Straits Times on Jan 17, 2010, that FIFA wants nearly 100 million Singapore dollars for the month-long World Cup. SingTel CEO Allen Lew had also been quoted that "FIFA has been asking for an unreasonable amount." But apparently, this “unreasonable” amount was revised only after Singtel won the EPL rights from its rival Starhub with an unbeatable bid amount... More analysis from news junkie, Abhijit at Pressnet.
Read More......
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Singpost's Vandalised post boxes?
Taken from Stomp and AsiaOne's report posted on Jan 6, 2010. Please read more for details of the Singpost's Vandalised Post Boxes as a publicity stunt gone wrong here and here. Some extracts of the report include:
- "It turned out that blatant acts of vandalism of post boxes over the New Year weekend, which had angered several onlookers, were not carried out by criminals."
- "... the "rampage" had actually been a publicity stunt by Singapore Post, to reach out to youths here in conjunction with the Youth Olympic Games to be held from Aug 14 to 26 this year."
- "....photos and videos of the "vandal" [flooded streaming site YouTube and Singapore Press Holdings' citizen-journalism website, Stomp] - [the vandal] who wore a white long-sleeved shirt, black pants, gloves and a black hat - openly defacing the post boxes. He was seen spray-painting phrases such as "boomz", "inkman", "break out" and "live life" all over the mailboxes. Police were called in to investigate."
While guerrilla marketing is defined as an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget, and the sky's the limit in terms of creativity BUT, I guess there are unspoken markers in terms of taste and cultural sensitivities that a brand must consider when launching any campaign. My takes on the Singpost's recent publicty stunt:
- To quote Pat Law's twitter post on this campaign: "....At best, u can fault Singpost for trying too hard to be cool but what's the big deal with graffiti anyways?"
- To me, "What's the big deal with graffiti anyways?" - is graffiti necessarily synonymous with youth? Furthermore, is graffiti can be regarded as a form of street art or the other extreme of thoughtless vandalism (ie. with destruction of common property as intention). Based on the graffiti content on the post boxes with words like "Boomz" and other random lines, is it the intention for the Youth Olympics Games to be associated with criminal acts?
- Finally, as a vendor and executer of Out-of-Home media and production, outdoor related guerrilla marketing is part of our daily grind. And we should always keep the relevant authorities in view when planning any execution. I am reminded of the Balloon Boy when I saw the picture of all the police gathered at the "places of crime", at the post boxes.
The Balloon Boy hoax of a 6 year old boy feared adrift in a wayward homemade helium balloon in Colorado Oct 2009. He was later found safe in his home after a massive search Thursday afternoon. His rescue search was estimated to cost
US$47,000 for the time and efforts of the multiple government agencies including the Airforce, sheriff's office etc.
The Balloon Boy's parents have been sentenced with jail terms. Mostly the outrage from the Balloon Boy's hoax stems from the "...exploitation of the children of the Heenes, exploitation of the media, exploitation of the emotions of the people -- and it's about money. This was all done for the purpose of making money," Schapanski said in this CNN
report.
On one hand, we should be pushing the creativity envelope, but where do we stop at while being mindful of the environmental factors, putting out necessary disclaimers and providing prior information to the relevant authorities. It is all a fine balance of brand communications...
I am conflicted.
Your thoughts? Read More......
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Welcome 2010 and A Thank You to "The Man in the Arena"
Happy New Year!
The year is rolling along fast and furious, busy is good rather than the same time last year in 2009, when the phone was hardly ringing at all.
I'll like to take this opportunity to thank and give a big "pat on the back" to all those involved in Out-of-Home media and production everywhere around the world. All Out-of-Home industry participants deal with so many aspects of the living environment and multiple stakeholders, including the landlords, the conflicting tenants, the various city governments, the public that engage with the display etc etc etc. - thus we really get involved into every nitty gritty to pull off any campagin be it digital or traditional; one day only or more than one year. Perhaps a bigger thank you for the trust our clients have in all us to explore and exploit the full potential of Out-of-Home media. You all are "The Man in the Arena"
Define by Wikipedia:"Someone who is heavily involved in a situation that requires courage, skill, or tenacity (as opposed to someone sitting on the sidelines and watching), is sometimes referred to as "the man in the arena."
Exact from "The Man in The Arena" by by Teddy Roosevelt, April 23, 1910
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face in marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Happy 2010 everyone - all the best and HAVE FUN ;)
Thank you.
sasete itadakimasu - "It is a joy to be of service" Read More......
Monday, October 5, 2009
Some Principles on How to do good outdoor ads.
Paul from "pauldervan: random thoughts on marketing" shared some guiding principles for outdoor creative. There are many campaigns that were GREAT on so many other media, but floundered when it was executed on the outdoor medium...
With TV, you have time to build a story. You use visual cues, time, movement, story, character building, dialogue and music - all to help you make a point. Radio has some of these advantages too. As does online. Even press gives you more time to make your case, give more information."
Paul shared an example of a classic outdoor ad on this post:
To quote Paul - "Outdoor advertising is difficult. It looks simple but it is not.
Why?
Because it requires the ultimate in communication focus.
With TV, you have time to build a story. You use visual cues, time, movement, story, character building, dialogue and music - all to help you make a point. Radio has some of these advantages too. As does online. Even press gives you more time to make your case, give more information."
Paul shared an example of a classic outdoor ad on this post:
'Hello Boys' is now famous for apparently causing traffic accidents back in 1994....
And it follows the principles. Single image. Of a person (that you'd notice). Strong contrast in colour between image and background. Short headline. Easy to read. Well branded. Simple message. And loads of space.
Read more details here on Paul's sharing for GREAT outdoor creative... Do share your comments here with me or with Paul at his website. Here's to seeing more outstanding creative in Out-of-Home media... Hallelujah! Read More......
Friday, October 2, 2009
Happiness Starts Here - Kadhampa
We are pleased to assist Kadhampa – a Buddhist association to spread and promote a meaningful cultural exhibition upcoming at the end of the year from 31 Dec 2009 to 3 Jan 2010.
TPM had worked together to promote this cultural exhibition at our sites along the Sims Ave area as well as the Jalan Besar Plaza. The exhibition details as follow:
• The Fifth International Buddha’s Relics Arts and Cultural Exhibition
• 31 Dec 2009 to 3 Jan 2010
• Suntec City Convention Centre, Hall 401-404
To share on the recent article by The Marketing Magazine “…Religion helps people in their quest for a deeper level of fulfillment." So do come to check out this interesting event... ! Read More......
Hello Boss by NTUC Income
Hello, Boss. By NTUC Income.
An interesting ambient spotted at the display window of the NTUC Income branch on the third floor of AMK Hub.
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The Boss is whoever that is reflected on the "mirror" like material as one is reading the copy of the advertising message. A must see for all those entering NTUC Income. Tell are acknowledging/ reminding that you are Boss just as you are walking inside.
Date Spotted: 16 Sept 2009
Location: NTUC Income, AMK Hub
Monday, September 28, 2009
Singtel at The Geylang Serai Area for Hari Raya
Wishing a very Hari Raya Puasa to one and all!
We had clients that offered celebratory messages and special deals during this festive period at The Geylang Serai area - Tristar Complex and Joo Chiat Complex. Combined with the amazing crowd drawn in by the month long night bazaar and the eager businesses at newly opened Geylang Serai Market, the hustle and bustle leading up to the celebrations were all keenly felt and well enjoyed!
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The crowd builds up especially in the evening periods and also over the weekends. Traffic wardens were heavily deployed to ensure minimal order amidst the highly chaotic traffic..jpg)
I actually enjoy my frequent trips to the annual bazaar. It is not as commercialized as the Chinese New Year night markets. Furthermore the goods offer are relatively unique, self created, practical and sometimes very surprising.
Like this artist from one of the Islam dominated provinces in China (Xinjiang or Qingdao?) - is his calligraphy in Chinese or Arabic?
Quite a lot of on-the-spot cooking too (RAMLY BURGER), like a mass BBQ ;p I was introduced Dendeng as a must-try item. This is my annual feeding frenzy. It is good enough to brave crowds as mad as these..!
Despite the end of the Hari Raya Puasa, it seems like interest at Joo Chiat Complex is not abating. Hope to share more completed outdoor advertising works at this unique community location soon!
Nike Human Race 2009
In conjunction with the upcoming Human Race 2009 on 24.10.2009 - the visual displays of Queensway Shopping Centre have been completely changed out.
Following the success of last year's inaugural race, this year’s Human Race has taken a more virtual feel whereby runners from all over the world may run at anywhere and anytime using Nike+. What’s more, all the best parts of completing the race – goodie bags and the live performances are here for all to enjoy!
Are you registered to run in the Lion City with the rest of the world?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Life-sized Google Map Markers In Tokyo!
As part of the Google Japan's "Favorite Places" campaign that promotes the use of Google Maps we saw life-sized Google Map markers planted around various popular spots around Tokyo in August.
What's more, the audience is able to videos inside the giant map marker of popular Japanese celebrities detailing their favorite places in Japan.
Other interesting youtube link- the production of the life size markers
Spotted at: Google Japan Blog, Dvice
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Join the Asia-Pacific Out-Of-Home Media Convention 2009, Macau
The Asia-Pacific Out-Of-Home Media Convention 2009 is happening on the 5-6th November 2009 in Macau. To quote the Organizing Committee Chairman, Mr Ron Graham, this event aims to "present the complete picture of Out-of-Home communication, latest insights and next opportunities"
Aptly themed as "Inside-Out", the Asia-Pacific Out-Of-Home Media Convention 2009 seems like the event of the year for any stakeholders of the Out-Of-Home media industry in the region.
No matter if you are a client, a vendor or from the governing bodies such as a city planner for the government sector, let's converge this November to learn and hear from each other on how to make Out-of-Home media a better and more vibrant reflection of our daily Out-of-Home life.
Get more details from the following link: Asia-Pacific Out-Of-Home Media Convention 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Draft ad regulations contradictory, says AMLI
Some article I spied off the Internet - taken from the Jakarta Post on Jul 23 2009. I have not analysed the attached article in detail, but the implications will be far-reaching since the Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman areas are such prominent locations in the Jakarta City... Any comments/ updates out there?
My observations of general Out of Home Advertising in Jakarta in an article posted in 2008.
--
Draft ad regulations contradictory, says AMLI
By Benget Besalicto Tnb. , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Thu, 07/23/2009 1:38 PM
Businesspeople have called on the city administration not to pass the draft of a gubernatorial decree on outdoor advertising, claiming that it contains contradictory articles, an executive with the association said Wednesday.
"It contains a number of contradictory articles. It's still a draft, but as it could be the final draft before being passed into law by the administration, we are afraid that it will result in inconsistent implementation," said Nuke Mayasaphira, the secretary general of the Indonesian Outdoor Media Association.
Nuke said that article 9 and 49 of the draft advertisement regulation were contradictory.
Article 9 refers to advertisement-free zones, dubbed "white areas", where outdoor advertisements would be completely banned, including along main city roads such as Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta. However, article 49 gives the governor the authority to make exceptions to this rule in all city areas.
The regulation is expected to map the city into zones where outdoor advertisements will be either prohibited, tightly controlled, moderately controlled or completely controlled.
"If certain areas are designated as white areas, but exceptions are permitted, this could lead to collusion. It will not only harm the interests of the government in regulating the city, but will also harm the interests of other businessmen," she
said.
She said that unclear rules about the exception could lead to further violations of the regulation, such as those that had already occurred in certain banned areas.
She pointed out the administration should accompany its planned decree with clear guidelines on how space should be categorized.
"We need legal certainty to avoid any unfair practices when the regulation is implemented," she added.
AMLI's chairman Aip Syarifuddin concurred with Nuke, pointing out that outdoor advertisements had already been displayed in "white areas", including LED displays on Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman, and at road junctions on Jl. Proklamasi, Jl. Senopati and Jl. Parman in Central and South Jakarta.
He pointed out that the city bylaw on advertising should strictly rule that advertisements should not be installed near traffic signs as they could distract the attention of motorists that could lead to traffic accidents.
"For example, the LED near the traffic light in front of the Sarinah shopping complex on Jl. Thamrin is very distracting."
Aip said the city administration had received more than Rp 350 billion (US$30 million) in total tax income from outdoor advertisements alone and that the administration should not only focus on tax income.
"We support the city administration's efforts to develop Jakarta as a service city through the issuance of the bylaw. However, it should create legal certainty and a level playing field for all players to do business and to do so should ensure the laws are clear," he said.
Aip also said that city regulations previously stipulated that outdoor advertisements larger than 24 square meters were only allowed in 160 areas, but were now permitted in 400 areas.
He also asked the administration to set up an effective service that would license advertisements; ideally one that would be free of illegal fees and would not waste company time.
--
It is in my humble opionion that the most effective form of licensing is self-regulation by an elected board with a good mix of industry players, urban planners and architects. ie all the stakeholders that know why and how to grow a vibrant, colourful and balanced city that is for the economic well being of the city. Taxpayers' money should be well governed and business interest must be protected in poor economic times as such. Long gone are the days when the goverment is the single authority on anything anymore... Read More......
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Launch of New Media Centre - Joo Chiat Complex
I am pleased to share that TPM has recently confirmed the exclusive marketing rights of the Outdoor Advertising media spaces at the Joo Chiat Complex.
This shopping complex has been newly refurbished and will the center of attraction for the build up towards the Malay's Hari Raya Puasa celebrations from 21 Aug to 21 Sept 2009. It is also the catchment area for the nearby residents in Joo Chiat and Eunos area esp. with NEWLY opened Geylang Serai Market. It is exciting times indeed...
Sunday, July 19, 2009
CIMB Presence in the Jakarta Airport (Soekarno-Hatta) Indonesia
TPM had recently completed the media placement for CIMB Bank in the Jakarta International Airport (Soekarno-Hatta) Indonesia. These placements were focused in the international departure areas of T2D and T2E..JPG)
A special note about the suspended lightbox at T2D – ie. The landscape visual of 0.8m H x 8.0m W, these 2 lightboxes are located just in front of the business lounges for first class and business class passengers. These must be one of the best locations for departure placement in the airport ;)
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Date Spotted: 15 Jul 2009
Location: The Jakarta International Airport (Soekarno-Hatta) Indonesia
With the recent Jakarta twin bombings at the J W Marriott and the Ritz Carlton, we express our heartfelt condolences to the people and their families who have suffered pain and losses. Thankfully, no TPM personnel were affected although one of our business associates had a close shave since he had a 7.30pm meeting nearby the hotels on the night before the bombing incident. If the meeting was a 730am meeting instead, I guess the consequence may have been fatal.
TPM Batam's Creative Use of Escalator Sides
Creative ambient displays done on escalator sides at Nagoya Hill, a high-end mall in Batam Indonesia. These ambient displays feature all the new phones and services by the local telecommunications provider - Telkomsel.
Peronally, I feel the layout of these creatives also make use of the unique space of the escalator sides very well. Clear strong wording and length-wise use of brand slogans and images, all of which are concentrated in the centre part of the escalators.
The media and the creative layout are all attributed to our local team in TPM, Batam. Nice job!
Date Spotted: May 2009
Location: Nagoya Hill, Batam
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Not Related To Outdoor Advertising
This post is not related to outdoor advertising but for interest's sake - the TPM Singapore office is currently renovating. This was the chaos captured over the last weekend.
/shudder
While most of us have settled down, a couple of us (ie. me me me) still have refugee status. We are having some teething issues, so please bear with us while we get back to the swing of things.
One thing for sure, TPM Singapore will be remaining at this address for sometime now... ;)
Monday, June 8, 2009
Google Android Phone from Singtel
We recently completed the media booking and print, installation production for the Google Android Phone from Singtel.
We do not usually recommend boomgates advertising for 2 key reasons (1) Limit to size of visual whereby display height ranges from 0.08m-0.30m only . (2) Lowered chances to view advertisement message thanks to the speed of the boom gate/ car park barrier arms' operation. A victim of technology progress, no thanks to the Singapore ERP system for car park operation.
But this car park boomgates campaign by "Google Android Phone from Singtel" is really a very special creative execution whereby the Android itself takes centrestage in the whole creative. Every time a vehicle passes through the carpark boomgates it would seems like the Android's little arm is lifting the barrier arm. Thus the Android is quite the little enabler isn't it?
Above: Entry boomgates at Golden Shoe Carpark; Below: Exit boomgates at Plaza Singapura
Locations: Bugis Junction, Plaza Singapura, Golden Shoe, Funan The IT Mall, Tampines Mall, AMK Hub
Format: Car park boomgates/ Carpark barriers
Date: May 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Perrier = Get Fresh-The Bottle Moves
We recently spotted an Out-of-Home advertising installation for Perrier, the brand of bottled mineral water from a spring in France. It is a plant/ bush in its unique Perrier bottle shape. Rather apt look since the (artificial) green projects a FRESH look as the Perrier tagline, "Get Fresh"
Date spotted: 20 May 2009
Location: Pub along Keong Siak Street (Chinatown)
We executed a similar display for San Miguel's together with Posterscope SE Asia in 2005 at popular drinking areas in town. A real-life bottle replica of San Miguel standing at the height of 1.8m beamed at revelers enjoying themselves at Far East Square, Boat Quay and Holland Village. Using fiber glass, these replicas were lighted from within at night, brightening up whole ambient with San Miguel’s presence.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Crave It? Bite It Off the Billboard!
It is imperative to involve the senses to create effective marketing for food and beverage related products and services. Thus advertising for McDonald's usually consist of rich and HUGE visuals of how good their burgers are. So delicious looking that a bite was taken off one of the billboards previously displayed at the Orchard Hotel, Singapore. Someone was HUNGRY?
Date: Sometime in 2007/2008
Location: Orchard Hotel, Singapore
A Billboard is Sometimes more Than Inkjet On Vinyl
Most of our displays are usually printed on vinyl banners or stickers, thus I am always very impressed that some billboards are still painted on by artists in countries such as America etc. Thus the billboard becomes an unique art piece in the great outdoors .
Once in a while a fantastic medium-product link appears in outdoor by the way of this Makita Drill outdoor installation by Saatchi & Saatchi, South Africa.
Spotted at: adgoodness
“[To] Convince people that Makita drills are high-precision power tools. Can one power drill be more precise than another? ...Drilled over 20,000 holes into a wall to create a huge black and white image of, well, a Makita drill. To create the correct tones, the distances between the holes had to be very carefully calculated
Creating precision holes to give colour variation in a billboard display. - That's just an amazing piece of billboard art out there... Read More......
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Why Advertise During a Recession - In Fact, Why Advertise MORE During a Recession...
A must-read for all serious marketers especially those going through the pain to retain the marketing budget. Hear it from the experts from Knowledge @ Wharton. (The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania).
I have taken the liberty to summarise the article in actionable points as follow, or click for the full article from Knowledge @ Wharton
(A) INTRODUCTION: SO WHY DO THE COUNTER ACTION?
According to Wharton faculty and advertising experts, corporate managers put the long-term future of their companies at risk when they regard advertising budgets as a dispensable luxury especially during critical periods such as this current credit crisis.
(B) – WHY NOT TO CUT ADVERTISING BUDGET?
BECAUSE CUT CUT CUT = CUT THE COMMUNICATIONS
1. Gives the competition a chance..."The first reaction is to cut, cut, cut, and advertising is one of the first things to go," says Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader, adding that as companies slash advertising in a downturn, they leave empty space in consumers' minds for aggressive marketers to make strong inroads.
Research indicates that combative advertising which targets competitors escalates during an economic downturn. "When the marketplace is shrinking, you tend to become a little more competitive in your tone," says Wharton marketing professor John Zhang
2. Disappointments get around too quickly and widely...[David Sable, chief operating officer of Wunderman, part of The WPP Group] warns that in today's networked, digital marketplace, consumer buzz about disappointments with a product can metastasize quickly and widely. "You must give people good things to talk about by continuing to have good products and communication." The biggest lesson is that recessions come and go, but "hopefully your brand is for life. It's forever. So you have to be careful how you react because the downturn is not going to be forever."
BECAUSE IT CHEAP-OUT ON PRODUCTS
3. Dilutes brand equity...[David Sable, chief operating officer of Wunderman, part of The WPP Group] advises advertisers in a downturn to rally to protect and preserve brand equity that has been nurtured for years... "The worst thing you can do is cheap-out on products -- put less coffee in the cappuccino -- as many have in the past."
4. Cost to regain market share later is 4-5 times the costs saved...If companies cut deeply into advertising and communications in a down period, the cost to regain share of voice in the market once the economy turns around may cost four or five times as much as the cuts saved, [David Sable, chief operating officer of Wunderman, part of The WPP Group] adds. "You must really keep a balance in times like this. Don't go dark when customers and consumers need you because they need you as much as you need them."
5. Price-driven consumers still factor in branding...While price is important in a recession, the majority of price-driven consumers still factor in the importance of branding...clear brand association and leadership comes through communication. "If you cut the communication, you have a major problem," says [David Sable, chief operating officer of Wunderman, part of The WPP Group]
(C) + WHY MUST CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE?
BECAUSE IT IS AN UNUSUAL OPPORTUNITY TO
1. Differentiate yourself...As companies slash advertising in a downturn, they leave empty space in consumers' minds for aggressive marketers to make strong inroads. Today's economy "provides an unusual opportunity to differentiate yourself and stand out from the crowd," says Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader, adding that, "but it takes a lot of courage and convincing to get senior management on board with that."
2. Create new attention...Good time to reconfigure the advertising mix between traditional media and digital or other outlets, depending on the product, brand positioning and overall corporate strategy, says Wharton marketing professor John Zhang. "You don't have to put a huge amount of money in the marketplace," he says, adding that lower-cost marketing techniques -- such as banners, street signs or direct mailing -- might merit new attention.
BECAUSE IT IS MORE COST EFFECTIVE
3. Cost of advertising goes down a lot...With demand slack for advertising services, the cost of these services goes down, making advertising expenditures all the more defensible in a bad business climate. "If your company has something to say that is relevant in this environment, it's going to be more efficient to say it now than to say it in better times," says Wharton marketing professor Leonard Lodish.
4. Advertising during recession produces recurring long term benefits...McGraw-Hill Research shows that companies that consistently advertise even during recessions perform better in the long run even after the economy recovered. Specifically, companies that advertised aggressively during the recession had sales 256% higher than those that did not continue to advertise.
(D) *HOW TO DO ADVERTISING BETTER DURING RECESSIONS
ADJUST THE ADVERTISEMENT MESSAGE -Key is to craft messages that reflect the times and describe how their product or service benefits the consumer.
1. Communicate value into marketing campaigns. Many marketers design communications aimed at justifying the price they charge for goods and services, either by emphasizing a low price or touting the benefits the company can provide to buyers. "Advertisers will do both," Wharton marketing professor Patti Williams says. "Some are in a better position to talk about lower costs while others will have to focus on what you get for your money."
a. PRICE Companies might be tempted to emphasize price in a recession, but that only works for companies like Costco and Walmart that are built around a core strategy of providing low prices year after year, says Wharton marketing professor Leonard Lodish. He points to the current Walmart campaign, "Save Money. Live Better," as a successful approach to the recession.
b. PRACTICAL SPENDING Wharton marketing professor Patti Williams cites Gold's Gym -- the Texas-based gym chain -- as an example of a company that has found a way to navigate the economic slump while promoting a product that might seem discretionary or self-indulgent in hard times.
One television spot shows legs working a stair climber as words pop up across the screen changing from "First floor" to "12th floor" to "Kilimanjaro" to "Olympus." Finally the words, "The Corporate Ladder," appear. "This is about being goal-oriented as opposed to a general fitness or vanity play," she says. "It links to the economy because people are less likely to be spending on flashy things and more likely to be thinking practically and pragmatically. Certainly people are going to be spending less in this downturn, but they will spend something."
c. LONG TERM VALUE Especially for luxury products advertisers will also attempt to emphasize long-term value -- such as suggesting that a watch is not just a purchase for today, but for years to come. "You can try to remind people that this is, hopefully, a temporary state of things and we should not be focusing on the immediate future but also longer-term," says Wharton marketing professor Patti Williams
2. Responding to emotions ...Many consumers are weary of negativity generated by the recession and would be receptive to a more upbeat message, says Eileen Campbell, chief executive of the Millward Brown Group advertising firm in New York City. "If you can put a positive spin on how you can genuinely help without invoking doom and gloom, I think that's going to be more compelling."
a. CONTROL "Along with this economic downturn comes a lot of emotional response, such as anxiety. It is characterized by a sense that you lack control, that you don't know what's coming and you are at the whim of circumstance. To the extent that advertisers feel their clients or consumers are experiencing anxiety, ads should try to empower consumers and help them think of ways to be in control in a world where they feel out of control." Wharton marketing professor Patti Williams cites Gold's Gym -- the Texas-based gym chain -- spots address this concern. "'You can't control the economy but you can control how many pushups you do, and take control where you can, and we can help you.' That's a powerful message."
b. COMFORT Wharton marketing professor Patti Williams notes that especially for luxury businesses, they should appeal more to emotion, emphasizing the need for some emotional release or comfort in difficult times.
3. Fine-tune message to be sensitive According to Wharton marketing professor John Zhang, advertisers in all categories must be in tune with consumers in the current climate. For example, he notes that LG Electronics is backing off its "Life's Good" slogan. "That's not the mood people are in. If you do that, it will generate resentment. You need to fine-tune your message to be sensitive."
GET TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE
1. Be more targeted... In challenging times, marketers must work harder to segment consumers with specific messages. "If, in the past, you used mass media, you probably want to be more targeted now to make sure the message gets to the right people,” says Wharton marketing professor John Zhang.
BE AWARE OF ELUSIVE JUSTIFICATION THROUGH MEASURABILITY
1. All forms of media can be successful even in a recession says Wharton marketing professor Leonard Lodish thus it may be foolish to focus only on media whose impact might be easier to quantify and therefore able to withstand the close scrutiny of senior executives demanding justification for any spending.
2. No gold standard in measurability Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader points out that direct marketing and other kinds of interactive communications might be valuable but do not yet deliver easily quantifiable results. "Unfortunately, the industry is still in its early infancy. A lot of people talk about what we are capable of doing in measurability, but no one has established the gold standard yet”
(E) CONCLUSION: SO EVEN IF THERE IS THE NEED TO CUT...
Marketers need to understand the "elasticity" of their brand The "elasticity" of their brand would be a gauge of how much -- or how little -- advertising is necessary to sustain sales. "It's not a science. There's a lot of art there," [David Sable, chief operating officer of Wunderman, part of The WPP Group] acknowledges, "but you must be supporting your product." Read More......
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Mobile Billboard for The Best Job In The World
What Is A Mobile Billboard?
TPM Outdoor deployed a 22-footer truck fitted with a double-sided billboard display which moved everywhere and at anytime around in Singapore. It is very effective for reaching the target audience such as the youth, IT oriented and road-warrior/ mobile people.
Due to the large creative canvass available, our mobile billboard is highly novel to any campaign efforts. There is ample space avaliable to execute full props decoration and installation of 2D/3D. Our design of the backdrop/ billboard display itself is optimised to provide maximum visibility. It is also highly mobile and can reach almost all roads; the display can be parked at most car park lots.
Why Is A Mobile Billboard More Effective?
In our cluttered environment, this is truly and out-of-the-box Out of Home Advertising display that really jumps out. It is attention grabbing thus being able to target the young and IT savvy which spends a lot of time outdoor. It is really the right form of mobile billboard for mobile people. It also helps to reach the exact right places such as at the university or beach areas.
Even as digital media grow online, there is still a strong need for balance in some form of offline advertising in the outdoor context and this mobile billboard may enhance any online efforts/ or marketing of IT related products such as in our recent execution in the “Best Job In The World” campaign for Queensland Tourism.
Why Use the TPM Outdoor Advantage? 
TPM Outdoor provided the one stop solution from planning, installation to execution including complete in-house production and project management; clearance of any authority requirements. We also provided optional items including billboard placement, talent sourcing and events management.
Successful case: For the “Best Job In The World” campaign for Queensland Tourism
The total period of display was for 2 weeks in the mid of January 2009. The mobile billboard creative execution was aimed to drive online applications for the “Best Job In The World” as Island Caretaker at the Islands of Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
Together with Posterscope South-East Asia as the outdoor specialist for this project, we worked together with the out-of-home specialist and client to customise a route that encompasses the Live.Work.Play. The Work and Study route : CBD Shenton way, Raffles Place, Orchard road, University; Play route: East Coast (Beach Area); the Live route at various Heartlands and also focusing at Jurong Point, Tampines Mall. Talents were also deployed at each rest-stop to help distribute flyers and further engaged members of the public.
It was an overwhelming success to everyone. A first for the client, TPM and the current Out-of-Home Advertising scene in Singapore. The client also shared her thoughts with us on….
Thank you too - It has been our joy to be of service. See you in the outdoors again soon!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Pearl Centre Out of Home Advertising Spectacular - Site Review
TPM Outdoor has been marketing one of the best billboard spectacular displays in Singapore since 2003 till today. This Out-of-Home Advertising site had been the stronghold of APB's Tiger Beer during the "It's Tiger Time" hay days. Tiger Beer was then strongly featured as the fun beer to have during good times - which was close to the hearts of many locals.
Corny tagline, but many of us (then) did look at our watches after 5pm weekdays and shouted out in glee that It's Tiger Time". The beauty of great marketing is proportionate to recall rate, not an art degree... =)
I am surprised to still find records of these comments by Edmund Ng via the Marketing Magazine in a 2007 interview which reviewed this spectacular outdoor advertisement showpiece. I also blogged about this neon display before. A copy of the interview in its entirety as follow:
Read More......Published: Apr 16, 2007Name: Edmund NgPosition: Marketing Manager for Tiger Beer
Company: Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (APBS)
"We installed a neon billboard at Pearl Centre in December 2005 as part of Tiger's rebranding campaign launched in October 2005, which featured a TVC starring Hollywood IT-girl, Jessica Alba.
"The fully-animated neon billboard, comprising the vibrant mix of the brand's trademark colours, gold, blue and orange, showcases our enhanced logo with the signature Tiger icon striding forth, along with the new campaign tagline, ‘It's Time'.
"The idea of installing a neon billboard at Pearl Centre was a collective decision by APBS and its agencies, MindShare Singapore and BBDO Singapore, with the neon billboard developed to create stronger brand recall and encourage consumption of Tiger among the target audience.
"MindShare Singapore worked with Posterscope SE Asia who in turn liaised with Pearl Centre's building management to finalise the details and set-up of the neon billboard. Poster Publicity subsequently worked with a hardware/software supplier from Italy who produced the neon billboard and the lighting sequence.
"Pearl Centre was selected for its high-profile location in the Chinatown vicinity and its location at a high traffic junction ensures high visibility of the billboard among our target audience -- mainly the PMEBs/white-collared crowd working in the CBD and the Chinese-speaking consumers who live/work in and around Chinatown, both of whom enjoy drinking beer.
"In addition, there are numerous food and beverage outlets in the surrounding areas, and we want to target our key audiences at the right moment, especially in the evenings when most beer is consumed. At night, the neon billboard stands out due to its flashing sequence, and ties in well with the ‘life after dark' concept where drinkers enjoy Tiger with friends after a hard day's work.
"Tiger has the contract for the site for two years, till December 2007. As an outdoor media vehicle, the billboard is able to withstand the various weather conditions in Singapore and require minimal maintenance by the media owner, Posterscope SE Asia."
How much did it cost? Ng could not disclose figures but an out-of-home industry expert estimated the execution would have cost Asia Pacific Breweries "somewhere between $150,000 to $250,000, depending on the amount of neon used".
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tiger Beer Out of Home Advertising in Singapore and China
TPM Outdoor Productions had completed an update + upgrade in Oct 2008 for an Out of Home Advertising display at the Asia Pacific Brewries (APB) office in Singapore for one of its top brands - Tiger Beer.
This Tiger Beer outdoor advertising media is a double-sided billboard display and also a company signage as well. In fact, this spectacular is such a great landmark sign in the vincity of the Tuas area that many travelers using the Second Link to and fro Singapore and Johor Bahru (JB) often refer to this "Tiger Beer sign" as an indication!
The update for this Tiger Beer outdoor advertising media saw the change in tagline from "It's Tiger Time" to its "Enjoy Winning" The upgrade is from its former use of neon lighting to fully animated LED lighting. Here are night pictures of the new outdoor advertising display for "Enjoy Winning" Tiger Beer -
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Right Way to Harness Trees
Trees versus Billboards is a perennial debate - in Singapore, it is hands-down obvious that the trees have the most rights over almost anything including, as mentioned our previous article F1 Singapore: No Trees were Harmed
Firstly, I need to state that I am a resolute tree lover. And while I think it's great that we have a lot of trees in Singapore, sometimes it is really a little too much. Especially since trees in Singapore are almost always monotone in green thanks to our tropical weather.
I believe in the "Trees versus Billboards debate" it is a simple matter of "Who's-Here-First" and "What's The Resolution" - ie. (1) May the tree be relocated with minimal damage while keeping the interests of all parties? (2) or maybe a good pruning will suffice. It is also obvious that no outdoor advertising firm would randomly develop a new site that is surrounded by many pre-existing trees...
Thus I was really upset to see this in Jakarta, Indonesia a couple of months back:
This is the absolute wrong way to harness the use of trees as the banner displays are tied with steel ropes around the palms As I understand the development of a unipole billboard is not allowed along this stretch of road but it is almost no reason. I feel painful for the trees...
On the other hand, during the Singapore Biennale 2006, artist, Yayoi Kusama “... instructed the covering of all trees in polkadot fabric, which stand on the stretch of Orchard Road from the corner of Orchard Link and Bideford Road up to the corner of Paterson and Scotts Road. Some of the trees are furthermore decorated with polkadot balls.” (taken from Universes in Universe - Worlds of Art)
Nice, impactful and also approved by NParks. Most importantly, "Trees versus Billboards”=perfect.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Reverse Graffiti By Caltex
Reverse graffiti spotted in Singapore today at the old Kallang Gasworks. By Caltex - Clean by Techron. It will be cleaned off completely in 8 weeks. Wonderful execution and environmentally friendly too!
It's not the first time a reverse graffiti concept is used to spread an environmental protection message. The World Carfree Day 2007 did a spectacular one in Sao Paulo as well. Nonetheless, I am really impressed by this wonderful out-of-home execution!
Really really good....
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Outdoor Advertising Vendors in France REJOICE!
Spotted on: The BBC
French viewers have for the first time watched prime-time television without advert breaks, as President Nicolas Sarkozy's media reforms got under way.I think outdoor advertising and digital media space vendors are going to have a really good year absorbing all the “lost” dollars from the television medium. Read More......
Advertising is now banned on French public television between 8pm to 6am. All advertising will be phased out by 2011.
It is part of Mr Sarkozy's move to shake up public broadcasting which he claims will improve the quality of programming as the channels no longer have to attract large audiences in order to secure advertising revenue.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Insights 1: A Highly Effective Visual Impact
A picture paints a thousand words. Or in this case, more like PAIN(t) a thousand words.
It is really hard to describe pain – is it throbbing, sore, numbing blood curling or I-rather-be-dead-now etc. Given the New Year festivities, how would you describe the current hangover again? ;)
Spotted at: adgoodness
Location: Toronto, Dundas Square, Canada.
“Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol brand posted a large backlit board with an eye catching execution of a man suffering from a bad headache. To emphasize his pain, a large wrecking ball, suspended from a 3D crane above the board, has smashed through, and stuck in the man’s forehead.”
Talk about ouch! Read More......
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Happy New Year from TPM!
Happy New Year!
With all the momentous events in the later part of 2008, it is hardly surprising that most of us are bracing for more of the worst to come. But as with all boom-bust cycles, what goes up must come down and this is also the Principle of Waves and Nodes in life.
Despite all this doom and gloom talk, a recession doesn’t mean that the world stops turning and we stop eating – it simply means a smarter way of achieving more for less and perhaps also eating less steak and more rice. It is also a good time for change as we all challenge the old ways and improve for the better.
So, as a series of changes, we at TPM will be exploring more means of helping our clients stretching their ad dollar with outdoor advertising and also work with our strategic partners to provide more value-add. I will also include more content into this blog to share general marketing insights and analysis that I have inevitably gathered in my new role in client servicing.
As usual, I welcome all comments and sharing.
Thank you for your kind support in 2008 and we look forward to helping and sharing further this 2009. Let’s start with the fun again…!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Heated Bus Stops Offer Sympertising and Tryvertising
Kraft Foods is offering warmth and samples at select Chicago area bus stops - With ads posted in 50 bus shelters around Chicago, the tagline reads, "Cold, provided by winter. Warmth, provided by us. It's a good night for Stove Top."
Kraft even went further and began heating ten of those shelters to give consumers within a little sympvertising in the form of relief from the cold. It will also conduct some tryvertising by giving out samples of its Quick Cups at those heated shelters.
Feels like it is almost a little roadshow out there already! Transforming the outdoors to be as homely as the indoors...
Spotted at nytimes.com
Referred by Shen (Thanks!)
OOH Billboard in Jakarta
I had quick trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, last week to review some of TPM’s billboard placements for our regional clients. Generally, billboard displays in Jakarta are free-standing unipoles from the airport road all the way to into the city centre. Strangely enough, most of these Jakarta billboards are in a portrait format which may make the creative aspect challenging. The landscape formats are usually found on the bridge billboards. I personally like bridge billboards as these vehicular and pedestrian overhead bridges span over both directions of the traffic and are head-on viewing.
Our locations of interest in Jakarta are:
- Jakarta International Airport a.k.a Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
- Areas towards the Plaza Senayan and Senayan City area where Jakarta's mall culture is reflected as the young and cool gather in the shopping malls to hang out (picture above)
- Along Jalan Thamrin - the heart of Jakarta's financial district and also one of the most happening areas thanks to the all-night dining and entertainment from establishments such as the Djakarta Theatre, After Hour, Chili’s, McDonald’s and Starbucks around the renowned Sarinah Department Store.
More details in my next trip which will be rather soon again...
Type rest of the post here
Read More......
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Boomgates - Accident!
Technology advancement created boomgates advertising at car parks. An unique medium with a captive audience since there was always a 15-20 second delay as the driver reaches out to pay the operator or take a ticket from the booth. Last year, TPM had installed several boomgates advertising displays in Singapore for Mini
Some years later, technology is eroding this cost effective medium, in the words of an experienced marketer:-
"With the ERP technology (cashless/ wireless cash deduction device), and all the means to try reduce tail-gating drivers, the boomgates swing upwards too quickly and sometimes, even before the car reaches the boomgates... How can see??"But a great creative may still provide some saving grace, the copy on the following creative reads "In an accident? Make sure you have a ready plan that suits your needs"....
Date spotted: 1 Nov 2008
Location: Auto-Mega Mart Read More......
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
In House Ad - Outdoor LED Screen at Queensway
At major cross junctions leading into Orchard and Alexandra; heart of the central urbanites.
Where the YOUTH gather for the latest fashion and cool kicks. FAMILIES flock for their lifestyle/ car buying needs, and weekend breaks.
This LED screen is the best feature place for TV Commercials, MTVs, Publicity Videos, Movie Trailers and Events Coverage.
This in-house ad was fantastically done by "H1Studio" in flash format. We love it!
Minority Report Mall Scene/ the TRUE Digital Outdoor....
Previously, I wrote on the development of digital outdoor on this blog " Digital Outdoor Today and Beyond". I also went into how I think that TRUE digital outdoor was exemplified in the streetscape scene in of the "Minority Report" movie (2002). Found the exact scene on YouTube - and in the author, " Fayizaugusto’s" own words –
“This is a scene from the movie Minority Report. Tom Cruise walks in the mall while his eyes are getting scanned by 3D screens. The screens call him directly by his name to get his attention.”
TPM also recently set up a giant outdoor led digital screen. Will be posting more on that later AFTER I figure out this YouTube thingy. Wish me luck. Or wish YouTube luck. I’ll be wreaking this.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Singapore Outdoor Advertising Awards
The Singapore Outdoor Advertising Awards are back for its 7th year and it will be exciting to see the finalists and award winners this year. What I am happier to say is that on its current homepage - as screen captured; there are 2 works which are related to the TPM team! Guess which? ;)
Friday, October 10, 2008
Ford Fusion Creative Spin on Airport Advertising
Location: At the Budapest Airport’s baggage claim.
Advertiser: Ford Fusion
Date: 28 Sept 2008 (approx)
Work of social - Minjae Ormes and in her own words: "At the Budapest Airport’s baggage claim, one’s luggage comes out of the trunk of a Ford Fusion. How clever!" I concur wholly and couldn't have said it better.
Minjae Ormes is an independent digital consultant, a very brilliant photographer with a great sense of humor and fun. Thanks again Minjae, for letting me share this picture of a wonderful piece of outdoor advertising execution.
Monday, September 22, 2008
LED Enhances Traditional Outdoor Displays
The LED technology has recently stabilized at a new high, further boosting the proliferation of LED billboards into the outdoor media landscape. Once upon a time, LED screens, or also known as e-boards or digital outdoor displays, were considered premium and rare products, but now they are considered a mainstream outdoor media format.
Louis M. Brill provides more details in an article with the SIGNINDUSTRY.COM - LED Billboards: Outdoor Advertising in the Video Age. He has also mapped the application of LED billboards into 3 specifics – spectaculars, roadside displays and LED billboards as multiple signs into a network system. Tulip Mega Media, based out of Shanghai, China has done just that with a current operation of LED large screens with a combined area of more than 10,000 square meters in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou as cited here.
LED technology has also stablized whereby we are able to explore its lighting capabilities to enhance our displays. Yet, I personally stand-by the view that neon lighting remains an incredible art form and allows for a much wider range of color shades. Neon lighting is also the brightest form of advertising lighting…
This is one of our former landmark sign for Tiger Beer at the start of Chinatown, Singapore. It is also the largest animated neon in Singapore between 2003-2007. It was a very beautiful and powerful strong visual impact.
But TPM has been tinkered around with LED lighting since 2004, and we have harnessed its low power consumption for use in combination with a frontlit banner display as currently seen at the Furama City Center Hotel for Konica Minolta Copiers. The corporate logo and company name is reproduced in LED format adding extra brightness and shine for the night scene. Good visual impact, highly cost effective and environmentally friendly!
Friday, September 19, 2008
F1 Singapore: No Trees were Harmed
The SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX has attracted unparalleled attention as the world's first night race. It is also the first F1 to be held in Singapore. The race route will be street circuit along tree-lined avenues that runs through the heart of the city.
Wait a minute - "tree-lined avenues".!
While the tree lined avenues do present a picturesque imagery, the proliferation of trees in Singapore is no small matter. In fact, these trees are a constant challenge to us in the outdoor advertising industry in Singapore as they create viewing obstructions to outdoor advertisements on the building facades. Unfortunately, trees in Singapore are also considered the jurisdiction of our highest authority; in fact it is His pet project since the 1970's. There is hardly any good reason to trim or re-locate a tree for commercial reasons. NOT EVEN THE F1!
Thus no tree was harmed or fell for the F1. But a cross-government body was set up to redesign the route and allocation of the Pit Building and a further millions of dollars required to re-locate and trim all of the obstinate trees… Read More......
New Take On Toilet Media
Toilet Media is well-regarded as a way to reach a limited but effectively captive audience. I guess there is some waiting around in the toilet including at the queue and of course, during the "conducting of various businesses"
Usually, toilet media are found on the doors, walls and mirrors. I spotted this interesting one at the loo of Suntec City Convention Center. This time the BASIN is used to communicate the spill-resistant feature... Thus the Toughbook is placed within the wash basin while water from the tap runs periodically over it! Great product-feature-medium-application linkage!
It is amazing how a creative idea goes a long way to instantly communicate a strong message. This is similar to our execution for Nippon All Weather Paint and the Organics/ Sunsilk Frequent Wash campaigns using the fountain feature - Read more about Interesting Fountain Displays
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Singapore Tourism Board Event @ Ang Mo Kio Hub
A "See Yourself in Tourism" event, promoting career opportunities in the tourism sector of Singapore will be held at Ang Mo Kio Hub this Saturday 23 Aug 2008. Working together with the good folks at Festival Square Circle, TPM had put up 2 indoor banner displays inside AMK Hub to drive traffic towards the event.
The venue, AMK Hub, is a large catchment for the school-going and the heartlander families. Young people should take heart that the tourism sector will only grow by leaps and bounds and that since 2007, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has been investing S$360 million over three years in manpower development to train and prepare some 74,000 workers for the growth in the tourism sector. Thus such recruitment/ promotional activities must be top-notch to attract the best and most suited, afterall, it's all GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out).
TPM In Korea!
I had the great pleasure and honour to know Mr Joonshup Shin, a journalist with POPSIGN which is a very popular and successful Professional Sign Magazine based in Korea. POPSIGN in Korean and English here. Intro to POPSIGN in their own words:
POPSIGN is the first Korean Journal of sign industry. POPSIGN was established in 1993 has steadily grown ever since along with the Korean sign industry. [By] providing graphic information to the industry, [POPSIGN] have tried to develop and invigorate Korean outdoor advertising industry. POPSIGN is also one of co-sponsors for the biggest Sign Show in Korea, the annual KOSIGN exhibitions organized by the COEX...
TPM was introduced in the Aug 2008 POPSIGN publication, I guess that's the closest TPM will get to Korea for a while now - The article is on "online commnunites and blog space: a passage of communication". I will also appreciate any translation help here too!
Much thanks to our readers - the TPM blog receives about 30-40 first time visitors daily. Thank you for your kindest support and please send any interesting OOH for us to share on this blog and with everyone else too.
I also learnt much from Joonshup that OOH Ad online communities and forums are rather popular in Korea too. In fact, TPM's blog was also first introduced at one of these boards - http://cafe.naver.com/
Monday, August 18, 2008
LED Used at the Beijing Olmpics Opening Ceremony...
The technology used behind the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony is quite something. So much so that I am holding my breath for the Closing Ceremony ;) There are so much more brilliant pictures from Gizmodo.
I personally liked one part where the performers were wearing full suits of LED lights and changing colours throughout the dance formation... I want one of those caps.
Gizmodo also provides a glimpse into the technology used behind the ceremonies; some highlights incl. [extracted from Gizmodo]
• The LED screen at the center of the ground, which unrolled to represent a huge scroll detailing China's 5,000-year civilization, measured 482 feet by 72 feet wide and contained a whopping 44,000 LED beads with a distance of 600 millimeters between each two.Even our own TPM team had a bit of sparring wondering if it was really a LED screen ("Wa - are you sure it can be so big? vs "But no shadow!") and now we see what's the finale going to be like this Sunday. *glee Read More......
• The material used for the paper on the painting scroll was produced by the country's aerospace sector. Similarly, most of the core technologies used in the ceremony had been developed by domestic companies.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
What is ESL (electron-stimulated luminescence)?
While we are still exploring the full potential of LED lighting into the different realms of lighting application esp. in our field for outdoor advertising - out pops a new form of energy efficient lighting technology. Sounds like it will only be better news for us!
Dubbed as the ESL, this form of lighting technology has been patented by Vu1. ESL also stands for electron-stimulated luminescence. From Cleantechnica:
"The technology works by using accelerated electrons to stimulate a phosphor coating on the inside of the glass bulb. In contrast, incandescent bulbs run a current through a filament inside the bulbs, and LEDs stimulate semiconductors to create light."As I am not a technically trained in lighting, does this means that the glass bulb here may also translate into any shaped glass with a phosphor coating? Sounds a little like neon lighting! If so, what's the colour palettes available? - I sense a new revolution for lighting art coming up soon..! Read More......
ESL also claims one up on CFLs and LEDS as "Vu1 claims that their bulbs do not have the trace amounts of mercury that CFLs contain, and they do not require the manufacturing energy of LEDs."
Happy National Day Singapore!
The Singapore's National Day 2008 will be celebrated in style and fun at the Marina Bay floating platform this year. We are turning 43 years old!
One major highlight is the usual fireworks display that always captures the audience's oohs and ahhs. But recently, multimedia technologies including projections and Giant LED screens are also lending their brilliance to the special night. A short research on Wikipedia summarizes the use of multimedia over the years:
2003, PIGI projection technology was used, the same technology used for the 2000 Summer Olympics Opening/Closing Ceremony.
2004, the "Biggest LED Screen" in Singapore, measuring 31m x 7m, consisting of 23 separate panels in width and 7 panels in height was used. This setup is also one of the largest outdoor screens in the world. In this year, for the first time, public could send national day greetings via SMS/MMS that will be shown on this LED screen.
2005, "Panoramic Screen and Still Image Projectors" were used. The Panoramic Screen is made up of 26 individual screens each measuring 10m by 6m. Still Image Projectors were used to project the colourful images onto the screen. Also 2 large LED screen, each measuring 8m by 6m, will be used to screen numerous videos and ‘live’ feeds .
2006, same as 2003 is using PIGI projection technology, at the centre of the stadium, a giant Light Emitting Diode (LED) screen is able to split into six smaller screens to provide a powerful visual impact.
2007, "water curtain" - 30 metres high and 90 metres wide, with visual effects provided by six image projectors.
2008, "LED Mash" - consisting of thousands of tiny LED lights which will form a gigantic video screen.
********
Just so you know what to expect this year! Counting down 6 days from now…!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
PALME ASIA 2008 - SINGAPORE
Hailed as the most comprehensive event in S.E. Asia for professional audio and lighting, incorporating AV, music, entertainment and project installations, the PALME Asia 2008 is currently being held at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
While I was mostly only keen on the display technologies for permanent installations, I visited the event anyway to learn more about our region’s offerings. Although I had expected a higher number of exhibitors, the quality of exhibitors are good enough to make it an eye opening experience for me. I was particularly keen on several exhibitors for their outdoor LED screens, LCD/ Plasma screens and those offering lighting and projector effects.
Anyway, it is worth the quick visit and its last day’s tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Welcome to Times Square!
Did you know:
"Broadway's huge number of animated neon and television-style signage have long made it one of New York's iconic symbols, and a symbol of the intensely urban Manhattan. Times Square is the only neighborhood in New York with a zoning ordinance requiring tenants to display bright signs. The density of illuminated signs in Times Square now rivals Las Vegas."
Read More......
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Who is Pichon Kun?
"Everywhere with You" was created, in view "...To reach out to the consumers at large, we wanted to create a campaign that would engage them and inform them that Daikin is always around them" - as quoted by Liu Shaw Jiun, GM of Singapore Sales for Daikin Airconditioning in the Marketing Magazine
I also show some TPM's contributory works for the Daikin "Everywhere with You" 13 sites island wide:
But did you also realised the always featured water droplet cartoon? That's Daikin's mascot - Pichon Kun, but why is there a pink water droplet now? A girlfriend? What's her name??
;)
Why is there No More Neon Advertising in Singapore?
A recent newspaper article focused on outdoor advertising (esp. on neon advertising) in Singapore: While government regulations has been relaxed since 5 years ago, the number of neon advertisements has dropped from 4 large format animated neon signs to only 1 left in the Chinatown area in Singapore.
The article also discusses several interesting factors contributing to the lack of neon advertising - mainly from government restrictions to lack of advertisers' interest and environmental concerns. It concludes that - no matter, the use of high technology lighting in outdoor advertising will definitely go far in contributing to the brightening of
Another interesting web-article focuses on the need for regulatory improvements with the advent of digital outdoor advertising. In fact, with digital outdoor, the number of media spaces has been multiplied infinitely within the same physical space and the speed and low variable costs now allows for some special uses:
"One outdoor advertising company in Madison, Wisc., partners with local and state law enforcement to offer the digital billboards for Amber Alert messages for missing children, trumpeting the fact that an emergency message can be displayed within minutes of a request."
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Hong Kong Will Not Arrest 27-Story Nearly Naked Man
The spectacle of the skyscraper-size underwear ad featuring Djimon Hounsou for Calvin Klein in Hong Kong has been well documented (and well-commented - ie. "The billboard will stay up until April 15, at which time the wrecking crews will come and the city will lose its erection.")
Any in my personal view: For a 30-day campaign, it created a fantastical sensation across the world as an astounding and compelling advertisement to the consumers; garnering admiration from the industry and most importantly - boundary pushing for the regulators:
From the: "Towering underwear ad draws complaints in
Read More......HONG KONG (AFP) — A skyscraper-sized underwear ad featuring Blood Diamond star Djimon Hounsou has been cleared by Hong Kong regulators of indecency, a report said Friday.
The towering black-and-white photograph of the actor sporting just a pair of Calvin Klein briefs drew three complaints of indecency to the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority, a report in the South China Morning Post said...But the watchdog cleared the ad -- the largest of its size in the region -- of the claims, the report said.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Tiger Beer's Interactive Games Den
The Orchard Underpass has been transformed into an interactive games den by the Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore's Tiger Beer in its current “Enjoy Winning” campaign. Pedestrians can take part in eight interactive games and enjoy “winning moments” and friendly rivalry.
This execution also highlights that interactive outdoor is not necessarily synonymous with digital outdoor. Essentially, interactive means a two-way street between the brand and its target audience. As much as the brand is trying to communicate its offerings and values, it must also create an avenue for the target audience to empathise with it. Thus even with the recent proliferation of LED/LCD/ Plasmas and blue-cast technology into digital outdoor, the interactive element still has much room for growth.
One key concern about unleashing full interactivity is the lack of moderation – or better known as the “Youtube dilemma”/ “A Slippery Slope of Censorship at YouTube” But I guess this campaign’s moderation lies in the white-board eraser and the next member of the public who wish to leave their (temporary) mark behind…
Via: Marketing
Date: May 2008
Location: Orchard Underpass
Format: Creative/ Ambient
Type rest of the post here
Read More......
Sunday, May 11, 2008
DIY and very funny: DRIVE BY PROJECTING
Buckets of inspiration...! Hope it made you laugh out loud. ;)
VJ+DIY:AntiVJ - projection on building
The highlights: DIY, VJ-ing to live music and not some monument - just the house next door and no post production.
In the artist's own words: The idea is to project some live visuals on a building, and also play with the existing elements (doors, windows..) and light up elements separately, in rhythm with the music. Not perfectly in time, but this is live ! :)
Made with flash and arkaos.
Architectural: Lisbon Video Projection
Makes the most somber looking building funky when the sun goes home. This form of architectural projection emphasizes the unique forms of the building and plays up the depths and perspective of the traditional architecture. The next video jazzes it up with some live VJ-ing...
Projection in Outdoor Advertising
Been doing loads of research and testing on use of projection for outdoor advertisements - and there is a world of difference between the type of equipment out there for a variety of usage. ie. sadly, there is no catch-all solution for outdoor purposes. Some excel in architectural lighting, some only being able to play slides while others being able to play animated videos.
Above:
Testing between a LCD projector and a DLP projector that we are exploring for an outdoor execution. The colour contrast difference and sharpness of image is very evident to the layman. We plan to use this for live broadcast and also for playing fully animated videos.
I will be posting some youtube postings of the various forms of projections being done. One of the artist calls his work "visual mapping"... BUT - if you have no time, at least watch the DRIVE BY PROJECTING - gives you all forms of inspiration!
haha...
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
GIANT Luggage Spotted in Singapore
Did some giant wandering around Singapore lose their luggage today?
This 3-D display for a giant luggage by the Carlton was spotted at the open field near the Tanjong Pagar area today. The size is deceptively small in the pictures and I have not seen it for myself yet. But I was assured that it towered close to 2 persons in total height. Nice finishing touch with the coat hanger detail as well, since I can now be sure that it is definitely target at the frequent/ business travelers.
I am empathize closely with these business travelers, it is totally enjoyable to be zipping around new cities and meeting new people and culture etc. But managing that luggage along with all that moving around, and the dread packing...?! The size of this display completely correlates with the size of the headaches of frequent travelers. Nice...
TPM was also part of another ART-vertisement display in
Monday, March 31, 2008
F1 News: Singapore tests lighting system
From www.autosport.com; "F1 News: Singapore Tests Lighting System" By Matt Beer -
Some interesting extracts -
"....Sixteen light projectors have been temporarily set up along a 64-metre stretch of the capital's
“The lights have a 3000 lux illumination rating, compared to around 100 lux for
“The 'digiflag' electronic sign-boards that will be used in place of normal flag marshals are also being demonstrated.”
Dimly-lit Flyer Does Not Quite Take Off...
Bright and well designed lighting is extremely vital to portray a city's vibrancy. Thus the city skyline not only includes the buildings but also billboard displays and iconic features such as a ferris wheel. Did the ferris wheel trend all started with the Millennium Eye in London?
8 years later, Singapore has one too - The Singapore Flyer! It had its soft launch on Valentine's Day, mid Feb 2008 and has been operating since. But its effect on the overall city skyline seems to be lacking... Mr Lim Boon Hee commented on this via TODAY newspaper on 26 Mar 2008. His comments as follow:
As the above picture shows, Mr Lim is quite right, as the Singapore Flyer is currently lit in an electric blue shade with white neon animated in square sections along the wheel. And Rhonda Koh from the Singapore Flyer has replied on the WEEKEND TODAY to confirm that this blue hue is intentional and the dynamic lighting effects will be unveiled in the Grand Opening on April 15.In my personal view, not only must the lighting effects be more dynamic, they must be a lot more brighter as well for a good impact. But I am also very curious to why the "spokes" of the wheel are not lit, giving the strange effect of a giant RING? Fengshui??
Here's the Taipei Miramar Wheel and the nightscape view of Taipei. Hopefully the formal lighting plan for the Singapore Flyer will have the same impact on our own Singapore skyline. Till 15 April 2008 then. Mr Lim, myself and a whole load of us are looking forward to the unveiling...!Sunday, March 30, 2008
ART-vertisement Makes a Garden out of Singapore
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Thursday, March 27, 2008
The Long Awaited Update in BCA Guidelines for Outdoor Advertising!
The Building Construction Authority (BCA) is the key authority governing outdoor advertisements in Singapore. As their name implies, their jurisdiction is mainly focused on the building-related large format, shop signage and banner displays. Not as much for the transit and street-furniture forms of displays. But looking at the high difference of vibrancy between the transit ambient displays vs. the building large format and neon displays in Singapore, we wonder if the difference in governing bodies has any effect on this observation?
Anyway, the long awaited update in BCA guidelines for outdoor advertising has finally been revealed on their website on 18 Mar 2008!
Ever since I joined this industry, more than 2 years ago, we have been heavily hinted upon that there will be an update of BCA guidelines. We had always assumed that these updates will boostler the industry, especially, with the upcoming F1 races and two Integrated Resorts (IR) development in 2008, and 2010 respectively. We heard nothing official until now...
But please don't get your hopes up, like me... Ouch...!
Some new updated guidelines esp. for displays in the Central Area incl -
* "The key promotional message and name / details of the event must be the predominant component of the sign and the supporting graphics / pictures are not to exceed 50% of the size of the sign." [[The previous ruling was for the promotional message to be at least 20% of the size of the sign, now it is at least 50%...]]
* The maximum display period for each temporary (banner) sign is two calendar months. There is to be a minimum period of two weeks before the display of a replacement sign. [[ The previous ruling was for 3 months....]]
There's more than the above highlights, I will not comment further except maybe to weep in the corner of my office for a while. DO NOT TAKE MY COMMENTS/ BLOG AS THE LAWFUL GUIDELINES, please get direct details from the BCA website and consult directly with the BCA officer at Level 2 of the MND Building along Maxwell Road for a better means of compliance with the new guidelines.
Good luck everyone!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Outdoor Advertising and the Goverment
Most industries work hand-in-hand with the government for mutual growth ie. business growth = economy growth etc. This synergy however, is not applicable to cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, guns and things that will essentially kill a person.
So how does the outdoor advertising industry fall into this group of outcasts?
Pardon the the slight tone of resentment here. I am caught up in some bureaucracy recently, hence the lack of updates. Do stay tuned however, I just came back from a quick trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ;)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Rocky Balboa Digital Outdoor Campaign
A digital poster campaign featuring Rocky Balboa training on the stairs as you ride side by side with him up the escalator in the subway. Just when both you and Rocky reach the top, we have that fist hitting the air triumph!
Haha, corny, but very very fun. In the spirit of Rocky.
Digital Outdoor Today and Beyond
Outdoor advertising made its first historical footprint as early as 1835 as 9x6 posters for the circus in the U.S. That is close to 180 years ago, making outdoor advertising, or now better re-branded as "Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising", one of the oldest forms of media in existence today. It is amazing to see how the oldest form of media today, is also the arena for the most exciting innovations in new media creation today. New media in the OOH arena is everywhere from the pathways we walk on to the sophisticated digital signages that is creeping into our lives everywhere outside the home.
Picture - TM and (C) 2002 Twentieth Century Fox and Dreamworks L.L.C. All rights reservedI personally believe that our industry's future has been exemplified in the streetscape scene in the "Minority Report" movie (2002) - there was this scene where Tom Cruise's character was escaping through a shopping mall. By iris recognition, Cruise's character was identified and - customised, holographic outdoor advertisements started to appear before his own eyes only...!
Minority Report depicts an advertising-saturated society where billboards call out to passersby on a first-name basis, newspapers deliver news instantly over a broadband wireless network, holographic hosts greet you at retail stores, biometric retina scans deduct the cost of goods from your bank account, and cereal boxes broadcast animated commercials. - mpulseIt was great that I chanced upon OOHic - a site dedicated to spreading as much information as possible about the OOH industry/ digital signage in under one roof. OOHic is set up by Austin Dsouza and he's doing a fantastic job achieving his website's objective. Good job! I'll be your new regular.
Static, Digital and finally, one day holographic and completely personalised and for-your-eyes only! The implications are very wide-ranging, ethically debatable and whats-not, but I am sure that by the time the technology matures, we would have ironed all the involved issues as well. Read More......
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Road Accidents and "THAT PINT"
It is a long stretch of festivities again and while many are enjoying, some few people may be grieving over unnecessary accidents just because of "THAT PINT". While the Singapore Police Force and the Traffic Police of Singapore has done much both in terms of enforcement and attention grabbing outdoor advertisements to discourage drink driving, it does not provide the high shock impact as the following:
'Man in a pint glass' In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport trapped an actual convicted drunk driver in a giant pint glass as part of its Christmas 2007 campaign against drink driving.
Via: Brand Republic and AdgoodnessDate: Dec 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Intention: Show how drinking and driving can come between "you" and Christmas
Read More......
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Happy Chinese New Year!
Happy Chinese New Year in 2008! OCBC has really harnessed its corporate colours strongly to heighten the festive spirit. This was spotted along Chinatown today.
The TPM team also had the chance to join in the festive season by installing this similar Chinese New Year banner for OCBC at Northpoint. What a splash of strong colour and hopefully, strong luck for the Year of the Rat!
Location: Northpoint Shopping Centre
Format: Banner
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
What's a 20+25millon Contract in Singapore Like
The latest update seems to be Kingsmen Creative - $25millon and Pico Art International for $20million. The glory of our local industry. Some news extracts -
Source : The Business Times, December 7, 2007
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Friday, November 23, 2007
Loreal - True Match
Our recent works have been rather mundane recently after all the excitement in October. In fact I also just came back from a long break away from work as well, hence the lack of updates.
Simple graphic sticker job at the Suntect Convention Centre on 7 Nov 2007. But I am rather happy with how the colour turned out, otherwise it would be a mockery on the visual "True Match"
Thursday, October 25, 2007
TPM-Rigid@ AOA
Posting "live" from the TPM-Rigid booth at the Asia Outdoor Advertising 2007 booth F06.
The quality of the exhibition is surprisingly high given that this is the inaugural effort. The exhibition veterans will know that it is not the volume of visitors that count, but the quality of enquires really. It is worth the trip. So see, you!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Asia Outdoor Advertising 2007
TPM Outdoor Productions will be at the Asia Outdoor Advertising @ Suntec from the 24-26 Oct 2007. That's just 3 days away!
Many outdoor advertising media vendors and technology suppliers from around the entire Asia region will be present. It is a historic event and at a gigantic scale for the first time. We are participating with the Rigid Group which is based in Hong Kong/ China.
Our booth is F06, so please also catch up with us at the exhibition. See you!
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Stay Curious - The Light up Lightbox
Did you spot the second type of lightboxes for the "Stay Curious" campaign yet?
The second type of Stay Curious lightbox was launched a couple of weeks back on 3 Oct. It is a light-up lightbox with a special message for the extra curious people... Just "PRESS HERE"
Location: Habourfront/ Vivo City
Have fun with these lightboxes because the campaign is ending soon... It had been rather fun. ;)
Friday, October 19, 2007
You Can Find Jesus Anywhere
Almost too innocuous, but extremely effective. A little green name card sized postcard on the wall at the lift landing where the church is based.
And there it is, between the hundreds of tiles, the Cross is really there. Suddenly, you'll realise that the Cross is indeed anywhere. Simple, brilliant and leads to profound and recurring thoughts of the message "You Can Find Jesus Anywhere"
I am no Christian, but I am certainly impressed and impacted.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Stay Curious - Peephole Lightbox
The first type of Stay Curious lightbox was launched last week on 26 Sept. It is a peephole lightbox with a special message inside for the extra curious people...
The special message: 
Locations as posted above: Sim Lim Tower, People's Park Centre
We have another series of lightbox for the Stay Curious campaign launching this week. Look out for it!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Stay Curious
TPM Outdoor Productions is infecting little pieces of green around your office and leisure places with red and round balls. What's more is that YOU can bring any of them home immediately. The first location is at the lawns outside Raffles Place MRT station. But there will be more locations coming up, so keep a look out at your nearest piece of field, for you might never know.... ;)
We are proud to be part of the "Stay Curious" campaign. While many have guessed at the end client, I shall not reveal it here. Hopefully such an event will also increase the public's awareness for out-of-home media to connect these interesting balls to the "Stay Curious" lightbox displays around the malls and MRT stations that is happening concurrently. More pictures on that and its follow up projects coming up in our next update.
Psst >> Featured on STOMP!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
The Countdown Begins
Had a whirlwind trip in Hong Kong/ Macau in several weeks ago. The international airport and high traffic MTR stations such as Causeway Bay had these large countdown clocks displayed. All in anticipation for the Olympics 2008 held in Beijing on 08. 08. 08.
Where have all the Large Formats Gone?
Specialist Shopping Centre was a discreet success along Orchard Road - firstly as the stronghold of John Little/ Robinsons department store, its unpretentious hotel and its heavenly nonya kuehs. This site will be redeveloped so there's no great loss for the public who can look forward to a revitalized part of the Somerset MRT station vicinity in 2008. But it has been a blow for the local outdoor advertising industry.
Specialist Shopping Centre had been the site of the largest trivision (three-message) displays in Orchard Road. As of last week, even the prisms have already been removed for the impending construction works. In fact, many large formats displays are now no more. Noted from an industry observer: The entire stretch of AYE is now quiet and dark. The JC Decaux site for DHL - yellow and the Courts display at the Keppel Distripark have all disappeared in a wink! Even the neon display for Casio at Chinatown Point had shone its last in mid-Aug.
What's happening? Are these "disappearances" an observable trend? Maybe the industry is simply refreshing the site inventory or is it the beginning of an end?
PS: If you had not notice any of these "disappearances" - your only excuse is that you are not living in Singapore. *kidding..
Friday, August 31, 2007
COMEX 2007 Singapore - The IT Event of the Year!
COMEX 2007 Singapore - The IT Event of the Year is here! It is from 30 Aug to 2 Sept 2007 at the Suntec Convention Centre. 
TPM Outdoor Productions was privileged to participate in Comex 2007 Singapore this year as a supplier for print, temporary structure and installation of an advertising display for SanDisk.
Our TPM team is such a trooper! Truth be said, it is always stressful to work for an events company due to the strict schedules. But it is always rewarding knowing that we were able to meet these standards. Thank you everyone for the support!
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Monday, August 13, 2007
Adidas and guerrilla marketing
Adidas is one brand that knows outdoor advertising very well and has harnessed it to create many guerrilla marketing campaigns that are form unique and lasting impressions.
Adidas’s outdoor advertising executions are interactive ie. highly engaging to the audience. They are also well targeted at their intended audience for that particular campaign - youngster, runners, football enthusiasts etc. They were also careful to make their brand expandable, making us pay through our noses for either extreme of the fashion range of the Classics and Stella McCarthy. Some of my favourite works:
Date: Aug 2006 (during Fashion Week)
Via: Thomas Rockstar
Location: Pilestraede, Copenhagen
Intention: To entice customers to go to their new store launched in Pilestraede, Copenhagen
during fashion week.
How/ Mechanism: By filling the fountain at ‘Enhave Plads’ with small blue rubber ducks. People who picked up the ducks will read on their side: “I’ve swum too far - help me get back home!” and on the bottom: “Reward for my return at Adidas Original store”. Customers that bring the the duck back to the store they received a free t-shirt!
Date: Jul 2006
Via: Caffeine Marketing
Location: Leidse Square, Amsterdam
Intention: To launch of new Adidas Classics concept store in the vicinity.
How/ Mechanism: What’s there to say really…?
Actually, TPM Outdoor Productions is also part of Adidas’ outdoor advertising campaigns in Singapore on a regular basis. In fact, we are the appointed production house for the advertising needs at Queensway Shopping Centre, Singapore.
The magnitude of work at this location is very large and given the very tight deadlines, I cannot honestly proclaim that these our best works. Nonetheless, the impact created at this targeted location combined with the interesting creative and execution, the audience always have strong impressions Adidas at Queensway Shopping Centre.
With so many sporting events coming up, the next change will be coming up soon. Do go over to Queensway Shopping Centre to see its next change… Could it be EPL next?
OCBC at White Sands Shopping Centre
OCBC has recently embarked on an exciting advertising blitz which includes a strong outdoor advertising component. The most prominent messages for this campaign are the "Sunday Banking", "OCBC Cash in Hand Promotion" and the children targeted savings programme marketed as "Might $avers".
These outdoor advertisements are targeted at high traffic areas within a 50-100m radius from their bank branches.
TPM Outdoor Productions was part of the ambient outdoor advertising done by OCBC at the White Sands Shopping Centre. That's the shopping centre next to Pasir Ris Mrt Station along the east-west line. As it is also considered a promotional campaign, the production and installation efforts had to match the launch date carefully. Not a day earlier or later...
Man, our TPM team worked our socks off, but we did complete within the timeline to the client's satisfaction. Banking and finance related clients have some of the highest standards and we are glad to have made the cut. It was a proud day!
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Saturday, July 28, 2007
Outdoor Advertising in Malaysia, KL
Another whirlwind trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last week.
Comparative to the outdoor advertising scene in Jarkata, Indonesia which I was introduced to recently, the scene in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is slightly more mature in terms of size of display and its orderliness. The structure were also more "professional looking" ie. sturdier and have better finishing.
Despite so, preliminary research on the Internet yielded that the outdoor advertising market size in Malaysia is only 2% of overall adspend in 2006. This is only RM~76.4mil, compared to the over RM2bil for adspend in newspapers! Considering the quality of newspapers advertising and outdoor advertising in Malaysia, I am surprised by such statistics. But perhaps I am only narrowly looking at this from a Kuala Lumpur perspective. However, it is heartening to see that ACNielsen also indicated that outdoor advertising is the fastest growing adspend segment with a yoy growth of ~37% compared to the shrinkage of the newspapers' segment of -1.1%in 2005.
One growth avenue in outdoor advertising is in ambient advertising. It is evident seeing the aggressive and creative branding of LRT (Light Rail Transit) stations around the city belts like the Imbiah station. Other forms of transits such as the ERL (Express Rail Link) which serves between KLIA and the city are also jumping onto this new revenue source.
Not enough pictures, I know, but then again, I don't foresee that it will be my last trip to Kuala Lumpur (KL) Malaysia in the next month or so. We are about to commence on a mega project within the month of August - More to be revealed in latter postings...!
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Monday, July 23, 2007
Scrolling Outdoor Advertising Display
Is it defective or is it really that "big"?
A clever means of using a scrolling outdoor advertising display for Wonderbra (Filmed in Brussels, Belgium) by causing it to be seemingly defective. In fact, the display would attract even more attention because passers-by would notice that it is working abnormally. A bit on the risque side, but it is a Wonderbra advertisement afterall! *grin
In fact TPM Outdoor Productions is also able to re-create the use of such techniques for creative executions. Another technical "glitch" we can create is to allow only half of a trivision (3-message display) to spin rather than the whole display. In this way, an advertisement for the effects of aging or skin whitening can be shown on a face or body with a "before and after" portrayal.
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Future of Billboards at The Downtown At Marina Bay
Singapore is going through an exciting time!
In the next couple of years, the heart of the city will be transferred to The Downtown at Marina Bay. This new city around the bay is built with deliberate planning with a slew of large scale projects for all types of land use. Already, the seeds for the new Central Business District (CBD) are planted with the completion Grade A office buildings such as One Marina Boulevard in 2004 and One Raffles Quay in recent 2007. The much hyped about Integrated Resort (IR) is scheduled for completion in 2008, adding to the strong tourism and recreational theme for the new city centre. This is also boosted by the already thriving new Marina Bay Golf Course and the grandiose Gardens by The Bay project as part of the Water Bodies Masterplan.
The upcoming completion of the Marina Barrage in 2007 would form part of the new Marina Reservoir together with the other three water bodies, Singapore River, Marina Channel and Kallang Basin. This enlarged water body and stabilised water level will be suitable for an even wider range of activities including current major events such as international water sports events, outdoor concerts and fireworks displays.
While our local developmental agencies such as EDB, URA and NParks are aggressively driving this new vibrant waterfront city with all these Masterplans here and there, I must also contribute too! ;)
Where the city life moves towards, outdoor advertising will as well. It is inevitable, just like the Law of Attraction. Thus it is very heartening to hear that new areas to be considered for outdoor advertising will include The Downtown at Marina Bay! But frankly, I am not as keen on outdoor advertising on building facades as compared to the following forms:
Floating billboards/ Inflatable water balloons
Billboards on Barges 
Sponsored sails of wind-surfers or catamaransI will drive (more like lounge on) one of these babies anytime around the Marina Reservoir myself! Oh but please don’t make me apply through additional governmental bodies to include NParks, PUB and NEA on top of the BCA and URA!
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Interesting Fountain Displays
Unique sites garner unique and creative executions such as the recent one we have completed at Marina Square, Singapore. This is a cascading fountain from the second floor to the ground floor and the display area would be seen from the ground floor. The water flow is also quite powerful, stimulating a strong rain fall or a good shower, so with such good conditions, the ideas came...
We completed one for Organics Shampoo several years ago before they re-branded into Sunsilk. Frequent wash, so the creative display had a constant "wash" effect on the display:
Recently, another one for Nippon Paint- "weather proofing your home" with a torrential rainfall over the entire house. Heh. Very creative and gives you a smile right? I am very admirable for the creative team who have came up with either ideas and TPM Outdoor Productions is happy to be part of the installation team to complete the idea:
BTW, the final MYOB installations took place at Jln Besar's trivision and People's Park Centre trivision. More installations coming up next, stay tuned!
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Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Mini Car Advertising - Targeting Drivers
Vroom...!
Mini Car is very adventurous in their advertising and the outdoor medium is especially apt for them to unleash the uniqueness and creativity. They have Mini Cars climbing all over buildings around the world and recently in Singapore as well. Some years back, we also participated to create toy-boxes and cages to "house" the Mini Car for ambient displays in Orchard Road.
We also got involved in the Mini campaign this year. In a small, but ideally impactful manner.
We would have installed carpark boomgates advertisings in at least 6 carparks by next week. The taglines give the audience a little laugh and this strategy usually gets the message to stick well. The above picture was taken at the St. James Power House. Other locations already installed include the Market Street Carpark, Golden Shoe Carpark etc.
We do our boomgates advertising in a careful manner both suitable for indoor and outdoor carparks. Some other installers prefer to use cable ties as in the picture below, but I think it is unsightly and should be avoided.
No matter, boomgates advertising should be installed above or on the barrier - in line with the rubber protection beneath the barrier. The rubber protects the car from hitting the barrier directly when the car is too slow or fast to move off. Even though our boomgates advertising panels are very light in weight and have no sharp edges, no Lamborghini will appreciate anything to land on its shiny exterior!
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Oi, Mind Your Own Business!
Not being rude here, but it is really, Mind Your Own Business - MYOB for short. It is an accounting software which targets small business owners who seek an accessible programme to handle their own accounting needs. I can empathize well with such a target audience.
MYOB has commenced on their outdoor advertising campaign at end May and now in June as well. Outdoor advertising is highly suitable for the myriad of small business owners that are always zipping around town. TPM Outdoor Productions has already printed and installed at 3 locations in the last 3 weeks. 
Location 1: Singapore Badminton Association, Geylang
Format: Giant Lightbox
Location 2 and 3: 224 Balestier Rd and 183 Sims Ave, Geylang
Format: Frontlit Banner
Date: Jun 2007
We have 2 more locations coming up in the next 2 weeks! Email me/ leave a comment when you spot them and be entitled to a TPM gift pack! *Related persons from TPM and our affiliates are not allowed to participate. I am also open to suggestions on what the gift pack should be! ;)
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Friday, June 22, 2007
What is Digital Media?
I can hardly believe that it has been more than 3 weeks since I last updated. Where has all the minutes and seconds flown to? It has been busy. Or perhaps it was only until earlier this week that I chanced upon a fantastic "Digital Outdoor" execution in Singapore that I was so inspired to share this!
It is for the Nokia Nseries whereby the UPS is about the experience - whatever the tagline is. So this digital outdoor execution is also about the experience. In a LCD screen display incorporated into a giant Nseries phone, the audience has the potential to interact via the wireless control stand right in front of the screen. So it is like playing with a giant mobile phone.
The attention to detail is also amazing - not a typical universal remote control, but a touch enabled wireless remote control! Ooh. I am a sucker for details... 
Even some veterans of the outdoor advertising industry has trouble identifying what exactly is "Digital Outdoor". I am sure it is not just placing a computer in an outdoor environment.
Though I do not have a definitive answer, I feel that any outdoor display that uses technology in a manner that it engages the audience on an additional level - to be involved and drawn into some participation provides a clear value adding enhancement to any traditional outdoor.
Date spotted: 19 Jun 07 (Tues)
Location: Citilink Underpass, Singapore
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Thursday, May 31, 2007
Mini Cars Climbing Buildings Again
Not the first time that Mini Cars are climbing buildings in Singapore, but this execution was particulary interesting as it also involved a tug-of-war on the opposite. Very nice use of the media since the building facade has a cave-in area where the main entrance of the building is. 
One question though: If the men on the right side of the creative are "side view" why is the Mini Car mounted on the building facade with its "top/ plane view" facing the target audience?
Date spotted: 25 May 07 (Fri)
Location: OUB Centre, Raffles Green, Singapore
Very clever how this production team extended the 3D imagery by putting parts of the actual hemp rope on a 1D display.
Dengue Prevention Campaign
The levels of current dengue cases are on its way to epidemic levels - similar to the previous largest outbreak in 2005. But the National Environment Agency of Singapore (NEA) is now harnessing the strength of the community. A large island wide campaign is taking place over the radio, TV, outdoor advertising and in PR efforts to educate the dangers of the andes mosquitoes to ourselves.
In fact the NEA has called for a new tender last week for print of additional banners to be printed and distributed to the district offices for installation in housing estates. This is with good cause too as close to 85% of breeding incidences are in residential areas. I get bitten by mosquitoes a lot, so riddance to all of mosquitoes!
Such government related messages are not subjected to the approvals from authorities such as BCA. But looking at how these banners are installed - between trees, street signs and lighting fixtures or along the fences etc. It is firstly dangerous as these banners are installed without professionalism may fall or be in the obstruction of the public's access to the streets etc. The LTA has restricted the installation of advertisement messages on these street fixtures for a good reason. Furthermore these banners are not well tensioned and it is ugly at their inconsistent heights etc. So why allow double standards like such to be created in the first place?
Date spotted: 23 May 07 (Wed)
Location: Housing Estates Island-wide, Singapore
Friday Late Night Shopping At Orchard Road
I am actually amazed to realise that the "Friday Late Night Shopping At Orchard Road" had been launched as early as July 2006. That is almost 1 year ago or 10-12 Fridays already - 1 Friday at the end of every month. Yet I have not been for any of these 10-12 Fridays yet. 
The current campaign for the "Friday Late Night Shopping At Orchard Road" has stepped up a notch with more intensive outdoor advertising on the street. No media buying for the Uniquely Singapore, instead they rely on their "immunity" from the authorities (waiver to use public goods for promotion of goverment related messages" to use the pedestrian walkways and wrap-around stands on the streetscape trees for their outdoor advertising messages.
Date spotted: 23 May 07 (Wed)
Location: Everywhere, Orchard Road, Singapore Personal gripe: Shopping is a usually spontaneous affair and in Singapore it is difficult as the seated restaurants and mid-high end shopping boutiques and malls close at about the same time between 9.30-10pm everyday and even on weekends. Consumers are forced to choose between good dinner or good shopping, no middle ground - unlike true shopping havens in Hong Kong and Shanghai where decent restaurants, shops, services such as salons are opened till 11pm-1am till the public transport shuts down. No surcharge on mid-night cab fares too! No need to wait for a single Friday out of the entire month for some decent shopping AND food on the same night...!
More Bus-Shelter Creatives - (Asian 9-Ball Guinness Tour 2007)
Date spotted: 23 May 07 (Wed)
Location: In front of The Heeren Shopping Centre, Orchard Road, Singapore
The flat-top of the bus-shelter was transformed into a pool table for the current Asian 9-Ball Guinness Tour 2007. Such creatives are so simple, yet so intelligent. Very sexy (to me!)
Unfortunately, this also means the actual execution is very large, I had to step back several times just to get a full shot of the above. ie. Less than effective to the usually ad-clutter zombified pedestrians. All the ordinary passers-by may see is a pair of very large black legs! So I would not be surprised if you had not spotted these series of bus-shelter executions - But I'm sure you would have caught the TVC for the Asian 9-Ball Guinness Tour 2007 (YouTube Link) though. Exactly what I think a bunch of fun-loving, Guinness guzzling bunch of Irish blokes would come up with.. Heh.
Do note that Singaporeans are rated as the most brisk walkers in the world? So, to catch the local passers-by/ pedestrian attention, outdoor advertising in Singapore must be extra eye-catching otherwise we will simply run-walk them by! But can it actually be believable that we had beaten New Yorkers at walking briskly? When I used to work in Hong Kong, I had to double-time so that I would not seem to be running after my boss. It was actually more pressurizing than a deadline...
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Bus Shelter Display - Soo Kee Jewelry
Spotted a very impressive 3D bus shelter display for Soo Kee Jewelry's Brilliant Rose at the previously unobtrusive bus shelter just outside Tangs Shopping Centre. It was a head-on view for the pedestrian exiting the Orchard MRT station.
Showed this picture to the TPM team earlier this morning and this was overhead:
X: "It would be very impressive if all the roses used to cover the bus shelter were real..."
Y: "If diamond that size is real, good enough for me already..." Date spotted: 28 May 07 (Mon)
Location: In front of Tangs Shopping Centre, Orchard Road, Singapore
Updated: Dug out a picture of the same bus-stop just a week before Soo Kee Jewelry took over.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Road Accidents in Singapore
Road accidents in Singapore seem to on a rise. This is despite the Traffic Police of Singapore governing the roads with some of the most stringent rules in world such as - no handphones/ mobile phones while driving, compulsory belting up for back seat passengers and the frequent spot checks for drunk-driving offenses. So maybe punishment is not enough, but education is needed.
Paris Hilton's drunk-driving offense in 2006 only landed her 36 months' probation, alcohol education and US$1,500 in fines. It is only because Paris Hilton had violated her probation that she is readying herself for the 45 days imprisonment. Wait till she drives in Singapore! Those found guilty of drink driving in Singapore can be fined up to S$5,000, or jailed up to six months and banned from driving for at least a year. Even our local celebrities such as Christopher Lee and Benedict Goh may be expected to serve time for the offenses in drunk driving (DUI)
TPM Outdoor Productions was able to help the Traffic Police of Singapore in conducting alcohol education through the use of outdoor advertisements to spread the safety message and consequences. Outdoor advertising is effective as it directly targets the road-users. Furthermore the Traffic Police times these execution well in the busiest nightlife areas and during festive periods.
Location 1: People's Park Centre, Chinatown
Format: Trivision, sticker - with 2 faces (English and Chinese version)
Message: Targeting Drunk-Driving in Singapore (DUI)
Date: Mar 2007
The Traffic Police has turned their efforts towards education on other traffic offenses. In view of the lack of festive period now, the Traffic Police is right to avoid message fatigue (or being like a mother/ long-winded) to the audience.
The GREAT SINGAPORE SALES (GSS) starts today 25 May 2007. But don't rush across the road just for a new sale at the other side of Orchard Road during the Great Singapore Sales, because Jaywalking Kills...
Location 2: People's Park Complex, Chinatown
Format: Frontlit banner
Message: Targeting Jaywalking in Singapore
Date: May 2007
Beck's Beer Branding at the Kopitiams
Sponsorship with shops and chain outlets is an effective form of point-of-sales (POS) advertising. Some product categories such as credit cards, beer and in some countries, cigarettes do more POS advertising than others.
In Singapore, we have Visa and Mastercard vying at the upmarket retails and food establishments at Club Street or at Far East Square. While the beer boys fight it out in the rows of coffeeshops/ kopitiams along the bustling Geylang. (Note: Kopitiam is the dialect Hokkien for coffeeshop. It is comparable to a cafe in Europe and a mamak stall in Malaysia)
Outdoor plays a strong and large - as in literally LARGE role in these retails sponsorship for POS items such as shop sign, awnings/ canopies, parasols and even the furniture! TPM Outdoor Productions is also highly involved in the production of these and has helped esteemed brands such as Mastercard and Beck's Beer in several projects s.
Most recently we have completed a lightbox signage for Beck's Beer at a coffeeshop/ kopitiam along the Geylang Road. The key challenge was its size since it was more than 6m wide.
Other more notable production for Beck's Beer POS items was at the coffeeshop/ kopitiam at the Fu Lou Shou Building at Bugis next to the famous Kuan Yin Temple at Waterloo Street. Notable because it was very nicely executed and that the kopitiam had very good food too! ;)
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Ministry of Manpower: Shine at Work!
The theme for this year's National Workplace Safety and Health Campaign is "SHINE@work" or "Safety and health involves everyone at work". TPM Outdoor Productions had an opportunity to participate in it - both as a participant of the related construction industries and also in their outdoor campaign. Again, we did the production at:
Location 1: Banner, 18 Roberts Lane (below)
Location 2: Backlit posters, Golden Mile Complex (picture not posted)
Location 3: Trivision sticker, Jalan Besar Plaza (picture not posted)
Location 4: Trivision sticker, People's Park Complex (below)
This is the second campaign TPM Outdoor Productions which had done for the Ministry of Manpower, Singapore (MOM). MOM had also used other forms of exciting ambient media provided by other vendors. Unfortunately these pictures are still stuck in my memory stick. I do have a lot of things to say about Cybershot recently, but that will be for a separate post.
Outdoor media is especially effective for targeting the foreign labour in Singapore. These foreign labourers are mostly in the low value, labour intensive industries such as construction and also domestic help. They do not watch mainstream television, or purchase any newspapers and local magazines. But they do go out whenever they can on weekends and in the late nights in areas such as Serangoon or Golden Mile. They will look up or around to view these messages to them.
Tough Luck, JCDecaux
Shareholders of Clear Channel Communications has accepted the revised version of a buy out from private equity group Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital worth $19.5 billion. Its shareholders were rewarded for holding out on their earlier offer of only $18.7 billion plus debt from this pair of Boston private-equity firms.
But in the midst of the above contentious buyout effort since last year, some analysts have also suggested that Clear Channel stay public and consider selling certain assets, including some of its outdoor assets. Indeed, Clear Channel has received offers for its subsidiary, Clear Channel Outdoor, in two separate occasions from its competitors JCDecaux and most recently Cemusa.
Cemusa is a New York-based unit of a Spanish construction company. It had recently expressed interest to acquire all or part of Clear Channel Outdoor that is 90 percent owned by San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications Inc. Furthermore, Cemusa has a joint venture agreement with Clear Channel for a contract for street-furniture advertising in Madrid.
Not a bad move since outdoor is the one form of advertising that consumers cannot ignore by fast forwarding, flipping stations, choosing not to click or deciding not to read. Even Clear Channel executives had declared in the 2006 letter to shareholders that "Outdoor advertising continues to be one of the strongest-performing segments of traditional media"
The saga is not completely over yet as the buyout deal must be formally approved by a majority of shareholders in a special, still unscheduled vote. If the deal is ultimately approved, Clear Channel would go into private hands.
Eat your heart out JCDecaux. And so will the rest of us...
Monday, May 21, 2007
Leapfrogging Outdoor Ads Try to Get a Leg Up
"The online travel business in India is really heating up. Don’t believe me? Check out this photo of some competitive outdoor advertising passed on to me from my cousin, Manik. It seems that Zoomtra is currently sitting at the top of the heap."
As taken from Rajan Sodhi's interesting blog at Big Marketing for Small Business. Especially amusing since Zoomtra designed the copy with the context of the billboard position in mind to emphasis that they are indeed literally at the height of the competition.
It is tiring to see creatives not designed with the media in mind - too often do we see print creatives being stretched and enlarged directly for billboard purposes. Is there any point to the information provided in that red circle especially since the whole poster is above eye-level?
Personally, context is important to break through the ad clutter as it provides that little bit more thought process to register the message into the numbed-up brain.
Date spotted: 22 Apr 07 (Sun)
Location: The Heeren, Orchard Road, Singapore
Read More......
Monday, May 14, 2007
Clear Channel Selling Out to JCDecaux?
The Britain's outdoor advertising industry is preparing for its biggest ever shake-up. The US group, Clear Channel Communications is expected to sell its international poster business for an estimated $3.2bn (£1.6bn). While the most likely buyer is JCDecaux, the world's second largest outdoor group, private equity groups will come in to bid as well.
Clear Channel Outdoor is currently the largest outdoor advertising operator in the UK, and also claims to dominate in Denmark, Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Sweden. Its operations stretch as far as Australia, China and even in our sunny Singapore too!
It also seems that other players such as USA's Titan Worldwide and Spain's Cemusa will stand to gain from picking off parts that JCDecaux would have to sell on for regulatory reasons. It is almost certainly that JCDecaux will be forced to sell off parts of the British and French operations to avoid breaking competition rules. In Britain, the combined companies would control 80% of roadside poster hoardings. The Singapore operations may be similarly affected as we have the same market sizing and dynamics of the UK market.
The board of Clear Channel Communications is now awaiting a shareholder vote on May 22 for a proposed takeover by Thomas H Lee and Bain Capital Partners, the private equity groups. Whether or not the takeover goes ahead, Clear Channel Outdoor's assets outside the US are likely to go on the block, with the sale process beginning within weeks of the vote.
Though I am aware of how our industry is well affected by the comings and goings of private equity groups, I never really saw this between Clear Channel and JCDecaux at all. Till June then, when we see the results of the shareholder vote and its effects on Singapore!
Life's Short. Get a Divorce.
"Life's Short. Get a Divorce. " - Best life-advice eh? Especially, after I tell you that this is from a pair of divorce lawyers Corri Fetman and Kelly Garland!
Display in downtown Chicago, USA, this suggestive billboard advertisement was removed after only less than a week of display. It features the partially clothed torsos of a buff man and a provocative woman with a slogan in between - “Life’s short. Get a divorce.”
It might be a tad offensive to some, but this was not the reason that it was pulled down by city workers. Instead, it was because Fetman did not have the proper permit. As City Alderman Burton Natarus said. "It has nothing to do with content or anything else." (For more...)
Sunday, May 13, 2007
LEDs emerge to fight fluorescents
TPM Outdoor Productions Pte Ltd has been using LED (light-emitting diodes) lighting to create colourful and animated lighting effects on our frontlit banners/ billboard displays in Singapore since last Aug 2006. We are familiar with LED lighting and its cost and energy efficiency benefits.
This is especially since our Grand Ampera project executed by our sister company, PT TPM in Palembang, Sumatra.
I am sharing an interesting article from Businessweek which summaries how LED lighting will take over our current usage of the compact fluorescent bulbs and incandescent bulbs sooner than you think:
Recent developments in LED lighting that brought about key benefits for its use over the current conventional and alternative sources:
- LED have doubled in energy efficiency and brightness in the last 2 years.
- LED are long lasting: They last up to 50,000 hours compared to about 10,000 hours for fluorescents and 1,000 hours for incandescents. This translate to huge savings in maintenance costs when commercial clients do not need to send out for the janitor each time a bulb blows.
- LED do not contain toxic mercury unlike the compact fluorescent bulbs/ tubes
But it seems like the widespread use of LED is a matter of sooner than later thanks to the forward-looking actions of these governments:
- California and Canada have decided to ban the sale of incandescent bulbs by 2012.
- Australia is banning incandescent bulbs in 2010.
- The European Union is looking at banning production of the bulbs.
- A U.S. Senate committee is working on a proposal that would phase out the light bulb in 10 years."
- Lighting consumes 22 percent of electricity produced in the U.S. and widespread use of LED lighting could cut consumption in half.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
JVC Billboard with Giant Globe at Times Square, New York
JVC Mobile Unveils an Exciting Times Square Billboard That Will Stop Traffic.
There is something very familiar about this execution, especially on the GLOBE. This latest billboard on Times Square, New York is a 2-part execution by Spectacolor Communications Inc - a traffic-stopper billboard graced by eight-foot (~2.4m) tall JVC letters, with a digital "zipper" announcing JVC Mobile's achievements and a globe! The globe measures 38 feet high by 63 feet (~11m H x 19.2m W) wide and glitters with more than 100 fibre optic points.
Gee. Deja vu vu
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Watch an ad and get a free cup of coffee - Medicafe/ WillB Inc.
Hey - more free food again!
But you'll only benefit from this if you are in Japan for the time being. Jointly launched by Apex-Corp and advertising agency WillB Inc, thirsty Japanese will soon be able to enjoy a coffee or other non-alcoholic beverages at a low price or even free! This is on condition if they watch a 30-second advertisement on the vending machines.
The companies aim to generate about 400 million yen through the project in the year from June.
Not a new concept, as e-zines such as Wired Online and Sloan offer full articles on the same condition that the reader watch a 30 second advertisement online. But first time outdoor, and launched on such a scale. Apex-Corp runs 35,000 vending machines across Japan and will start this service next month. These vending machines are well-located at public places - supermarkets, hospitals, schools etc
I think this is very fitting since Japan is the capital of vending machines - besides the usual drinks and snacks, you can buy cigarettes, batteries, condoms, umbrellas, DVDs and even fresh hot French fries. No new learning curve for the target market.
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