In South Korea, wifi movie posters offer the connectivity to access extra content

Advertising agency Cheil has created movie posters which enable passersby to connect to the internet, watch the trailer and book tickets.

Public wifi – as we’ve seen – can come from unexpected locations, including sidewalk slabs and even donkeys. Now South Korean-based advertising agency Cheil has created wifi movie posters, offering fans the connectivity to access extra content. Working in collaboration with film distributer CJ Entertainment, the company realized that the static nature of traditional movie posters mean they struggle to compete for attention in today’s fast-moving digital world. While many advertisers have opted for QR codes to provide an element of interactivity to print campaigns, Cheil installed wifi-enabled devices on the billboards holding posters for a movie called The Berlin File. When passersby stood next to the posters a wifi connection with the movie’s name could be clicked, automatically loading details about the film, links to trailers and the chance to purchase cinema tickets. According to the creators, the initial trial found that the film website’s wireless users accounted for a 28.5 percent increase in traffic, and those users stayed on the site for five times longer than regular users. After engaging with the movie content, users were still able to browse other sites using the free wifi. The innovation makes posters more useful by offering a service alongside free content to capture the attention of smartphone users who may otherwise have been too busy staring at their devices to notice. Considering wifi isn’t yet ubiquitous, how can the provision of free connectivity help get mobile users engaged with your brand?