Grand Visual News

Team GV Expands with 5 New Hires

2013-05-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

It’s been an eventful month here at GV towers with 5 new hires joining the team! We've got some blinding talent on board to compliment the existing team and help us to maintain our position as the premium offering for clever thinking, execution and creative technology for Digital OOH.

Meet the new additions (from left to right):

JEREMY TAYLOR - ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
Jeremy is our newest recruit but is an old colleague from his days running the Nike account at Kinetic. Jeremy was in at the birth of OpenLoop when we worked together on Nike's Write the Future campaign for the 2010 World Cup. With a decade of experience in Out of Home media Jeremy will be pivotal member of the senior team responsible for developing client relationships whilst providing strategic programme direction and delivery.

FAYE LOWREY - TRAFFIC MANAGER
Faye is another "out-of-home" old timer having worked at Primesight prior to joining Grand Visual. Faye is responsible for the day-to-day running of Accelerator - the web based service for campaign booking information, copy trafficking and campaign support.

BEN PUTLAND - PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Ben feels like an old hand at Grand Visual as he joined on a freelance basis last October to run the Windows Phone campaign. With more than 11 years of experience of handling complex digital media projects at home and abroad, Ben is now a permanent member of the senior team with a remit to continue to improve Grand Visual’s production processes and resource management whilst driving R&D into interactive and digital experiential innovation.

NADIYA ABUBAKAR - PRODUCER
Nadiya will be project managing GV's motion and video output and keeping our clients happy. Nadiya will be working closely with Ric and the rest of the permanent and freelance talent in the MGFX studio.

DAVE CASSON - MOTION GRAPHICS DESIGNER
Dave is a fantastic MGFX artist who also freelanced with us before we made sure he couldn't get away. He works closely with Ric and Nadiya to deliver on motion executions that make the most of the fantastic canvas we have to play with.

Volvic Juiced Launch Digital OOH Game

2013-05-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

This week Volvic juiced launched an interactive game on the large format Bluewater Showcase interactive digital screen. Created by Kinetic Fuel, Frank PR and Grand Visual, with creative direction from Y&R, the game encouraged shoppers to “Get Juiced for the chance to win refreshing prizes!”

Grand Visual provided tech-build and interactive production for the bespoke campaign which uses a laser touch system to make use of the full length of the screen surface. The game challenges shoppers to squash as many falling apples as possible in 60 seconds and each fruit splat fills up an on-screen bottle with tasty apple juice. There are three levels of difficulty help to keep participants engaged and at random times during the day special bonus games will allow lucky players to win bigger prizes. Players are also rewarded with a refreshing bottle of Volvic Juiced post-game.

Global DOOH campaign for The Great Gatsby

2013-05-13T09:12:00.001-07:00

Warner Brothers has launched a global Digital Out of Home campaign for the forthcoming film title “The Great Gatsby,” a new adaptation of Fitzgerald’s novel set in 1920’s New York. Grand Visual produced the campaign which features clips from the film, debuts the main characters and announces the UK release date: 16 May 2013. The UK campaign can be seen on Mall D6s, Oxford Circus LCD’s and in-store at Harrods. GV also localised and adapted the creative for an additional 20 territories across Europe, Asia and South America – our biggest ever international campaign!

London Bikeathon

2013-05-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

Grand Visual has produced a campaign for The London Bikeathon 2013, a charity sporting event in aid of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. The event, now in its 16th year, takes place on Sunday 15 September, when over 7,000 cyclists will cycle one of three routes in and around London with the aim of raising £750,000 pounds to help improve the survival and quality of life of blood cancer patients. The campaign runs on CBS Outdoor LCD screens and Ocean Outdoor’s large format screens in London with the call to action to sign up now at www.bikeathon.org.uk.

Weetabix Launch On The Go Breakfast Biscuits

2013-05-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

Weetabix has unveiled its On The Go Breakfast Biscuits in a campaign spanning Digital OOH, Mobile and Online. Created by BBH, the campaign strategy aims to talk to busy breakfast skippers on their journey in to work.

Grand Visual produced expandable mobile ads, online banners and a nationwide Digital OOH campaign which demonstrates how the biscuits are ideal for busy people on-the-go. A series of executions depict the journey from home to office fuelled by a row of Weetabix Biscuits.

The nationwide Digital Out of Home ran during commuter hours across transport hotspots and supported commuter-based print offerings with both display and sampling activity running across the period.

OpenLoop Powers Crowd-Sourced DOOH Campaign for Bulmers

2013-05-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

Bulmers has launched a Digital OOH campaign which uses OpenLoop to deliver tweets directly to screens in pubs, bars and shopping malls. The twitter enabled digital posters crowd-source regional audiences to ask how they will begin the weekend and promotes the hashtag #Beginwithabulmers to tweet their answers to.

The campaign was initiated by Starcom MediaVest with adam&eveDDB and produced by Grand Visual. A regional call to action asks London and Manchester audiences to tweet about their weekend plans and the creative displays the tweets alongside product shots of the brands two new cider variants - black cherry and red grape.

The live twitter feed is pulled into OpenLoop where tweets are moderated and published to localised screens by We Are Social. The campaign runs on nationwide in-bar network Socialite on Fridays and on D6 Mall screens across London and Manchester on Saturdays. The DOOH activity runs for 4 months over the summer and supports TV, digital and social media.

Tropicana brightens London commuter routes

2013-05-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

Tropicana is brightening up rail and underground stations across London in its latest campaign for Tropicana’s Single Serve orange juice. The campaign includes a huge digital OOH push spanning DEPs, D6s, LCDs and DigiWalls as well as Tunnel wraps, Mega Walls and 6 sheets in a campaign that will see 5 London Station dominations.

“Single Serve” is planned and booked by OMD with digital production by Grand Visual. The digital creative features a dazzling slice of orange which rises like the morning sun and entices commuters to pick up their “Pocketful of sunshine”. The multi-copy campaign also communicates the health benefits of the drink with additional contextual messaging such as “Bring some sunshine with you. It's dark in the underground”.

The campaign includes a high-profile Euston Immersion Zone comprising giant orange full-brand wraps, digital escalator panels and digital 6-sheets. Passengers on the concourse will be surrounded on all sides by the brand, with creative running across the nine Euston Motion screens. For the Digital Escalator Panels a special multi-screen creative is running to show the classic orange juice Single Serve bottle travelling through 4 screens alongside the audience. The digital 6-sheet creative targets London’s morning commuters between 6 and 10am, extending the campaign’s reach when most relevant.

Which Chance is Yours?

2013-05-08T07:53:00.000-07:00

Chanel has launched an interactive touch-screen campaign on Mall D6 screens in 11 shopping centres across the UK. The campaign showcases the Chance fragrance range and offers users the opportunity to discover ‘Which Chance is Yours?’

The campaign invites participants to touch the screen to scatter the petals before selecting a Chance bottle to find out more. A short video for each fragrance helps users to discover key information about their floral constellations and characteristics to give shoppers an idea of which Chance fragrance will match their personality.

To reward consumers for interacting a “free surprise” is available to shoppers who text their fragrance reference to a shortcode. A unique SMS code is then sent back to their handset which is redeemable through local retail partners to help drive sampling and sales. The campaign was created and produced by Grand Visual and booked by Kinetic.

Phineas and Ferb and YOU: A Brand New Reality

2013-05-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

Downtown Disney launched an entertaining augmented reality game that brought to life the popular cartoon duo Phineas and Ferb. The large interactive installation at Downtown Disney West Side invited crowds to join the ‘toon world and interact with the animated characters on screen.

Grand Visual built the AR system and developed 20 engaging experiences that allowed kids to virtually interact with the shows main characters. Participants stood in the zone and looked up to see themselves on the big screen where they could sword fight, play baseball and dance with Phineas, Ferb, Perry and Dr Doofinsmirtz. Kids could then pose for a photo with their favourite character for a permanent memento of the experience.

Photos were automatically uploaded to the phineasandferbandyou.com microsite where guests could then retrieve and share images via Facebook and Twitter. During the 3 month run at Downtown Disney, the AR installation achieved approximately 30,000 interactions. 26,000 viewed their photos online, where 25,000 downloaded it. A further 3,000 shared their image direct to Facebook from the site, where the images were seen by a further 470,000 people.

Colgate instant relief challenge

2013-04-12T05:40:00.000-07:00

Colgate has launched a dynamic Digital OOH campaign featuring live results from a nationwide survey to measure the relief provided by Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief. The campaign runs across XTP screens on the London Underground from 8th April 2013.

Produced by Grand Visual, the Digital OOH activity relays live statistics from the online survey and sampling push at www.colgatesensitiveprorelief.co.uk. The “Instant Relief” challenge asks participants to apply the toothpaste and then eat or drink something that usually triggers their tooth sensitivity before sharing their feedback.

Consumer comments alongside their name and photograph are then published live on London Underground screens using OpenLoop, Grand Visual’s digital OOH content management dashboard.

OMC Members Extend Nationwide Campaign to Find Missing People

2013-04-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

The outdoor media industry is extending the nationwide digital billboard campaign to find Missing People till June 2013 in an initiative worth £2.88 million in total media value. The extension follows excellent results from the weekly appeals since its launch in July last year and will also see the campaign become regionally targeted in a bid to run more appeals that are locally relevant.

To date the campaign has helped to find 59 Missing People. In addition, the campaign has succeeded in more than doubling the average monthly call rate to the charity, up by 120%. Those making contact through text and email has increased considerably, up by 91%. The weekly digital billboard appeals have also driven online conversations with more than 1,000 photos of the billboards, taken by the public, being shared on social media sites.

The new campaign will allow the charity to target those areas closest to the individual’s hometown or last known whereabouts which means that several appeals can now run simultaneously across different regions. All appeals are delivered via OpenLoop, the Digital OOH campaign management dashboard. The campaign video is available here: http://youtu.be/UCL4SO8SUTI

UK’s most digitally advanced shopping destination opens

2013-03-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

Trinity Leeds, the most exciting retail launch of the year, opened the doors to its state-of-the-art all-digital media portfolio today. In a retail media first, launch advertiser Sony has created an immersive brand experience and takeover of all the shopping centre’s media platforms for four days.

The campaign is created by Iris with interactive production by Grand Visual, and features multi-sensory creative promoting the new Xperia Z Smartphone. Motion sensitive content tracks passers-by and mirrors their silhouettes on-screen. Each person’s silhouette reveals new content beneath, featuring colourful scenes from Holi, the Hindu festival of colour and showcases the Smartphone’s unique dust and waterproof design.

Trinity Leeds is now the most digitally advanced shopping destination in the UK in terms of its the cutting edge media portfolio, featuring digital 6-sheets and large-format screens including the new portrait format M-Vision and 4 interactive video walls with gesture based interfaces. Shoppers can interact with content using natural ergonomic movement, plus the centre also offers free wifi, Google Product Search, internet-connected tablets, and a mobile app, all designed to keep shoppers engaged throughout the customer journey.

Grand Visual has worked with Land Securities advising on the technology, software and channel strategy for Trinity Leeds and is also the official content partner for all interactive digital experiences at the mall.

Lynx Angel Ambush Inducted into the Outdoor Hall of Fame

2013-03-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

On 28th February, the creative talents behind the UK’s greatest outdoor ads of the past two years gathered at the Institute of Contemporary Arts to find out which campaigns had earned a place in the Campaign and Outdoor Media Centre’s prestigious Outdoor Hall of Fame.

Fourteen pieces of work were inducted into the Hall of Fame including 'Angel Ambush' our augmented reality campaign with Mindshare Invention for Unilever’s Lynx in 2011 - and the first digital ad to make it into the gallery.

The latest work to be selected as standard-bearers for outdoor creativity, were chosen by a public vote followed by consideration from a creative panel. The judging panel included: John Treacy, the executive creative director at Elvis; Peter Souter, the chairman and chief creative officer at TBWA\London; James Hilton, the co-founder and chief creative officer at AKQA; Mick Mahoney, the executive creative director at Havas Worldwide London; and Owen Lee, the executive creative director at Inferno.

Angel Ambush now joins the greatest outdoor ads of all time already in the Outdoor Hall of Fame, and can be viewed at outdoorhalloffame.co.uk.

Live count down to the Final Twilight Saga

2013-03-14T04:07:00.000-07:00

eOne launched a live countdown to the UK release of Breaking Dawn P2 on DVD and Blu-ray. The campaign for the final instalment of this epic vampire series ran as a screen domination on the Eat Street digital billboard at Westfield London on the weekend before the DVD hit the shelves on Monday 11th March.

Grand Visual created a live countdown which ran from Saturday 9th March through to Monday morning when the film was released in-store. “Out Now” messages then followed to inform shoppers it was available to purchase. The creative domination showed a series of trailers from the final instalment of this phenomenally popular vampire film franchise. It also featured shots of the main characters Bella, Edward, and Jacob, played by Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner with press headlines celebrating the production.

Jack the Giant Slayer

2013-03-14T04:04:00.000-07:00

Warner Bros has kicked off a digital OOH campaign promoting Jack the Giant Slayer, the first big-budget action movie of the year. The film, currently topping the US box office charts, is being promoted on large-format digital mall screens across the UK ahead of its release on the 22nd March.

The digital OOH campaign features Jack (Nicholas Hoult) as he tries to rescue the princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) and prevent the Giants from reclaiming the Kingdom. Grand Visual produced the OOH creative from campaign artwork and film trailers. The bespoke digital OOH creative was rolled out and localised across the UK, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Hungary.

Disney’s Enchanted Moments

2013-03-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

On Valentines Day, Disney Parks brought the romance of New FantasyLand to Times Square in an interactive campaign which ran on Disney Store’s Times Square Spectacular digital billboard. The 2,250 square foot screen featured passers-by in romantic embraces and some participants got so caught up in their ‘Enchanted Moments’ there were two live on-screen marriage proposals during the course of the day!

Grand Visual managed 3 video feeds coming from cameras stationed high up on the Disney store roof and mixed those feeds with graphics and calls to action - "Kiss the Girl"! Each interaction was captured and an image posted to a microsite. Participants were given a unique code and could pick up, print or share their Enchanted Moment from the microsite. Grand Visual built and managed the entire process from start to finish.

Check out the highlights here: http://youtu.be/U2Fu7rLzr1Q.

Three Launch Location Specific Digital OOH Pony Mashup

2013-03-14T03:56:00.000-07:00

Three’s '#danceponydance' ad, featuring a Shetland pony moon-walking to Fleetwood Mac has been extended onto digital Out of Home screens. Already making waves online, now the user generated videos created at PonyMixer.com are debuting on digital screens across rail, mall and cinema environments.

Created by Wieden+Kennedy with digital Out of Home production by Grand Visual, the socially enabled, dynamic digital OOH campaign is both geo-targeted and sound enabled. The creative runs through a series of Pony Mashup videos set to different music genres from Bollywood to Boy Band with the call to action to make your own Mashup at PonyMixer.com.

Users simply share their own Mashup videos via Twitter and hashtag their local Digital OOH site for the chance to get their creation on the big screen. The live Twitter feed is pulled into OpenLoop and then delivered to the specified screen with the participants twitter handle, dedication and video.

Landmark Lynx Campaign Reveals Giant Astronaut at Westfield

2013-02-25T09:18:00.000-08:00

As part of the marketing outreach for Lynx Apollo, a 35 foot astronaut has been unveiled at Westfield London today - the largest interactive digital out of home special build to run in the UK. Shoppers can upload their picture by email or text and see their face displayed in the visor of the giant astronaut moments later!

The digitally activated campaign was devised by Grand Visual with tech build and execution in collaboration with Kinetic Fuel and interactive delivery viaOpenLoop. Participants submitting via email will automatically receive an in-situ photograph of themselves starring as the astronaut to socially share online with friends and family. Additional content is running on screens across the shopping centre featuring Lynx ads populated with the images of people who have already participated.

The huge 2 tonne spaceman is the latest epic experience from the male grooming brand which is encouraging entries to the Lynx Space Academy competition which will ultimately send one lucky winner on a trip to space. The 2 week campaign was planned and booked by Mindshare and Kinetic and is closely integrated with Twitter and Facebook activity and supported by proximity texts.

BSkyB Targets Commuters with Touch-Screen outdoor campaign

2013-02-24T09:22:00.000-08:00

BSkyB has launched a digital outdoor campaign designed to get people interacting with their new subscription service - Sky Go Extra. The campaign allows customers to explore the new entertainment service using JCDecaux touch-screen 6 sheets during a full media take-over at Charing Cross, Liverpool Street and Euston Rail Stations in London and at Manchester Piccadilly Station.

Created by Jam with production and interactive build by Grand Visual, the campaign allows commuters to find and filter content depending on the length of their journey. Once the user selects a programme they can scan a QR code which takes them to a mobile site where existing Sky customers can then subscribe to Sky go Extra. The digital OOH activity supports a broader fully integrated campaign including print, TV, experiential, social and digital.

British Fashion Council streams live content from the catwalk to the Tube

2013-02-15T03:39:00.000-08:00

This week as part of the ongoing partnership between the British Fashion Council, CBS Outdoor UK, and Grand Visual, a new campaign is bringing live content directly from London Fashion Week – one of the world’s “big four” fashion events, to Cross-track Projection (XTP) screens in tube stations across central London.

The campaign runs for the duration of London Fashion Week and features a live feed of news, views and behind-the-scene photos streamed direct from the British Fashion Council’s Instagram and Twitter accounts. A live schedule of upcoming fashion shows is also shown on-screen to promote that days hottest collections and must see catwalks.The campaign is produced by Grand Visual with live moderation and delivery via OpenLoop.

Nothing beats an astronaut

2013-01-25T08:55:00.000-08:00

To support the epic Lynx Apollo launch, ‘Astronaut Me’ is an interactive digital outdoor initiative that kicks off today on mall screens and digital bus shelters across the UK. The interactive installations allow boys (and girls) to put themselves in the creative as the hero astronaut accompanied by two Lynx girls.

All the pictures generated by the interactive bus shelters and mall screens will be posted to Lynx UK's Facebook gallery where users can tag themselves and share with friends. The interactive app was built by Grand Visual with the studio shoot directed in partnership with Minds Eye Media, the UGC is delivered via OpenLoop, and the activity planned and booked by Mindshare and Kinetic.

The final part of the OOH campaign outreach starts next month and will include a Lynx ‘Space Academy’ shuttle travelling to the Westfield London plus digital activity that allows consumers to use their mobile phones to post their face onto a giant inflatable astronaut. More on this nearer the time!

Game of Thrones

2013-01-24T04:10:00.000-08:00

HBO Home Entertainment initiated a pre-Christmas campaign promoting the fantasy series Game of Thrones S1 DVD and Blu-ray box set. Grand Visual produced digital OOH and online creative promoting the fantasy series as the ideal gift for Christmas.

The campaign featured video assets from the official trailer, alongside bespoke pack shot environments and animations. The campaign ran on large format mall screens nationwide. The animated online banners ran across gaming, gifting and entertainment websites.

Microsoft Touch Screens Enable People Powered Windows Phone Campaign

2012-12-17T06:56:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has launched the UK’s biggest ever interactive digital OOH campaign, allowing consumers to configure their personal Windows Phone Start screens through interactive touch screens. The personalised screens then form the creative for Microsoft’s national broadcast campaign – spanning almost 450 screens across the country.

24 interactive screens, in shopping malls and cinemas across the UK, invite participants’ to upload their photo, first name and style preferences, completely personalising the consumer experience and the overall campaign.

All personalised phone submissions then populate the wider DOOH campaign running nationally across the tube, shopping malls, cinemas, rail stations including D6s and Transvision, as well as landmark digital sites such as Birmingham New Street, Manchester Hacienda and Westfield Shepherds Bush.

Photos of each personalised ad in-situ are then posted to the Windows Phone UK Facebook page where participants are encouraged to tag and share their ‘moment of fame’ socially.

Huffington launch dynamic poster campaign on London Underground

2012-12-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

The Huffington Post UK is embarking on a partnership with Virgin Media and CBS Outdoor to provide access to its service on the London Underground.

Utilising Virgin Media’s portal, HuffPost mobile users will be able to enjoy the latest news from the site, accompanied by an extensive dynamic video campaign running on XTP screens. Created by Gravity Road with production by Grand Visual, the dynamic XTP content will highlight the latest user comments from a range of blogs as they take place.

The campaign will also focus on editorial topics particularly relevant to the Christmas period, including alcohol consumption, religion, and shopping which will be delivered in real time via Grand Visual’s OpenLoop platform.

The Dark Knight Rises DVD/Blu-Ray Release

2012-12-17T06:34:00.000-08:00

Building on the fantastic theatrical result from earlier this year, both The Dark Knight Rises and The Dark Knight Trilogy were released on Monday 3rd December across all home entertainment platforms. To promote the arrival of the most anticipated home entertainment release of the year, Warner Bros has kicked off a an extensive nationwide digital out of home campaign announcing the UK DVD/Blu-Ray release.

Produced by Grand Visual, the campaign features film clips, press reviews and pack shots and aims to drive awareness about the DVD/Blu-Ray release in a pre-Christmas push. The OOH activity includes a heavy presence across the digitised M4 corridor targeting all west bound traffic in London. Formats along the route include the Euston Underpass, Two Towers, M4 Torch and the Cromwell Road Digital Gateway.

The promotion also runs across London Underground digital panels and large-format iconic sites such as the Liverpool Media Wall, the Holland Park roundabout, and the Stratford Sail to drive scale and impact. All digital OOH activity is supported by a broader outdoor push and is part of an integrated campaign across media, retail, publicity and promotions in what is set to be the biggest Blu-ray release of all time.