Friday, March 25, 2005

Braves' Turner Field to Get World's Largest HDTV



Turner Field is about to get a new TV. 71 feet tall by 79 feet wide, it's a biggie.

Here's a snippet from DesignTechnica:

The world's largest outdoor high definition display (56,000 square feet) will greet and entertain Atlanta Braves fans at the newly renovated Turner Field this season.

The 5,600-square-foot Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Vision screen, which will be recognized by Guinness World Records at a special ceremony on March 23, is 71 feet tall and 79 feet wide, weighs 50 tons and has more than five million LED lights.

The new display consists of 266 panels that each contains 20 lighting units, resulting in a screen with nearly 5,200,000 LED (light emitting diode) modules that can faithfully reproduce 1 billion colors, and be clearly seen from almost any viewing angle.


When on, it needs about 400,000 watts of juice to keep it going. Let's just hope that the Braves have something good to put on the new screen this year.

Read the story here on DesignTechnica, via Gizmodo.

-aB

Monday, March 14, 2005

Another Great Pontiac Marketing Idea



The US is definitely behind the 8-ball when it comes to use of mobile phone technology, but a new campaign for Pontiac's new G6 sedan is perfectly timed, in my opinion.

I spoke about the G6 promotion with Oprah Winfrey here a few months ago, and complimented the program up and down. What I saw last night is just a clever and groundbreaking (at least for the United States).

I saw a commercial last night for the new Pontiac G6 "Catch a G6" viral/mobile campaign. Simple, but very clever campaign using the camera on most people's (at least in the G6 demographic) mobile phones. (I must admit, it's one of those "why didn't I think of that" ideas).

Basically, if you photograph a Pontiac G6 on the street with your cameraphone, send it into Pontiac (at the number/email provided), you are submitted into a drawing for $1 million, as well as a few G6 cars that they'll give away. Simple. Elegant. Great. Here's why:


  • It gets people specifically looking for G6s on the road (a dream of auto manufacturers);
  • It creates a database of potential GM buyers (and their cell phone/cell email numbers;
  • It's viral buzz-worthy (people are talking about it);
  • The site also features a G6 ringtone for your phone (I bet it sounds like the G6 exhaust);
  • It speaks to the demographic of the potential G6 buyer, speaking to them with a marketing campaign that they see as "clever" and "sophisticated." People who likely aren't interested in a G6 won't "get it," but Pontiac could care less.

This is one of the most simple SMS-oriented promotions I've seen here in the US. And I bet it will be effective.

Visit the Pontiac promotion site here.

-aB