A large LED display in New York City will give the tens of millions of annual visitors to Times Square – ‘the crossroads of the world’ – a chance to see inside Madame Tussauds. The attention-grabbing 13 ft. by 12 ft. LED screen, which was installed on 19 June, is visible from 42nd Street. It is already proving a big hit with visitors to Times Square, who get to benefit from a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the Madame Tussauds experience.
The project brief from Madame Tussauds (part of Merlin Entertainments Group) to Banner Managed Communication (BMC), its global marketing and communications agency, was to ‘increase the attraction’s cut-through and audience share within the intensively competitive New York tourist scene’. BMC deployed its digital experience design partner, OpenEye Global, a world leader in conceiving and delivering innovative visual technology projects, to help create the experience from the eyes of the visitor.
The Madame Tussauds and OpenEye team developed a content strategy highlighting the brushes with fame (and infamy!) that could only happen inside Madame Tussauds. Using actors and a green screen to film reactions to their encounters with Madame Tussauds’ stars, crowds outside could get a real taste of the fun that awaits them inside. In order to drive interactions beyond the ticket booth, another key tactic was to showcase the opportunity for ‘dynamic selfies’ inside Madame Tussauds.
