Alley-OOHp: Why Out of Home Advertising Helps Gamification Campaigns Run Up the Score

April 30, 2024

New Yorkers like to think we know New York. But respectfully – do we really?

It’s time to put your Big Apple expertise to the test. Because our Trivia Moments game has begun! We’ve compiled 200 questions about the greatest city in the universe, with the help of our partners at the NYC Landmarks60 Alliance.

Every day from now through the fall, you’ll have the opportunity to answer one of those questions. Answer it right to earn bragging rights, a place on the leaderboard, and oh yeah – there are prizes too. (If that's enough of a pitch for you to start playing, go ahead and sign up now.)


Here’s how it works.

Watch our digital transit media in New York and our Times Square spectaculars for the Trivia Moments QR code. When you scan it, you’ll have the opportunity to answer one of these trivia questions, which have been selected by Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, chair of The Historic Landmarks Preservation Center and the NYC Landmarks60 Alliance.

“The NYC Landmarks60 Alliance hopes that Trivia Moments will bring New Yorkers together to enjoy fresh facts about our city and will increase the wider public’s awareness of the 60th anniversary of New York City’s Landmarks Law next year,” she said. 

“The contest displays questions about the complex and intriguing history of New York City, including sports, arts, business, politics, and of course, architecture,” continued Barbaralee. “Millions of people, from commuters to tourists to residents, can test their knowledge at these screens placed in and around transit stations. We hope this program will offer an enjoyable, and even informative diversion, for everyone, young or old, who rides the subway.”

We hope so too, Barbaralee. But enjoyable diversion aside, this fun game isn’t just fun and games. There are prizes up for grabs, so every answer counts. We’ll be keeping score and displaying the leaderboards across our media throughout the campaign, tracking both overall performance and weekly results. Each week’s high scorer will receive an OMNY card loaded with a week’s worth of MTA fares (valued at $34). There's a grand prize at the end too!


“But OUTFRONT,” you might be saying, “aren’t you an out of home company? What’s with all the trivia?”

We’re glad you might have asked! Because Trivia Moments isn’t just a game – it’s a showcase for several of digital out of home’s most exciting applications and use cases. The first is QRad, one of the advanced capabilities developed by our edge-cutting colleagues at XLabs.

QRad takes the tried-and-true QR code to the next level. Because when you scan a regular QR code in an ad, the interactivity lives solely on your phone. But scanning a QRad code can also trigger changes in the ad creative itself – so the ad is responding to engagement in real time! 

Pretty cool, right?


The second spotlight is on gamification, the practice of integrating game-like elements into everyday objects or processes. Spotify Wrapped, for example, gamifies the experience of streaming music. Duolingo gamifies learning languages. Even the Starbucks app contains gamified elements!

Any brand can take advantage of gamification in order to deepen relationships and engagement with its customers. And when it comes to gamified ad campaigns, DOOH is uniquely positioned to drive success. That’s because billboard and transit advertising serve as an enormously inviting front door to gamified experiences, offering up an enjoyable activity to consumers living their lives in the real world. Through the mass reach of out of home advertising, brands can expose gamified campaigns to exactly the audiences they want to activate.

But the synergy between out of home and gamification doesn’t end at the entrance. It’s also a powerful tool to retain that engagement after the initial touchpoint. After all, if someone played the game yesterday, the leaderboard is going to be pretty interesting to them today and tomorrow.

That’s why out of home doesn’t just get audiences into the game – it keeps them there.

Want to play Trivia Moments? Sign up and play daily!

Author: Jay Fenster, Marketing Manager @ OUTFRONT

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