Rick Robinson of Billups has launched an out of home podcast called In the World.  He interviewed Brad Gleeson, Cofounder of Target Path last month.  Gleeson suggests that cities like Sao Paulo which have banned street level advertising are reconsidering because of the public benefits (amber and safety alerts, art, wifi) which are provided by digital signs.  Some other Gleeson comments:

How has out of home media influenced communities in a positive way.

Jean Claude Decaux back in the 60’s provided bus shelters to commuters in France…free of charge to the city of Paris in exchange for advertising posters that were placed on the side of the bus shelters…The out of home industry has been operating on that model ever since…The needs of cities have changed…What cities need today are more complex and digital solutions.  Things like improving air quality and improving access to internet capabilities…

On Intersection’s New York Project

In New York City the project I was involved in…Link NYC…was involved in converting all the obsolete pay telephone booths in New York City to high speed wifi towers.  And the only way the city could do that is through…converting those payphone booths…into digital communications towers that could provide things like wayfinding, free telephone calls, you can charge your phone, you can get access to free wifi, all paid for through digital advertising.

 On a Mexico City project

They have an elevated highway.  The lower level of that highway is the busiest highway in Mexico City…The city has some of the worst air pollution in the world…They decided to come of the with concept to create vertical green gardens on all these 2,000 concrete pillars…One in three columns was converted to an LED billbaord 3 meters by 8 meters, and that digital advertising pays for the entire network…It cleans the air…

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