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Cincinnati digital billboards honoring 'Heart Heroes'

Digital billboards are getting heart healthy in February, thanks to a social media effort that finds Lamar Advertising Co. partnering with the Cincinnati American Heart Association to celebrate Heart Awareness Month in an interactive way.

February 26, 2016

Digital billboards are getting heart healthy in February, thanks to a social media effort that finds Lamar Advertising Co. partnering with the Cincinnati American Heart Association to celebrate Heart Awareness Month in an interactive way, according to an announcement from Lamar.

The Heart Heroes campaign, which is running throughout the month of February, integrates social media and digital out-of-home to spread awareness about the importance of being heart healthy and to honor those who have been affected by heart-related illnesses, the company said.

People are encouraged to post photos of friends and family who have been affected with heart issues — otherwise known as "Heart Heroes" — on either the Lamar Advertisingof Cincinnati or The Heart Mini Facebook pages. From there, Lamar uses the technological capabilities of its digital network to display the user-generated photos and names from Facebook directly to digital billboards in Cincinnati. Webcam shots from the digital billboards are posted in a Heart Heroes album on the Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati Facebook page, so people can see their photos running on the billboards.

"This out-of-home campaign drives consumer interaction for Heart Awareness Month in a clever way on social media, and we love giving people the opportunity to share photos of their Heart Heroes on our digital billboards," said Tom Fahey, territory manager of Lamar Advertising Co. "More importantly, we're raising awareness for heart health. This is the fifth year that we have partnered with the Cincinnati American Heart Association, and we are thrilled to be in a position to help spread their important message to a mass audience in Cincinnati."

In addition to the digital billboard component, the campaign's message is being spread heavily through social media: the Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati Facebook page increased its post reach by 5,434 percent since the campaign started in February, as compared to the previous period in January. In the past week, post reach hit 65,143.

"We started asking for photo submissions a week before the campaign started, and they flooded in. We have displayed more than 125 photos on our digital billboards so far," said Cindy Betsch, social media manager and artist for Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati. "Once people saw the photos running on our digital billboards, the campaign momentum skyrocketed on social media. The families of the heroes are sharing their stories on The Heart Mini Facebook page, and it has become a great support group for others living with similar heart issues."

"The American Heart Association is so grateful to Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati for helping us spread a visual message that heart disease affects people of all ages," said Lori Fovel, communications director of the Cincinnati American Heart Association. "The Heart Heroes campaign is the only one of its kind in the AHA throughout the country, and we are thrilled to partner with Lamar on such an innovative campaign to honor very special people in Cincinnati."