Nike iD Billboard Invites Mobile Users
The latest effort from Nike's iD division lets cell phone users design shoes using the Reuters sign as a palette -- and then buy the footwear.
Nike launched an interactive billboard experience yesterday to coincide with a relaunch of its iD mass personalization Web site. The effort, supported by R/GA, lets people use their phones to design a shoe on the Reuters sign in Times Square.
Passersby use their phones to interact with the 23-story billboard, customizing and even directly purchasing their own Nike shoe. After designing a sneaker on the screen, the user receives a text message within seconds. That message contains mobile phone wallpaper showing the shoe along with a link to the Nike iD site where they can buy it. A PIN number provides additional security.
The technology and creative are courtesy of R/GA, as was the new site design, which launched a few weeks ago. The billboard experience began yesterday.
“[We] don’t have the exact numbers, but overall the amount of time screens were engaged was excellent,” said John Mayo-Smith, R/GA’s VP of technology, after the billboard’s first day of operation.
All major phone models and major carriers are supported, according to Mayo-Smith.
Last year, R/GA supported a similar effort for Yahoo Autos. Using their phones, New Yorkers and tourists could play a driving video game on the Reuters sign. That undertaking, which was not commerce-enabled, coincided with the International Auto Show.
Nike’s iD division, which lets shoe buyers customize their own footwear according to color and design, is reportedly becoming a more important part of the shoe maker’s overall strategy.
