Sainsbury’s Launches Weather-Responsive LED Electronic Billboards

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Tu, the clothing brand run by supermarket Sainsbury’s, has just launched an interesting digital outdoor campaign using LED electronic billboards and geo-targeting so that live updates are broadcast based on what the weather’s doing.

According to The Industry London, the campaign uses weather data from the Met Office and it’s thought that it’s the first time a fashion brand has used this kind of technology in one of its ad strategies.

Different outfits will flash up on the billboards depending on what’s happening weather-wise, a move that could well prove inspirational for your own PR and marketing efforts this year. Certainly, as the weather improves the closer we get to summer this kind of outdoor advertising could well yield dividends as people spend more time outside.

While it might well be the first time a fashion company has looked to these kinds of billboards, it’s certainly not a new concept. A few years ago, Pimm’s came up with its own weather-activated campaign that saw billboards display local temperatures. When 21 degrees C was reached, an ad popped up with a bottle of Pimm’s and the caption “best served with sunglasses”.

And earlier this year, the idea was used by the marketers working on the new Baywatch movie where the ads displayed changed based on the weather. So if it was snowing, the ad would change to read “frost bites. Summer is coming.”

It seems that these display ads are becoming increasingly popular so it might be time for you to start thinking about how you could do something similar to reach your target market more effectively.