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Bison, moose and bears, oh my: Hybrid campaign takes the big sky to the big city

Media company Titan, Montana Tourism and the Chicago Transit Authority teamed in May to bring a taste of the big sky to the city of big shoulders with an out-of-home ad campaign that combined digital signage and static elements with 3D statues of bears, bison and moose.

June 12, 2015 by Christopher Hall — w, t

Static, digital and statues recently brought the Big Sky Country to the Windy City.

Media company Titan teamed with Montana Tourism and the Chicago Transit Authority in May to bring a taste of the big sky to the city of big shoulders with an out-of-home ad campaign that combined digital and static elements with 3D statues of bison, bears and moose.

In an effort to promote tourism to Montana, the state's tourism office commissioned Titan to capture the hearts and minds of Chicagoans with a blitz of the CTA system.

Digital signage displays on CTA platforms and street furniture combined with static posters and attention-grabbing, life-size statuary of the kind of wildlife visitors might see in the wilds of Montana, a Montana Tourism spokeswoman told the Chicago Sun-Times.

"We want people to be able to see and feel what Montana might be like and encourage them to come out and visit and see these animals for real," Montana Office of Tourism spokeswoman Donnie Sexton told the paper. "People see them and they're like, 'Whoa! Hey, what the heck!'"

While the statues were bold, the digital signage aspects of the campaign brought something extra to the project, according to Titan.

"Digital advertising brings the element of motion to the campaign and brings some of the campaign's static imagery to life," Erin Brady, vice president of marketing, research and digital for Titan, told Digital Signage Today. "Additionally, the use of full-motion video on the digital displays allows viewers to experience a true 'Montana moment' while they wait for their train or move about busy city streets."

The campaign was developed in response to a poll conducted by the Montana Office of Tourism, which took place in Montana's target markets, Chicago, Minneapolis and Seattle, according to Caitlin Hassler, social media coordinator for the Montana Office of Tourism.

"The majority of the people who were surveyed had been familiar with Montana and had put a trip on their bucket list," Hassler told Digital Signage Today. "When respondents were asked why they had not yet visited Montana, their top reason was 'lack of time.' Therefore, Montana Office of Tourism's goal for the campaign was to bring the 'Big Sky Country' to the city streets and remind Chicagoans and other target market audiences that it's time to escape the city and book a trip to Montana."

According to Brady, Titan Chicago had been exploring the opportunity to use 3D props for some time, and decided the Montana campaign was the ideal opportunity to bring the idea to life.

"This current campaign was a combination of traditional media assets and some that were completely first to market," Brady said. "The concept and execution required creative thinking, ingenuity, vision, trust, scheduling and lots of hard work to make this campaign a total success."

The Montana Office of Tourism has been advertising in Chicago for the past five years, Hassler said in an email, and this year met Chicagoans "eye-to-eye" as its campaign took the shape of 3D props and landscapes across transit shelters, as well as a traveling Montana Mercantile Outpost, a food-truck-turned-Mercantile that set up shop on busy Chicago sidewalks. The Mercantile was intended to encourage Chicagoans to take a moment out of their day and imagine what it would be like to be in Montana, she said.

"These never-before-seen advertisements call attention to the beauty and adventure of Montana and cause a buzz among residents and on social media," Hassler said. "These media placements are great, because they are part of the everyday lives of our target audience. The wildlife makes a bold statement that is socially sharable. The moose, bear and bison join Chicagoans on their daily commute and encourage them to start planning a Montana vacation or to share their inspiration on social media. We feel that these instillations are a great way to reach Chicagoans during their busy, everyday lives and remind them that it's time to visit Montana."

The Montana Mercantile offered free ice cream cones, bison jerky and glacial stream water, as well as a chance to win a trip to Glacier National Park in Montana, Hassler said. The campaign offered these perks in exchange for social sharing – a photo of Montana's Mercantile or another campaign execution with the hashtag #IdRatherBeInMT. To date, the hashtag reached more than 750,000 people across all three cities, she said.

And that's not all the campaign's done in the Windy City.

"We have received feedback that Chicagoans are now using the installations as reference points to give directions," Hassler said. "For example, 'Take a left at the Montana bison,' or 'It's just past the big moose.' We love becoming a part of Chicago's culture while also inspiring people to visit Montana."

And this won't be the last time such disparate design elements will be combined to great effect, according to Titan's Brady.

"More and more advertisers are looking for unique opportunities to have their message stand out and stop people in their tracks," she said. "This campaign does exactly that. The animals were strategically placed in high-traffic urban areas so that people would take note and engage. The general feedback from the ad community has been positive and full of interest on how to incorporate such displays into future campaigns."

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