Plasma touch-screens, 3D images, scent emitters and a "theatre of the senses" are seldom associated with a parastatal, yet this is the type of technology that you will find pervading the carriages of Spoornet`s moving marketing platform.
The project - literally two Spoornet carriages modified to become an interactive experience - was implemented to realign the rail provider as a freight logistics service (FLS) company providing both a transportation and a distribution service.
A below-the-line advertising campaign was selected specifically to reach its widely dispersed and niche business customer community with the correct message. The VWV Group was charged with the task of implementing the project, which took over three years.
The multimedia experience is controlled digitally by custom-written software controlled by a technician at the far end of the train. According to the VWV team, the experience can be changed quite easily thanks to this software, which will enable customers other than Spoornet to utilise the platform for launches and promotions. The video feed - most impressive on the five-screen wide plasma display - is run off of MPEG-2 synchronised over various machines.
Doors, lights and even the smoke alarm system are also controlled by the host of Dells that had to be strapped down to prevent damage during movement of the train - especially shunting.
Other concerns specific to the project included electo-magnetic waves emitted by the high-voltage cables that run over train tracks, as well as sourcing touch-screen plasma screens, and CRT monitors that had double the refresh rate of a normal television or computer monitor for the 3D effects. Spoornet says the 3D is in itself unique, using special glasses that synchronise via infrared to the display and flash each eyepiece on and off in time with the display to create the 3D result.
Spoornet would not confirm how much the project cost, but says this targeted advertising platform has replaced its television campaign for its FLS products. It says the train is the first of its type in the world, and is a metaphor of the human body, engaging both the senses and the mind.
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