Outdoor Screens, Controlled by Mobile Phone

Any marketer wanting to reach mobile subscribers must contend with the size problem: How do you create powerful interactive experiences on a device with the approximate dimensions of a remote control?

The answer, according to startup LocaModa, is by treating it like one.

The company, which launched this week with a handful of clients, has staked its business model on connecting mobile phones with out-of-home digital screens. One of its applications, called StreetSurfer, lets phone users control in-store display screens with their handsets by calling a number that connects the two devices over the Web.

So far the platform is only designed to help real estate agents market homes. Companies including ReMax, Hammond and GMAC brokerages now have the interactive screens in their storefronts. The idea is to engage passersby to seize control of the interface with their phones and surf through available home listings in the area.

Having a large screen running the StreetSurfer Real Estate application in our window not only allows us to showcase our properties in a unique way that provides more information to consumers, it also provides us with an interactive, measurable and effective way to reach and connect with passers-by, helping to turn them into relationships," said Hammond President Tod Beaty in a statement.

The company is now developing similar platforms for other verticals, including retail, entertainment and automotive. StreetSurfer costs marketers $399 per month per installed screen.

Another application, Wifitti, uses the same concept to facilitate social interactions in public spaces like cafes and skate parks. The company introduced both services at the DEMO conference in Phoenix.