Challenge Kinetic wanted to be able to better research and craft outof- home ad campaigns for its clients, and to be better able to visually present its proposals to its clients and ad agencies.
Solution Using MapInfo Professional and StreetPro Singapore, Kinetic can now create thematic maps in which ad site locations are enriched with information on target audience, media details and other relevant data.
SummaryKinetic is a leading independent planner and buyer of out-of-home media – bus shelter ads, billboards, subway platform posters, etc. – which is rapidly gaining share in both established and developing economies. Established in June 2005, following a merger of Portland Outdoor and Poster Publicity, the company has run campaigns for such familiar leading brands as Levi’s, Unilever, Estee Lauder, Sony Ericsson and HSBC Bank. In the Asia Pacific, Kinetic operates in six countries, with the regional headquarters located in Singapore, which is also the home for the domestic country operation.
While it has an in-house media system and other tools to analyse data, place bookings, and other functions, Kinetic wanted to be able to better plan and present campaign proposals to ad agencies and clients in Singapore. Previously, site locations were marked on hardcopy maps, with information on ad format, size, position and relevant data (local demographics, location of nearby shopping malls, colleges, transport hubs, and so on) appended. Even though each campaign is unique, there are common details across campaigns or clients that could not be leveraged for broader application with a mainly paperbased process.
“There’s also now more diversity in out-ofhome format and this has to be incorporated into our planning process. It’s no longer easy for clients to get the best campaigns simply by going to media owners with a budget and a timetable. Increasingly, it’s much more about targeting and about using the right format,” said Matthew Robinson, Systems Director – Asia Pacific, Kinetic.
After deciding that a mapping solution would help bring greater precision to both these areas, besides engendering reuse of common data, Kinetic evaluated several solutions before selecting one comprising MapInfo Professional mapping software and StreetPro Singapore, a comprehensive, multi-purpose street database for the country.
“Compared to the other solutions we looked at, the one from
Pitney Bowes MapInfo has a cost advantage. The quality of the digital map is also higher, there is support for a wide variety of data formats, we can easily create bespoke, client-specific layers and the solution works well with our in-house media system,” said Mr. Robinson.
Kinetic, which sometimes does pan-Asian or even global campaigns, also preferred a solution whose data footprint extended to as many countries in the Asia Pacific as possible. Here, Pitney Bowes MapInfo
advisory service, which offers street network databases for ten countries in the region, has a clear advantage.
“What Kinetic also found compelling was Pitney Bowes MapInfo’s commitment to update the country mapping data on a regular basis. This is very important to us, especially for a fast-changing place like Singapore.”
ResultImplementation of the Pitney Bowes MapInfo solution began in the last quarter of 2006. Using data from its own research, input from media owners, and information embedded in StreetPro Singapore, Kinetic can now create highly visual, colour-coded thematic maps, complete with details of available out-of-home ad sites, demographics (down to administrative subzone), subway commuter traffic, bus routes, relevant outlets, and other attributes. A toolbar for the Pitney Bowes MapInfo solution was created within the in-house media system to facilitate quick data exchange.
“The Pitney Bowes MapInfo solution has allowed our account managers and buyers to go into meetings with ad agencies when they’re proposing what to do with out-ofhome with even more confidence. With the maps, we can show proof that we know what we're doing, that we know where the target audience is, that we know where to best place the ads,” said Mr. Robinson.
Also, media owners view Kinetic as a more progressive company that is willing to invest in technology to help them sell the media they own, and to help improve the out-of-home medium as a whole.
“The value-add that the Pitney Bowes MapInfo solution has brought to the services we provide in Singapore is huge. Having said that, we’re probably using just ten percent of the available functionality and have just scratched the surface of what we can do strategically. We certainly can do a lot more if we can get hold of after-sale data, footfall data, and other campaign metrics and the Pitney Bowes MapInfo solution is intrinsic to that – helping us improve our research.”
Highly satisfied with the Pitney Bowes MapInfo implementation in Singapore, Kinetic is now looking to replicate the success in Malaysia and Thailand in the near future – with Pitney Bowes MapInfo as its preferred technology partner.
Kinetic chose Pitney Bowes MapInfo
business services as its location intelligence vendor for several reasons, including the cost advantage of its solutions over competing ones, frequent updates to its street network databases, and its large Asia Pacific footprint. The company has found Pitney Bowes MapInfo to be an “excellent technology partner with very good support.”
29-Sep-2008