The Chicago River was the launching place for a recent campaign that took ads usually reflected off high-rise buildings and projected them on to the water’s surface. Art patrons attending a museum opening as well as pedestrians passing by were targeted.

To find out how to get your client’s message reflected off the water’s surface at riverfront events, read on.

This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.

Fast Facts

What
Advertisements or sponsorship information are projected off the surface of water at upscale events.

Who
Massive Media, headquartered in New York.

How it works
Ads are projected onto the surface of water in high-traffic areas like riverfront boardwalks.

River Projections is an offshoot of Massive Media’s Street Theater Projection program.

For visibility, projections are best done after dark and against murky water. They’re most often tied to an event.

The Chicago River was used for the program’s launch, and the event was the opening of an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art sponsored by Target.

For river projection, keep creative simple, advises national sales manager Brad Tenem.

“Use a logo. Don’t use web site addresses and tiny messages. Make the creative bright and remember that less is more when it comes to using words.”

Projections are generally shown in 15- or 30-second clips.

The advertiser or sponsor can provide creative. “Or they can provide logos, jpegs, slides or just a description of what they want and we’ll do it,” Tenem says.

It’s possible to use projection media on bodies of water other than rivers. Fountains, exterior or interior, can be used if they’re shallow, allowing for the image to play off the surface behind.

River projection can be used as stand-alone creative but is often used in conjunction with complimentary projections on nearby buildings.

“It reaches places you can’t reach with other programs,” Tenem says. “You can target a hotel during a trade show or apartment buildings.”

Service is turnkey, including procurement of the municipality’s consent. “So far we’ve been working with cities to gain approval. Every once in a while a client will want a guerilla program and we’re willing to try it.”

Markets
Chicago, New York, St. Louis, New Orleans, Detroit and Miami are waterfront markets where river projections could be implemented, Tenem says.

How it is measured
The images are positioned to be visible to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

“You do this for the glamour, for the extra punch,” Tenam says. “The most important thing you want to do is let go of statistics and say, I want to do it because it’s cool.”

What product categories do well
Sports teams and hot-selling products like PlayStation would do well, Tenem says.

“Anything that’s event-based or say a promotion for a non-profit or sporting event or trade show that can get an extra kick to their campaign. It could be used during the holiday season to promote major sales.”

Demographics
River projection is going to reach a mid- to upscale demographic, Tenem says. “That’s just because of who shops and lives by a river walk or who might attend a trade show.”

“You’re not going to hit a lot of families with projections, which have to happen at night,” says Algelique Williams, director of marketing for Chicago-based Museum of Contemporary Art.

Making the buy
Lead time is four weeks. The cost ranges from $3,500 to $4,500 per event or evening, depending on the market. There’s a discount for multiple showings.

Who’s already on the river’s surface
Target used river projection to advertise its sponsorship of an exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art.

What they’re saying
“The beauty of this campaign, called Massive Change, on how design is going to change the world, is based on the question, ‘Now that we can do anything, what should we do?’ Projections on the river and buildings take the tenets of the exhibit to heart.” --Angelique Williams, director of marketing for the Chicago-based Museum of Contemporary Art

Web site info
Massive Media at www.massivemediainc.com