Media choice: Tottenham Court Road Tube escalator panels

Toby Roberts, Head of strategy, OMD UK, Marketing 08-Jun-05, 11:42

Consumers are switching off from advertising. Clutter is at least partly to blame; as new media opportunities spread like ground-weed, it seems to be harder to attract people's attention.

Consumer attention, however, was very much in evidence on the escalator at Tottenham Court Road Tube station last weekend, where people were transfixed by the digital panels on show; some were even stroking them. How's that for engagement?

Much of this is the power of novelty, and as a business obsessed with media firsts, we should applaud this. However, this sells the medium short.

The digital outdoor revolution feels as if it has been just around the corner for ages. What it needed was for an established player with a strong product offering in audience terms to combine this with the impact and flexibility of a digital format. This is exactly what Viacom Outdoor has done.

So, where next? My initial impression was that the medium was underused creatively. Direct Line was the only advertiser to realise its potential by having cars moving from panel to panel up the escalator. As the format is rolled out, though, I am sure this will be the norm. Targeting by location and time will also boost impact.

The ads rotated a bit too quickly and I wonder how chewing gum and stickers for anarchist websites will be dealt with, but these are minor reservations.

Maybe this is just the boost the outdoor digital revolution needs.

- Poster sites: Viacom Outdoor.