Thursday, May 05, 2005

Nike iD Billboard Invites Mobile Users

By Zachary Rodgers

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.

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