Outfront Media came up with an interesting way to cover their unused billboard space in one of their Florida markets. The Read and Seed campaign sparked the curiosity of onlookers, so much so that people started writing in to local media outlets asking if the billboards were part of a bigger campaign message. An Orlando based news website contacted the local Outfront office for an explanation of the campaign.
Outfront Media said that the “Read and Seed” billboards were not part of a bigger marketing message, or intended to drive viewers to a website, they were simply there as a public service announcement between advertisers. Outfront said that occastionally when they have unsold space, they will add public service announcement vinyls to the billboards so that they are not blank.
In the case of the “Read and Seed” billboards, the local Orlando Outfront office said their local production coordinator was looking to make the most of the unused space. He reached out to the design team in Atlanta for help. The Atlanta office challenged their design team to create something that mattered to them. Eddy Herty is the Creative Director in Atlanta. He said he wanted his team to design a “PSA they could champion. Since OOH (Out of Home) is such a powerful medium and they are so passionate about designing for it, it made sense to combine the two loves.”
The “Read and Seed” design was done by Rhea Walsh. She said she channeled her country upbringing to come up with the design. Walsh said, “I’ve always loved reading and I feel like that love has helped me a lot in both my professional and personal life. Reading is learning, even if it’s fiction, and it helps you grow as a person.”
Walsh said that with so many distractions these days, she wanted to do something to encourage people to take the time to read a book and take a break from modern technology. “I grew up in the country, so the concept is a play on the “Feed and Seed” stores I used to see all of the time. Just as you might plant seeds to cultivate the land, reading plants the seeds to nurture your brain and help you grow.”
Hopefully, Walsh’s beautiful designs will be used between advertisers here in Atlanta as well.