An estimated 500,000 people will begin to gather at 7am in Times Square this year to watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. It is the one time per year that the square’s population is caught captive and a huge opportunity for advertisers. Motion graphics that appear on the boards are one of the few sources of entertainment, but if something goes wrong there are 500,000 pairs of eyes watching.

With 3,600 digital billboards out of 400,000 billboards in the US, Digital out of home (OOH) is an essential part of marketing plans for beverages and when it comes to executing digital OOH, experience is the most important asset. But there are some other factors that help make digital out of home (OOH) production a success.

I’ve realized there are a few things advertisers needs to consider before running a spot on a digital OOH billboard while managing a large-scale LED board in Times Square for the past 7 years.

Simplify the creative.

• Don’t be too complicated. Trying to tell too big of a message is not effective. Simple is better.
• Make sure you have a motion graphics understanding. 2D/3D can both be used on boards but knowing what works better for the brand is important. An agency can take TV spots/promotional work, separate it and make it fit for the Times Square billboard– if it is dialed down to a simple form.
• Keep in mind colors and contrast. LED boards are not built to handle high contrast creative. It is important to use white at 80-90%, and the human eye will still perceive it as white.
• In one case an agency put their predominantly white creative on a board, and 15 panels were blown. They didn’t understand the effect of such a high contrast. At over $10,000 a pop, those panels really added up. A cost that could have easily been avoided with a better understanding of the board’s color and contrast capabilities.

Not a captive audience.

• With exception of NYE in Times Square, advertisers have very little time to get their message across to an audience. 1.6 million people walk by the 40 by 70 foot LED billboard in Times Square every day. Consider how viewers are battling taxis, the weather, and the naked cowboy, the message on digital OOH better be easily digestible and succinct, or the audience is not going to receive it.
• Everyday spots work best when they are shorter than twenty seconds and 2D motion.
• Deliver readability: Dial down long messages for audiences to them. For each scene, page, etc. keep the copy to 6 words or less and have a quick call to action.

Beware of silent spaces.

• Know what the board’s purpose is…do you want to deliver a message or give the brand a little personality? If you want to give the brand some life and energy, throw some eye candy on the board. If you’re delivering a message, readability is going to be crucial.