Visionary Screen: Blackview Strategic Placement in Russia on the largest DOOH Display

Background

The second half of 2022 was marked by a record increase in demand for Chinese smartphones in Russia with piece sales rising to 70% in the segment. This "boom" on Asian brands followed the withdrawal of Western predecessors. In 2023, the turnover of gadgets increased to 80%, occupying 51% of the market in budget terms.

Due to the sharp increase in prices for European goods, consumers turned their attention to more budget-friendly models. Chinese appliances, which meet the financial capabilities of Russians, have become key on the market. This was quickly realized by the brands themselves. Companies already present in Russia were and still are increasing their activity.

One of such brands turned out to be Blackview. The company is known for its unique design and affordable pricing policy. That made Blackview products popular all over the world, including Russia. The client came to us with a request for a spectacular DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) campaign in Moscow. RMAA faced a new, ambitious task.

Goal

The client's main requirement was a large-scale impact on a wide audience. Therefore, our main goal was to offer the best media platform in Moscow for DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) advertising for a 1 month placement period. The solution required systematization and additional work with creatives.

Solutions

The implementation of the campaign involved several consecutive stages, starting with determining the criteria for choosing an advertising location. We came to the conclusion that the key factors here would be the traffic and the size of the digital facade. Since RMAA has its own catalogs of outdoor advertising objects, the task was solved in the shortest possible time. The client was given access to the most attractive locations in Moscow (note - iconic places), and was shown successful cases of previous DOOH projects.

At the final stage of site coordination the choice was made for Arbat Street, one of the most popular central streets in Moscow. There are three media screens, each having their unique characteristics. The first one is located at the entrance to the Oktyabr movie theater and provides a high level of viewing by visitors. The second screen is clearly visible from the busy New Arbat. However, we advised the client to use the digital facade of the House of Book. This option was chosen because of the absence of various interferences such as shadows from the trees, buildings and other street structures. The area of placement amounted to 638.78 square meters. The screen is considered to be the largest in Russia today.

Next, we got down to customizing the creatives. The client wanted to place two 15-second videos on the screen. One of them was dedicated to the Blackview BV 9300 smartphone, the other to the Tab 16 tablet. Both of them had English text, which the client tried to russify by himself. It turned out to be not a very good solution, because the phrases contained various language expressions, which lost their meaning when translated. Here we needed the help of native speakers. RMAA's global goal of "building a bridge between foreign brands and the Russian-speaking consumer" became literally meaningful on this project. For us, this was not the first task of this kind, as our clients often face language barriers.

English client version. Blackview Tab 16. It's 11-inch Tablet, and 11-inch PC. Bigger than Bigger.

Russian language adaptation. Blackview Tab 16. Экран 11 дюймов - еще больше, чем вы ожидаете. Планшет и ПК в одном устройстве. / The 11-inch screen is even bigger than you'd expect. Tablet and PC in one device.

English client version. Blackview BV 9300. One-Of-A-Kind Precise Measurement/Superbright Rugged Lifestyle. Charge for 3 Hours, Last for 76 Days.

Russian language adaptation. Blackview BV 9300. Уникальный точный дальномер и ударопрочный корпус. Для ярких впечатлений и суровых условий. Заряжается 3 часа - работает 76 дней / Unique precision rangefinder and shockproof housing. For vivid experiences and harsh conditions. Charges in 3 hours - lasts for 76 days.

Also, qr codes were placed on the creatives. So that the interested audience could go to the client's official website or the AliExpress online marketplace, which is popular in Russia.

RMAA always pays attention to the visual aspect of its projects. Therefore, a photo/video report was additionally made for Blackview. Similar to our approach to DOOH/OOH catalogs, we systematically interact with a base of professional photographers and videographers. This provides us and our clients with prompt access to high quality visual material.

Results

Blackview's DOOH campaign was placed between August 16 and September 15, 2023 on the facade of the "House of Book" building located on one of the busiest central streets of Moscow. The average daily number of screen views amounted to about 547.20 thousand.

The success of this project is explained by prompt selection of the location, successful visual concept with adaptation of the creative in Russian and fulfillment of additional photo-video tasks. This emphasizes once again the importance of a systematic approach when implementing large-scale campaigns.