The collaboration between BMW and Urban Media, Clear Channel's creative laboratory, is much more than a simple commercial relationship between an advertiser and an advertising network. Above all, it is a genuine relationship of trust, based on a shared aspiration: innovation.

As proof of this, the two latest DOOH campaigns orchestrated in concert by the duo, on the one hand for an activation for the BMW i4 and, on the other, for the launch of the new BMW i5.

For the first, at the start of the latest Brussels Motor Show, BMW and Urban Media did no more and no less than transform Antwerp Central station into a veritable 3D animation stage for a fortnight. And they did it with the help of a double-sided LED screen measuring no less than 100 square metres, installed in the station concourse.

REPLACE WITH YOUTUBE EMBED: https://www.youtube.com/embed/eg3UCefW0Z8?start=7&feature=oembed

At the time, it was the very first time a 3D screen of this size had been used in Belgium. ""The pleasure of driving" is BMW's slogan and this action was the perfect answer to how to convey this emotion via an impactful medium, such as OOH," explained in-house Media & Digital Performance Manager Georges Pagalis at the time.

"Always up for pushing the boundaries of creativity, we are proud to have unveiled this Giant 3D Screen for the first time in Belgium," added Gaël Nyssens, Head of Urban Media at Clear Channel. "This totally innovative campaign with BMW invited the public to a 100% immersive experience!"

Bref, a very nice coup, which, a few months later, would be followed by a second, even more unprecedented, and above all innovative, with, for the occasion on the programme, the Holographic Wall, with which BMW and Urban Media pushed back the boundaries of car advertising even further, thanks to an innovative and futuristic approach to unveiling the BMW i5 to the general public.

And more specifically a unique new technological feat: a life-size wall of holographic images, which enabled commuters and passers-by at three major stations in the country (Antwerp-Central, Brussels-Central and Namur), thus covering Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, to discover the car from every angle, as if they were actually standing next to it...

REPLACE WITH YOUTUBE EMBED: https://www.youtube.com/embed/qE-BeL9Ct8M?feature=oembed

Urban Media and BMW orchestrated this fascinating process hand in hand, from the filming of the images of the BMW i5 to the creation of the Holographic Wall, creating an unprecedented, bespoke car advertisement and, once again, the first of its kind in Belgium.

"The BMW i5 embodies our commitment to innovation," Georges Pagalis explained at the time. "The Holographic Wall offered a vast audience an immersive experience, revolutionising the way we present our vehicles. Once again, we are delighted with this innovative collaboration with Urban Media, which marks a new era in automotive advertising. So much so that other markets have contacted me for my supplier details..."

Aside from this creative strand, the campaign for the BMW i5 could be seen in the five major centres in large format print on the 36m² More O'Ferrall, as well as on Billboard Live Street & Station digital screens.

How do these novel, even revolutionary ideas come about? As we wrote at the outset, first and foremost thanks to a relationship of trust, also rarely seen, as Georges Pagalis confirms: "These two campaigns could not have seen the light of day, without the trust, so to speak, blind, that we have in the entire Urban Media team. Close collaboration is also essential, because the realisation of these never-before-seen ideas generally requires the participation and total involvement of all the driving forces, both on Urban Media's side and on ours. And that's where confidence comes from, because Urban Media has proved to us time and time again that they always put their heart and soul into a new project and only go to bed once it's up and running. So today, when Gaël comes to me with an idea scribbled down on a piece of paper, I'm more likely to say "Go for it!", because I'm totally convinced that he'll inevitably get it right..."

But, basically, what is Urban Media's, and more broadly Clear Channel's, room for manoeuvre in terms of innovation at the moment, as well as in the near future?

To answer this question, we turned this time to the Sales Director of Clear Channel Belgium, Baudouin van de Berg: "First and foremost, we need to distinguish between innovation at the service of creativity and innovation linked to the evolution of the medium. The former takes the form of experiential campaigns devised by our Urban Media division, which remains constantly attentive to new technological developments, in order to offer brands and their audiences ever more original and participative experiences, as was the case with these two magnificent BMW campaigns."

"As for innovation linked to the evolution of our medium, it mainly involves the digitalisation of our media and technology, which allow us to contextualise the message and develop ever more targeted and relevant campaigns. From 2024, following the new contract we have just signed with the STIB to install screens at the exits of Brussels metros, we will have digital coverage of at least 51% of the national territory. This means that we will be in a perfect position to offer brands DOOH campaigns that can stand on their own, and which, by contextualising the message according to place, time, day or socio-demographic criteria, or even a certain region, will make it possible to target communications more effectively and make them more effective. The possibilities are virtually infinite, because they can also be adapted according to the weather, with, for example, if it's sunny a cabrio will be broadcast, and as soon as it rains the same cabrio will be hooded... In short, in a nutshell, digital innovation really does give us a lot more flexibility, because we can act almost in real time."

Baudouin van de Berg continues: "Furthermore, on the buying channel side, digital innovation allows us to boost campaigns programmatically, around certain events, such as the Motor Show, the opening of a dealership or even a launch party. In a nutshell, today there are ways of interacting in a geolocalised and contextualised way much more quickly and effectively."

What, finally, of Artificial Intelligence, which everyone is talking about... Will it also play a dominant role in the OOH sector? "From 2024, we will be working with Neurons, a start-up that has developed an AI that can predict human attention, eye-tracking, cognitive demand, concentration, clarity and engagement with a video", says Baudouin van de Berg once again. "This tool is part of our 'visual scan' suite of services, which enables us to pre-test our clients' digital ads before broadcast, so as to optimise their creation and therefore their impact. As DOOH has become a key pillar of our business, we feel it is very important to help our clients meet their creative challenges in terms of DOOH creative reality."

Concluding, "This is the first use we are going to make of AI for DOOH. Now, to be honest, as an agency, I don't think the use of AI in 'creative' terms will go much further. I see it emerging more as a valuable tool in terms of planning, optimisation, reporting and that sort of thing..."

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