Connecting with consumers
A new advertising technology entices people to interact with the wave of a hand or swipe of a foot.

February 23, 2006 - Orlando Sentinel PR Web

Thanks to devices like TiVo and satellite radio, today's consumers are adept at avoiding conventional commercials.

But advertisers looking for other ways to get their message out can now try alternatives from a Lake Mary business that use interactive technology to engage people's hands and feet along with their eyeballs.

Monster Media, a 2-year-old company with a staff of about 20, lets advertisers connect with a mobile audience with two "new media" tools that invite or require touchy-feely intervention by consumers.

"We are reaching out to individuals on the go, not those in the home," said President John Payne, a former Orlando Magic executive. "People touch and engage with an ad at a game or movie. You can't edit us out.

"The two elements of its business are the Turnstile AdSleeve, a clear plastic cylinder holding a print ad, and GroundFX, a computerized display system that reacts when a person moves a hand or foot in front of a projected image.

The more innovative of the two systems, GroundFX allows a passer-by watching a fast-food commercial on a giant floor mat to "feed" burgers to a hungry customer by simply stepping on the mat. As if by magic, burgers fly across the vinyl mat into an open mouth.

"We think of our approach as 'advertainment,' " Chief Executive Officer Chris Beauchamp said. "People are engaged. They see the experience as fun and exciting. That's the pinnacle for an advertiser: engage the consumer.

"Monster Media didn't invent either system but acquired the patent rights and licensing arrangements to use them in mass-transit stations, airports, malls, sports arenas and entertainment venues in the U.S. and other countries, including the United Kingdom and Brazil.

Monster Media, teaming with media companies in New York, Chicago and other cities, negotiates ad sales with city transit officials or representatives of venues where Turnstile AdSleeve or GroundFX will be installed.

Ad rates vary. For a 30-second spot on GroundFX in the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, a monthlong ad run at all events costs $1,500 to $2,000. A 30-second spot on GroundFX in the TD Waterhouse Centre for all events for a month is $2,000 to $5,000.

For an ad at all of the Chicago Transit Authority's downtown Loop locations, the AdSleeve rate is $55,000 a month -- much higher because of the huge number of people who move through those stations each day.

Thousands more Turnstile AdSleeves are to be installed later this year in the U.K. and Brazil. Monster Media is also negotiating with transit officials in other U.S. cities, including New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco.