490 million annual viewers across 150 leading malls empowered to activate music videos from all four majors on HD LCD-TV screens using their mobile phones like remote controls; platform provides advertisers with engaged national audiences and greater measurability of marketing impact and ROI
CHICAGO – Akoo International Inc. announced the national launch of the most advanced interactive entertainment and advertising platform in the digital out-of-home marketplace. The “Akoo” network combines premium video entertainment – including music videos from all four major labels: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI – with a proprietary platform that engages viewers to activate content on HD LCD-TV screens using their mobile phones like remote controls.
Akoo is currently available throughout the food court environments of 50 high-profile malls in top 25 DMAs (see www.akoo.com for information about participating malls). The network will be deployed at 150 of the nation’s highest-traffic malls by December 2009, reaching an audience of 490 million annual viewers with an average engagement exceeding 30 minutes.
The Akoo network has proven to drive measurable engagement, activations, and transactions with a media-elusive, predominantly 18-34 year-old demographic. The platform’s ability to capture actionable behavioral data and deliver targeted advertising across digital screens and user mobile devices – steps away from the retail point of sale where purchase intent is highest – provides marketers with greater measurability of marketing impact and ROI.
“We’re extremely excited to deliver fully immersive audio/video entertainment experiences to millions of consumers,” said Niko Drakoulis, Akoo’s CEO. “For a limited number of advertisers, Akoo also provides non-cluttered, accountable media at a time when quantifying return on marketing spend is imperative.”
Akoo achieves full coverage of each food court environment with multiple pairs of 46-inch, side-by-side HD LCD-TV screens. Each pair of screens is comprised of a Programming Guide screen, featuring available on-demand content, user tutorials, and sponsors’ advertising, and an adjacent Entertainment screen, featuring Akoo’s entertainment programming, playback of user-selected content, and sponsors’ pre-roll ads and overlays with call-to-action messaging.
Additionally, a professional audio solution in each location monitors ambient crowd noise and automatically adjusts the volume level of Akoo programming to maximize audio and visual impact. Akoo is the sole and exclusive interactive entertainment source in each food court.
To interact with the network, consumers discover content codes on the Programming Guide screen or table-top print media and text the content code of their choice to the Akoo network. A text message is immediately returned to the user’s mobile device, confirming the selection, and the content is queued to play on the Entertainment screen in the order it was received. When all on-demand selections are played, the regularly scheduled programming automatically resumes.
Consumers may also use the Akoo Remote, a free mobile application accessible via any mobile phone’s Internet browser. The Akoo Remote allows users to search through the location’s available video library; make on-demand requests with one-click; and identify and tag “What’s Playing Now,” for subsequent purchase on popular digital music services, such as Apple’s iTunes or Amazon MP3.
Users with Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as Apple’s iPhone, can also access Akoo’s free Wi-Fi service at every location to interact with programming. Akoo’s Wi-Fi service offers exclusive access to network features, as well as special content and promotional offers from Akoo advertisers.
About Akoo International Inc.
Akoo International Inc. develops and deploys interactive entertainment networks in out-of-home environments, delivering premium video content and immersive brand experiences across HD LCD-TV screens powered by the Company’s proprietary platform. Founded in 2001, the Company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, visit www.akoo.com.
