Digital Ads with Multi-Touch Surfaces

The Proposal

Can digital ad posters, with multi-touch technology, help provide an as alternative way as advertising to lessen the amount of advertising posters and billboards in downtown toronto?

Multi-Touch surface technology has revolutionized many of the every day products we have
today. From computers to phones, it seems that multi-touch technology will soon be become more commonly found as different ideas on incorporating into devices appear. My second thesis proposal deals with the incorporation of multi-touch screens into digital ad posters.

The Need

In the Yonge and Dundas Street area of Toronto, the city block is surrounded by large billboards, with a various amount of ads. With the billboards changing the appearance of the cityscape of the city, new concerns of visual may rise. As well, the difference between an acceptable amount of billboards and a large amount of billboards considered too many, could become a factor as city by-laws come into play.

Issues such as the amount of billboards allowed in certain areas of the city and how much Toronto can tax the billboards. (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/12/07/toronto-billboard-tax693.html) Ad posters with multi-touch screens can create a new realm of interactive, much in the same way a professional website has crated to potential customers.



Realization

Interactive ad posters with an multi-touch surface would have the potential to house the advertisement of many different sponsors, from posters of new movies, events and fashion for example. The viewer can then access the poster's multi-touch screen to view any ad of his choice, making the viewer now the user (http://www.smart6six.com/touch_screen.html). Interactive ad posters have the potential to lessen the amount of space and materials used for advertising in public spaces.

Audience

The target audience would be crowds who travel through the busy areas of Toronto. Such as Yonge and Dundas Square or other shopping malls where many of these digital and interactive posters would be set up to advertise to shoppers. While providing an easy means to interact with ad posters, it would also free up the urban space around these shopping districts.

Learning Outcomes

I would like to learn more on the subject of the interaction between digital medium, how multi-touch screens are becoming more common place and revolutionizing every day items. I would also like to learn more on the topic of billboard advertising and hear what the people of Toronto feel about it, as well what other countries have done about it. Between my friends, in and outside of OCAD, we have criticized Yonge and Dundas square with looking like Times Square in New York. While I have only bee able to find a wiki page on the topic of the Yonge and Dundas controversy, I wish to look further into the topic of the amount of billboards present and what the people of Toronto think of them.


“Toronto's billboard Tax Approved,” CBS News. 7 December 2009. 11 April 2010.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/12/07/toronto-billboard-tax693.html.

"Touch Screens," Smart Six Company. 11 April 2010.
http://www.smart6six.com/touch_screen.html.

"ADPOD AND RAILWAY STATIONS POD," Smart Six Company. 11 April 2010.
http://www.smart6six.com/touch_screen.html.

"AD POD - This is totally bigger than IPO," Youtube. 23 February 2010. 11 April 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKFRQ7XCm3E.

"Retail", Flasma: Moving images in the floor. 11 April 2010.
http://www.flasma.com/ideas/retail.aspx.

Goldsbie, Jonathan. "Councillor Kelly wants your neighbourhood to look like Dundas Square," Spacing Toronto. 4 December 2009. 11 April 2010. http://spacing.ca/wire/2009/12/04/councillor-kelly-wants-your-neighbourhood-to-look-like-dundas-square/.