by Nick Coston
“Three the Hard Way” was a 1974, action-packed American made film about three martial-arts specialists who prevent white supremacists from tainting the U.S. water supply with a toxin that’s only harmful to black people. Directed by legendary cinematographer Gordon Parks, Jr, we played this film at our two southside theaters in Chicago. It starred Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly, three of the biggest action stars of the early to mid-seventies. The film grossed $3M on a budget of $2M. It made $1M.
I doubt it will ever play on Netflix.
Oh, and this film, other than the title, has absolutely nothing to do with this week’s ramble other than it’s about three new OOH companies coming into play.
As you’ve figured out by now, I enjoy writing about new OOH products. Whether they make it or not, is not the point. That they got this far is, well hard, and I’m rooting for all of them. It’s what keeps our industry alive, exciting and forward thinking.
Here are my top three of the newest display products on the market now, all with different features.
These aren’t grandpa’s billboards.
The first OOH product is from FLO Advertising, a Las Vegas based mobile truck company, currently with a fleet of six trucks, that I met while at the IBO in Salt Lake City in early April. The name FLO is short for Mike Foland, the company’s CEO. In collaboration with the 3-D OOH product, Hypervsn from the UK that I wrote about back in late January, and Firefly, the well-known digital taxi and ride share toppers, they have launched the world’s first 3D holographic mobile billboard truck. The goal is to operate the truck anywhere, targeting high-traffic areas, conventions and live events.
FLO Advertising reports that they officially launched the 3D truck withing the last 24 hours on the Vegas Strip with successful real-time responses. Plenty of launch videos online now with 3D copy supporting the upcoming Bitcoin 2025 conference along with their first client, Texit Coin. The current campaign runs through this Friday.
Is this really OOH media? Abso-friggin’-lootly it is. It’s outdoor, not in your house, not on your phone or i-Pad and definitely not on TV. It’s got the WOW factor that new OOH products need. Launching an authentic 3-D billboard truck on the Vegas strip?
It’s Vegas babeees, where else would you launch this?
The second new OOH product covered here is nothing like 3D mobile truck displays. In fact, some may not consider it OOH, but it is digital. And it’s uber-cool.
Digital windows, that is. I had the chance to see a demo of the product right after DPAA in 2023 with a colleague of mine. Unique doesn’t even begin to describe this product that brings the outdoors into any indoor setting. The founder of this San Francisco based tech, filmmaker Mitch Braff, transforms residences and offices that don’t have windows or terrible views. As seen in both photos I took back in 2023 and from their collateral material, LiquidView digital windows turn rooms into “a sanctuary of beauty and tranquility”, as their web site states.
The concept of promoting relaxation and mental health, as opposed to windowless rooms, film crews traveled and filmed worldwide that were shot in 8.6K camera’s similar to the tech used to film Avatar. Board with seeing Paris at night? Use your smart phone and choose a different location from the ever-growing library of views. Stanford University is now conducting a study of the health benefits of LiquidView Digital Windows, exploring how it can trick our brains into feeling as if we are looking out into an assortment of breathtaking views.
Can’t get that on your phone, iPad or TV. Will this invention eventually carry OOH advertising? I hope not. That would be like watching Netflex or Hulu with those annoying ads. Imagine being interrupted every 10 minutes with an ad spot for Liberty Insurance? In your living room. That would blow your California sunset every time.
Digital windows aren’t cheap, but when comparing that to the cost of knocking a hole in your wall and fitting a window that is anywhere near the size of LiquidView displays, this is far better investment. Without the structural issues. You can be Paris one night, Istanbul the next day and wake up in Miami Beach as the sun rises.
You get to decide, not the weatherman.
Remember mood lamps? These are mood lamps on steroids, and a fantastic alternative to seasonal depression. As housing spaces becomes tighter in the larger markets, 24-hour digital windows will quickly become a valuable option when trying to make small living or workplaces tolerable.
My guess far better than looking out into an alley full of dumpsters on a February night in Secaucus, NJ.
The final OOH newbie comes from an Austin based rideshare company. I met Ryan Bohn of FETII, a new rideshare company for large groups, 2 weeks ago at OAAA in Boston. This Y Combinator and Mark Cuban start-up is quickly disrupting the group transportation industry. Large format wrapped passenger vans are a perfect fit for the rapidly growing experiential sector, social media campaigns and product sampling initiatives. Ryan mentions that the interiors of the passenger vans will also be equipped with digital signage to further enhance the signage experience.
Can I tell your how many times I spelled “Fetii” wrong while writing this?
Like the term “Swarm”? Fetii does. A Swarm with these rideshare trucks is fleet of wrapped vans strategically placed in high-traffic locations capturing maximum visibility.
Expanding and hiring, Fetii is yet another example of enhancing current OOH products, as the previously mentioned companies in this piece cleverly do.
What do all three of these pioneering businesses have in common? They use existing products and enhance them with a combination of new tech and size. Remember when digital signage for OOH first broke on the scene around 2004? I do. Most large markets started with one to two digital bulletins. They were a hard sell for a short while. Bring it to 2025 and these days you can’t not see digital OOH. They are everywhere and brought OOH into the 21st Century.
Where will 3D enabled mobile trucks, indoor digital units for windowless rooms and offices and wrapped rideshare vans transporting 6 to 12 passengers swarming a city be in twenty years?
I think you can guess that answer.
That brings us back to the 70’s action film title, Three the Hard Way. Planning and launching these three products weren’t easy. It took time, money, tenacity, wise investors and some true leadership.
It indeed was hard.
OOH. We are not only billboards.
