Madrid and its Gran Via are still breathing that “air” neon lights

Madrid's Plaza del Callao wants to become a benchmark for outdoor digital advertising. The facades of two of its iconic buildings, Callao Cinemas and the Press Palace, home to five gigantic LED displays with interactive capabilities, augmented reality and 3D to connect with 113 millions of people who go through this agora soaked and pedestrianized every year, opening up a world of possibilities for brand interaction with consumers.

The Callao Cinemas, by architect Luis Gutiérrez Soto, the 11 December 1926 with the premiere of 'Luis Candelas, the Madrid bandit’ (biopic of the famous Lavapiés-born bandit). Since its inception, these cinemas have been a reference point in the cultural activity of the capital. A lot has rained since then: hundreds of premieres, some remodeling works, replenishment of classics commemorating the 100 years of the Gran Via... 86 years of history that have made Plaza del Callao the heart of the capital and the nerve center of tourism and leisure of the city.

Not for nothing, the square is a must-see area for tourists passing through Madrid. It is the third busiest square in Europe, they go through annually 113 millions of people, has space that allows the concentration of up to 10.000 people and has a road traffic of 51.000 daily vehicles.

A new way to get closer to consumers

Two years ago, the company that owns this emblematic building in madrid's central square (Callao Shows) initiated a commercial metamorphosis to create a “cinema lighthouse” in the center of the capital, renovating the signage of the Callao Cinemas and Palacio de la Prensa. The traditional posters that occupied the facade of both properties have thus become five large screens with state-of-the-art LED technology and 3D features (two at callao Cinemas and three at the Press Palace) that have been emitting images for a year and that give The Plaza del Callao a new dimension, making it a cultural and leisure epicenter.

It's about the project Callao City Lights: more than 250 square meters of interactive screens with superior Full HD quality, suitable for new audiovisual technologies, they offer, plus new advertising support, data on cultural programming in Madrid, municipal information and advertising; and thanks to the technology they incorporate, allow the retransmission of events of all kinds (Cultural, Sports, Etc.), and the creation of interactive events with citizen participation.

Creating this new large interactive advertising support, that facilitates numerous cultural and commercial possibilities, both for advertisers and visitors to the square, represents the citizen revitalization of one of madrid's most emblematic areas and a commitment to the world of cinema. It's also a commitment to innovation in how brands can approach consumers, and interact with them in a public and open space as is the street. It is a unique communication model capable of offering interactivity in three different scenarios at the same time: the square, screens and the Internet.

"It's more than just a series of screens. It is a project to recover an emblematic site in Madrid that, in another time, was the reference place for Spanish cinema. We want to make the center of Madrid a reference place for cinema and preserve the cinematic activity of emblematic buildings of the square, like the Callao Cinema, signs of identity of cultural events in Madrid”, Callao City Lights managers point out.

Focus of attraction

The company responsible for implementing these devices has been the multinational telecommunications company of Swedish origin Ericcson, who has opted for the LED screens of the American manufacturer Daktronics. Daktronics DVX display has been installed to create new advertising support in the historic architecture of cinemas. Screens incorporate pitch technology 10 (distance between LEDs 10 Mm) and have been designed with the latest technology on the market to have the highest resolution and HD capacity in Spain. They are a breakthrough in technology, increasing by a 60% defining the image. Daktronics LED technology ensures long life with minimal maintenance, while offering vibrant, 1-color images, shocking for viewers.

Gerardo Baranowski, CEO of Callao City Lights, has pointed out: "The quality of the image, colors, contrast, brightness and HD definition of Daktronics screens has allowed us to have an ideal launch of our project. The impact and recognition we have received from our customers and the general public confirms that we have chosen the best manufacturer for our project."

A screen of 101 m2 of picht 10 (1.009.800 Pixels), and on Jacometrezo Street, one of the 130 m2 of picht 10 (1.396.000 Pixels), both with 3D image-streaming capability, while a third screen of 36m2 of picht has been installed in the marquee of the Palace of the Press 10 (356.400 Pixels) on the front, and two sides of 8,80 m2 , overlooking the Gran Via. the 5 LED displays add up to almost all 10.900.000 daily impacts -5.310.000 Callao and Gran Via and 5.568.000 the Palace of the Press-.

Daktronics DVX display video modules are very durable and offer protection of environmental elements. The water, dust, and any other type of waste material, can't get in so the modules are very reliable. The DVX product line is known for its high visibility capacity with minimal remote pixels; this allows for wide visibility angles and detailed images.

Mike Charles, Daktronics International Sales Representative, Reviewed: "Daktronics is very excited to be a part of that project, and this represents Daktronics' largest individual project in Spain."

Infochannel 5 by Scala

For the management of the digital signage of the project, Ericcson decided on the software Scala Infochannel 5 and the local partner of the American company, ASVideo, supplied and installed a control manager and players for total redundancy by both player and content manager, as well as three Infochannel Designer systems, that allow you to create multimedia productions with the visual impact of TV and update content over the Internet.

The process of implementing the broadcast system is generated in the connection between previously ingested content players and the broadcast of those contents through the screens. Due to the variety of signals you work with, both in static content (jpeg, tiff, PSD), as in dynamic, (WMV, QuickTime, .avi, .Mov), it was necessary a robust and stable server to be able to broadcast the contents without problems. This broadcast is done by generating play-lists for later issuance.

The contents that are broadcast on the screens are prepared for broadcast by passing a previous quality control process, verification of the content to be broadcast, authorization and validation for issuance. Once this process has passed, is programmed according to the type of contract entered into with the customer.

Preview us in the purest Hollywood style

This novel format allows the interaction of brands with citizens and their participation in large events. Since July 2011, the five large LED screens have witnessed direct events such as the celebration of the victory of the Spanish basketball team at the Eurobasket in Lithuania, concerts like David Otero's 'El Pescao', the celebration of the 50 West Side Story anniversary, Madrid Premiere Week or the European e-Commerce Conference 'EEC'11'. likewise, through the screens, Madrid and tourists were able to attend live events as special as World Youth Day J WYD Madrid 2011 or the exclusive broadcast of the documentary of the channel History '102 minutes that changed USA.’ to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

This initiative also allows these spaces to be specially illuminated in order to focus on the attention, highlight the activities that take place in the halls and become landmarks for holding major events related to culture and entertainment. In this way, the glamour of the red carpet is gradually returning to the Callao cinema as the usual setting for numerous premiers, which have also been seen live on the screens, like the European premiere of 'Green Lantern’ starring Ryan Reynolds, 'Millennium’ with Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the fourth installment of 'Mission Impossible’ with Tom Cruise, 'Tintin’ by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, 'The Hunger Games’ or the newly released 'The Amazing Spiderman', from Spanish films like 'The Opposite of Love’ o 'XP3D', or the live broadcast from London of the premiere of the latest film in the 'Harry Potter' saga, who connected Callao live with the red carpet of Trafalgar Square, in a broadcast shared only by Madrid and the English capital.

When premiers are held, Premieres, Congresses, Presentations, Etc., content is coordinated and shared with daily broadcasting. It reserves the opening time and connects the live signal to the event through promotional videos, live performance or video clips. Events held in cinemas and broadcast on screens can also be tracked online through the Callao City Lights page and profiles created on Facebook social networks, Twitter or the Youtube channel. Photos of events also hang on Flickr.

User engagement options

Callao Square thus becomes a focus of citizen attention at the height of such iconic spaces as New York's Times Square or London's Picadilly Circus. But beyond ads, broadcasts and cultural information projected on them, LED screens also propose interacting with them through mobile devices and social media. Callao City Light has worked with several companies that have generated applications with the most cutting-edge technology through which you can download music or video; send messages that appear on screens; follow live the events that take place in the cinema, commenting live, about the image of celebrities on the red carpet; or send photos with dedications.

When the square is the scene of concerts and live events, audio can be heard via mobile. The power of the systems integration tool allows, In addition, the ability to play online through X-Box platforms with other locations around the world, or the use of augmented reality apps and holography to interact with passers-by.

For the anniversary of the 30 McDonald's years, an action was generated in the Plaza del Callao inviting the candles of a virtual cake projected on the interactive screens. Thanks to an augmented reality app developed for iPhone and Android devices, attendees of the stay were able to connect to the screen with QR codes, downloading an APP app, and through your Facebook profile and participate live in the massive blowing of birthday cake candles and access prizes redeemed at fast food restaurant chain establishments.

The same, on the occasion of the Red Cross flag party, the event became an interactive event where-by-picture of each donor appeared on giant screens for a few seconds. Comments also appeared from a fortnight of bloggers, from the cafeteria of El Corte Inglés, commented on the visit of the various 'celebrities’ to the solidarity event and, At the same time, reflected the comments, from different social networks, were made about the event.

Beyond film advertising

The installation and commissioning of these screens is only the first step of an ambitious project that will be enriched with a total remodeling of the spaces of the Callao Cinema property, a reference in film history by being the first to exhibit a sound film in Spain, 'The Jazz Singer’ in 1929, and the first 3D film in a commercial cinema, which will allow to carry out all kinds of activities and events related to the world of film and culture, in the style of what Odeon Cinemas represent in England.

As the first phase of this revitalization, the latest 3D image and sound technologies have been installed, while also maintaining their historic projectors 35 Mm, that will allow them to celebrate in the same film releases at national and European level; as well as film cycles. Afterwards it will be remodeled its interior providing it with the greatest amenities for the spectators, installing a circuit of digital signage screens that allow you to see from inside the cinema what is happening outside.

Paco Rodríguez Arnuero, Callao City Lights Chief Operating Officer, explains it that way: “In the evolution of this project, an audiovisual environment is planned and designed throughout the building. We propose a unique experience to make participants to all our guests and of course to the spectators of the square of the current moment. If a premier is being developed, you can see the actors, the red carpet with the guests, the photocall, at any movie location through giant monitors. If discs are being signed, that the event can be tracked through the interior screens and monitors of the building, that the audience feels the protagonist of the event that is taking place at that time”.

• customer:
  Callao City Lights
• Integrator:
  Ericcson
• Screens:
  Daktronics
• configuration:
  • Callao Square: screen of 101 m2 of picht 10 and 10.2×9,90 meters high, (1.009.800 Pixels).
  • Jacometrezo Street: screen of 130 m2 of picht 10 12.90×9,90 meters high, (1.396.000 Pixels).
  • Press Palace: central screen of 36 m2 of picht 10 and 15.90×2,10 meters high, (356.400 Pixels); and two side screens of 8,8 m2 of picht 10 and 4.20×2,10 meters high, (88,200 Pixels).
• Players and software:
  Scala and ASVideo

[youtube]HTTP://www.youtube.com/watch?v-W5ridchL3zI[/youtube]

[youtube]HTTP://www.youtube.com/watch?v-MFh0rdm8aMQ[/youtube]

[youtube]HTTP://www.youtube.com/watch?8ceqImVs_qw[/youtube]

[youtube]HTTP://www.youtube.com/watch?v-5X4FO8lePos[/youtube]

gallery

(click on any photo to start carousel - scrolling right and left by clicking on the arrow-)

Other articles on ASVideo, Callao City Lights, Daktronics, Ericcson, Scala