NEWS

BEITH DIGITAL recently completed a most creative but complicated outdoor billboard campaign for Ireland Davenport on behalf of Vodacom and their current Give a Gift campaign.

Conceptualised by Ireland Davenport, the campaign turned a usually static billboard into a 3D Gift Box, complete with ribbon and bow, and then slowly unwrapped the “gift” revealing the much anticipated message.

“We love challenges, and even more we love being able to demonstrate what we are capable of doing for our customers, piers and partners but most of all we are thrilled that our clients expectations and dreams were fulfilled and that we were responsible for this” says Devyn Wagner, Managing Director of Beith.

DewaaldKloppers, director of Display Tec and Beith’sflighting and installation partner says “a massive amount of planning went into every phase of this campaign complete with technical drawings, environmental considerations, structural and safety implications not to mention production and flighting”. “Our client wanted 4 of these boards up simultaneously which added an extra element of complexity as it meant having to manage various sites and crews at the same time” Kloppers continues.

Phase 1 of the campaign involved a flexface graphic with self-adhesive vinyl overprint and then flighted to the various billboard structures. Certified height access technicians along with cranes then hoisted the bows which had steel internal skeletons and were wrapped in fabric sleeves into place, securing them to the surface using special rear support mechanisms. “This was hugely stressful” says Wagner, “knowing our clients’ expectations came down to that one moment in time was almost unbearable, but it went off without a hitch!”

From there came phase 2 which saw the gradual process of unwrapping the GIFT. Crews were sent out to strip off the vinyl overprints in stages to create the effect that the gift’s wrapping paper was in the process of being torn off. “This created further challenges as there was no way to demonstrate what this would look like in reality until live and on site but thankfully all parties agreed on the goal of realism being met” adds Wagner.

The final phase was the full unveiling of the Give a Gift message and campaign by Vodacom which coincided with the roll out of all their retail advertising and the start of the nationwide campaign. It involved removing the Bow and the balance of the vinyl overprints revealing a crisp billboard face as if nothing had happened before.

“Printing onto PVC, fabric and vinyl also posed a challenge but using our CGS Colour Management Software and with our experienced production team we were able to accurately match colours on the 3 different substrates” says Wagner

“Outdoor billboards have some sceptics and the effectiveness of billboard advertising is questioned by some, but campaigns like this prove that with creativity and a strong production team, breaking through the clutter is possible”. “It gave me a huge amount of satisfaction being involved in the team that put this together and gives me confidence knowing that outdoor has a place in any media strategy and is here to stay” concludes Wagner.