MOTIONLED TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDY
Media giants join forces to deliver success in London
The launch of BusLED on iconic red Transport for London (Tfl) buses in October 2017, with Google as the advertiser was the culmination of over two years of development and technical approval effort by the team at MotionLED (MLT).
MLT is operated and backed by experienced technology and media entrepreneurs with a deep understanding of the market and operational requirements necessary to design and build a secure, robust, mobile digital platform to deliver data driven real-time dynamic advertising content.
BusLED is an “automotive grade” screen platform designed with the flexibility to be retro fitted to buses with a range of international formats, from “Superside” in the UK to “King” and “Super King” formats in the US. BusLED screens are ultra-thin (21mm) and are engineered to cope with the day to day harsh environment of bus operation, including the nightly wash.
In an increasingly “green” and hybrid transport market the MLT team has also addressed power management to ensure that the LED display does not impact on the permitted power levels or interfere with the performance of the vehicle itself.
Accompanying the BusLED screen technology is MLT’s proprietary AdCast management software, delivering rich, dynamic content geotargeted and geofenced for both advertising and smart city applications.
MLT approached Exterion as a potential first adopter, not only to prove the operation and reliability of its technology but also as a rigorous test bed for regulation and approvals in the UK – regarded as some of the most stringent in the world. Testing involved satisfying the safety criteria of three separate bus operators and gaining the approval of the bus manufacturer (Volvo) to ensure the vehicle warranty was maintained.
The UK Government body responsible for transport, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), formerly known as the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) also tested and approved buses with the retrofitted MLT screens.
Control of content delivery and brightness, to avoid driver and public distraction, required further sanctioning by TfL. MLT was able to demonstrate automatic correction of brightness levels to match time of day and also how the geolocation software monitors bus speed accurately to change content, from animated or video, to static at speeds over 25mph. The AdCast software accurately identifies the geolocation of the bus, automatically switching content to incorporate still images when the bus is stopped at, or running through, a busy junction
MLT appointed Hive Associates as a channel partner in the UK to leverage twenty years of experience in delivering special advertising projects for Exterion Media – the owners of the bus advertising concession in London and throughout the UK.
In the fall of 2017, Google’s UK agency approached Exterion to incorporate the BusLED innovation as a key part of its launch campaign for the new Pixel 2 phone. The campaign particularly allowed MLT to showcase the geo-targeting capabilities of the AdCast management software.
The Google Pixel 2 advertising launched on time with over 200 separate media clips and ran seamlessly for 90 days. Google included the BusLED technology in its own PR release relating to the success of the integrated advertising campaign in London.
MLT is now in planning with Exterion and its partner Hive to significantly expand the BusLED ‘channel’ in London and throughout major cities in the UK.
Dave King, Exterion Media’s Managing Director said “This is a huge moment for bus advertising; the product delivers stature, movement, scale, dynamism and geo-targeting – offering a whole new dimension to broadcast and narrowcast through this hugely attractive channel”.