A practical solution to to produce a cost effective and environmentally friendly Real-time Outdoor Media tool
While this type of advertising industry is mainly operated by SMEs, the paper and ink manufacturers are usually large multinationals who govern the prices of the commodities, putting pressure on SMEs. In Europe alone there are between 2 and 8 million billboards displayed at any given time and this number is constantly growing. The standard billboard dimensions are approximately 2 metres by 3 metres, giving an area of nearly 6 square metres. The marketing strategy for billboard advertising is usually 4 week cycles, but the trend is changing, and more and more businesses opt for 2 week cycles, or even less. This means that every 2 weeks, over six million square metres of poster is thrown out. In most cases, due to cutting cost, the paper is not recycled, the ink is not eco friendly, and the glue used is toxic. In addition, these components are combined and they cannot be separated easily. Due to this, billboard advertising has a disastrous affect on the environment, and this issue needs to be addressed. Another important issue in the advertising industry is the need for real-time media. With technology developing fast and the internet becoming more and more standard in every household, people are used to getting real-time information. Advertisers need to take this into consideration when planning a marketing strategy for a certain product. There is a real need for a new tool for Real-time Outdoor Media, which is cost effective and environmentally friendly. The aim ECOBOARD is to produce a cost effective and environmentally friendly Real-time Outdoor Media tool which can give the same visual effect as a paper based billboard, but without the use of paper, ink, and glue which pollute our world. Further more, the proposed system would increase the competitiveness of SMEs within the advertising industry by reducing the time and the cost of advert implementation (no need to print). ECOBOARD is an advertising tool where the image can be changed by mechanical means (coloured foils used in pixels to display the required image), without generating environmentally harmful waste. It uses existing state-of-the-art technology combined with creativity and precision engineering to produce a new innovative eco-friendly advertising tool. ECOBOARD operates through a communication interface that allows the user and the administrator to access the Web-based Administrator (WBA) graphical interface. The communication interface is optional, depending on the application of the board (stand-alone or urban). Through the WBA the user (customer who advertises) can access the board and can monitor the advertisement, change the schedule of the individual design or even upload new designs. The administrator (provider who sells the advertising space) can also access the board via this interface in order to check ECOBOARD functions, conduct maintenance, and download error logs and operating reports. The web-based system will also send messages, warnings, and alerts to the user and/or administrator. One of the main objectives of the ECOBOARD system is efficient power consumption and management. The ECOBOARD system can utilize two sources of electricity, depending on operational and advertisement strategy needs. In its full configuration, ECOBOARD can use solar cells, battery, and mains as a power source. Solar energy is converted by solar cell and stored into the battery for later use. The ECOBOARD power system can be operated in two ways: stand-alone and urban mode. The stand-alone mode is developed for outdoor field operations, where the electrical wiring may not be available; so in this case, solar power is used. In summary, ECOBOARD is a low maintenance advertising board that uses minimal energy and can be remotely operated to display the required images in near real time.