As the world rapidly undergoes changes brought on by new technology, the advertising industry is following suit.
With the price of electronics, particularly flat-screen TVs, on the decline, and the increasing ease of programming information for display on devices, one company is trying a relatively new advertising program in Murfreesboro.
Bell Media rents a small space on a restaurant’s wall to host a screen. They mount the TV on the wall, and then place ads for other businesses on the screens. The ads alternate every 15 seconds, in a 6-minute loop.
The host restaurant gets an ad on the screen as well.
“The only two things we won’t advertise are other restaurants, and anything that wouldn’t be considered family friendly,” said Greg Woermann, sales manager with Bell Indoor.
Find the screens in dining areas at Nobody’s, Chef Wang’s, JoZoara, Gyro Tabouli—Bell now has 25 screens in Murfreesboro, and over 70 throughout Middle Tennessee.
“We love local,” Woermann said. “The advertiser gets to pick the screens they want, based on their needs for location and customer demographic.”
Greg Woermann
He said the company tries to strike agreements with restaurants that average at least 200 to 300 visitors a day.
“The average time a person sits at our locations is 40 to 60 minutes,” the sales manager said. “An ad can be seen as many as 10 times per patron, which is 3,000 potential views each day for each location.”
Bell Indoor advertisers presently include car dealers, doctors, attorneys, chiropractors, aviation services and a wide variety of industries.
Woermann said he caps advertisers at 20 per screen, so that way each ad is shown approximately every 6 minutes. Some similar companies may, Woermann said, “have hundreds on there, so you may wait several hours to see your ad.”
Other companies may use DVD players to show the screen’s advertisements. Not Bell. “All of our screens have a PC attached to them, so if you want to change an ad, or change locations, we can do that instantaneously,” Woermann said.
Bell has partnered with Channel 4 to provide scrolling headlines along the bottom of the Nashville screens; on those in the Murfreesboro market, viewers can find headlines from the Murfreesboro Pulse scrolling across the screen.
Bell Media began in 2007 when Scott Bell purchased a digital billboard in Montgomery, Ala. In 2010 the company began its indoor, flat-screen program, and has since expanded to Birmingham, Middle Tennessee, Huntsville and Columbus, Ga.
Woermann said the company enjoys working with non-profit organizations, and has donated advertising to Murfreesboro’s Operation Adopt A Hero, for example, and has offered Salvation Army and local churches substantial discounts.
“Some of our screens are being close to sold out, but there are many spots available on others,” Woermann noted.
For more information on the screens, contact Greg Woermann at (615) 696-6998 or greg@bellindoor.com.
