What’s New?

With 25 years of street cred, Grassroots Advertising is your one stop guerrilla shop for out-of-home media innovation

What’s New and Cool at Grassroots?

Introducing WINDOW FX, the latest addition to our product line.

Through the use of cutting edge technology and innovative thinking, Window FX allows you to turn any piece of empty glass into a fully interactive, multimedia showcase. Holt Renfrew used this technology to solicit votes for their Contemporary Correspondent Search.

Grassroots STRUTS through the streets of Toronto.

A combination of street teams, a red carpet, photo wall and projections was used to promote Strut Wine’s new line of wines. Ambassadors posing as paparazzi encouraged pedestrians to have their picture taken which was transmitted instantly to large scale projections. Participants were given coupons for a free bottle of wine.

Grassroots launches YouTube Channel

Catch some of the latest campaign videos on the GrassAds channel at: www.youtube.com/grassads

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Holt Renfrew invites passersby to smudge up its windows

by Tim Shepherd

Holt Renfrew is leveraging Toronto-based Grassroots Advertising’s Window FX by installing touchscreens at its Toronto Bloor St. location as part of the high-end retailer’s new Contemporary Correspondent Search contest which runs through Aug. 4. The storefront screens invite passersby to vote for one of two fashion blogger finalists, pitted against each other in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver respectively in a series of challenges, with the winner receiving a $1,000 Holt Renfrew wardrobe, a Sony VAIO notebook PC, and the chance to get a behind the scenes look at regional fashion events and blog about them.

Grassroots Advertising’s latest offering features a number of interactivity options through infrared sensors that respond based on the approach of pedestrians, such as motion activation, a touchscreen and SMS interactivity with the window advertising via cell phone texting. (The technology works by placing a special film in the window, the most common being 3M Vikuiti, and projecting onto it with a high resolution projector.) Holt Renfrew’s Toronto location is currently using LCD panels in its storefront windows, covered with a touch foil film, which enable the touchscreen activity.

Window FX 11

Courtesy of Media in Canada

Strut wines targets GLBT and diva crowds

by Melita Kuburas

Strut, a new Niagara Peninsula-based wine, is giving Torontonians the red carpet experience this weekend, paparazzi and all, to raise awareness of its new collection launched this month as “the wine with legs.” A large photo wall branded with Strut logos will be placed in high traffic locations in Toronto (club district, Church Street) while ambassadors posing as paparazzi will encourage pedestrians to have their picture taken. Participants can go to the Strut Facebook site, linked on StrutWines.com, to download their photo.

“The execution is the perfect marriage of being on-strategy, on-budget,” says Casey Howe, marketing manager at Vincor Canada. With names like Cab Couture and Red Over Heels, Strut was launched as a stylish brand for the cost-conscious, female-skewing millennials and Gen X-ers (aged 20 to 35), as well as the savvy and high-disposable income gay and lesbian community, Howe tells MiC.

Developed by Bos Toronto and Grassroots Advertising, the campaign will run every weekend (Thursday through Saturday) until July 11. Coupons for a free bottle of wine will be handed out to encourage traffic to the Wine Rack, where the drink is sold.

Strut Wines Readies Red Carpet Campaign

Strut Wines will begin a street campaign in Toronto on June 18. During the campaign, a red carpet and a branded wall will be installed in areas of that city with high levels of pedestrian traffic. Passers-by will be invited to walk the red carpet and have their pictures taken by promotional workers dressed as paparazzi. The photographs will then be projected behind the installation. Participants will also receive a coupon for a free bottle of wine. The promotion was developed by Bos and Grassroots Advertising. It will run on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until July 11.

For more info: Strut Wines – www.strutwines.com

Article courtesy of Adnews

Nintendo goes to the wall for new game

By Russ Martin

To celebrate the launch of its new game “Punchout,” Nintendo took its Wii gaming console off of the TV and onto the streets.

Wii brand ambassadors were in urban centres all last week, projecting the boxing game onto walls of buildings and offering pedestrians a chance to play the game.

Each night the teams visited high-traffic, nightlife-filled neighbourhoods such as Toronto’s Annex district. The game was projected from a vehicle with large branded flags, creating a super sized screen, 15- x 40-feet.

The live demo campaign was created by Grassroots Advertising and media agency Starcom.

Michael Gillissie, vice-president of sales and operations for Grassroots, said the campaign was designed to create a longer lasting impression than the traditional out of home ads.

“We’re able to tune out so much now. It’s amazing what people can ignore,” said Gillissie. “We try to bring interaction and engagement to the out of home space.”

The demos also catch the eye of pedestrians who don’t participate, he said, acting as a billboard that has come to life.

That kind of connection tends to generate word-of-mouth buzz as participants and passersby tell their friends and family about the demo.

Wii teams held four to five hour demos every night in Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto.

This article provided courtesy of Marketing Magazine