FMBX News

The Exhibit bar shows off urinal brand engagement game

The Exhibit bar in Balham, South London has installed the world’s first pee-controlled video game units, developed by engagement marketing startup Captive Media.

The games are controlled entirely by the direction of a man’s stream, turning the minute most men spend at the bowl from a boring interlude into an engaging experience which offers brands pre-game, in-game and post-game promotional opportunities.

At the end of the game, players are encouraged to post their scores via mobile to Twitter and to a live leader board so they can compete with their mates.

Captive Media is the brainchild of Cambridge engineering graduates Mark Melford and Gordon MacSween.

It was designed to create a valuable media opportunity from the 55 seconds the average male spends while he pees just staring at a blank wall.

“It’s notoriously difficult for brands to engage a young male audience whilst they’re out socializing,” says MacSween. “Captive Media offers a long ‘dwell time’ which is almost uniquely distraction-free, and which is highly targeted.”

“It is different to many other emerging ‘Digital out of Home’ media because it’s interactive, allowing brands to really engage in a fun and memorable way,” continues Melford. “It’s clear from the trials that guys all talk to each other about their scores and what they’ve seen.”

Prelaunch trials were held at the Cambridge bar Ta Bouche between July and October this year. The bar’s own EPOS data and a survey of visitors to the bar showed the following results:

-        An 8 -week promotion for house shots resulted in an extra 264 units being sold per week on average
-        A Corona beer promotion saw sales grow by an average of 203 units per week (a 47 percent increase)
-        Recall rates for promotions on the system were between 50-80 percent
-        80% of customers surveyed said they were more likely to stay longer or return to the bar because of the system. 100% said they would (or had already) told friends

These results have persuaded Ogilvy Neo to sign-up their client Drinkaware to an initial advertising trial with Captive Media.

The units will be rolled-out in selected venues across the UK in early 2012.

Return