SixEye, an Israeli start-up with an urban vision, is about
to revolutionize outdoor advertising. The company's billboards offer moving
analog images, with rotating advertising directed at target audiences
according to the time of day.
Classic science fiction movies always showed third millennium (which is
already here) urban environment as something entirely different.
This fantasy is being put into reality by Israeli start-up SixEye, which
specializes in special technologies for "Blade Runner" type outdoor
advertising. However, there is one huge difference: the alienating digital
urban environment depicted in the movie, so the start-up hopes, will be
replaced by a more friendly analog environment.
"We're going to revolutionize outdoor advertising," says SixEye deputy
general manager for marketing Adi Rosen. "You can already see in Manhattan
a huge amount of banners on buildings, spread over tens of meters. The
platform we developed, Vision View, will make it possible for a building
along the Ayalon highway to display our banners that move, talk and change
clothing. In short, an analog effect that is pleasing to the eye, achieved
by electronic means.
"We'll be able to provide a solution for two main problems," explains
company general manager Ran Poliakin. "One of these is the cost. Our
platform, placed on a building like NASDAQ's, will cut the cost to $2
million. Another problem is that strong sun rays interfere with viewing the
picture clearly. In contrast, in our technology, which is based on
electronic ink, strong light improves display.
Vision View is a strip of plastic containing a system of
voltage-sensitive pigments which change their molecular position when
subjected to a certain electric voltage. Repeated electrical commands
therefore enable endless color changes in the pigments. The commands to
"light up" or "switch off" the pigments are sent through a telephony system
which transmits information at high speed, facilitating a high pace of
image replacement.
"Our device adopts existing technology, which finds it difficult to
solve the need for full color, to large format applications in which with
resolution is less critical," Rosen explains. "Our uniqueness lies in our
ability to provide multi-color using electronic ink."
"Globes": Can your technology compete with
photography and video in terms of the pace of changing images?
Poliakin: "Certainly. It will be as
fast as regular video, but will resemble print."
The big advantage of this technology, SixEye believes, lies in its
ability to produce an analog image, 'print-like', the company calls it,
providing an alternative to the digital look. "The technology may be
advanced and television screens are bigger and of higher quality, but
people want analog viewing, that is they want to see something with the
appearance of print, resembling real life," Poliakin, a graduate of
industrial design at Bezelel, explains his urban vision for the future.
Do you believe major advertisers will really
cooperate with this line of thought?
Poliakin: "We believe the market can
grow from providing bodies like NASDAQ or other large advertisers, with
much mor extensive use of outdoor advertising. We'll provide the platform
at a price that will make it particularly attractive."
Rosen:
"More possibilities for
focused advertising exist now, due to the Internet and digital printing.
Our product offers full segmentation for outdoor advertising, with
advertising adapted to the different times of day. It opens up a whole new
world for advertisers."
In effect, you're changing the profit model for
outdoor advertising, from the leasing of advertising space to spot
leasing. Do you have any assurances in the form of cooperation or
partnerships with companies in the sector?
Rosen: "On the market level, we have
connections with leading companies in the outdoor advertising field. We
prepared a campaign to penetrate a product with one or two of the world's
biggest organizations in this field, and we're convinced that our
technology will revolutionize media companies. It will enable them to offer
advertisers prime location at low cost, the possibility of serial
advertising or the construction of 'stories in installments' advertising
campaigns that unfold within short periods, days or even hours."
SixEye was founded two years ago, and is already starting to establish
itself in the outdoor advertising market. The first product the company
developed, named SixEye, is a sophisticated billboard that has six faces on
which six images or pictures can be rotated. It is operated by remote
control through software the company developed, which enables the duration
and exposure order of each picture to be regulated.
Hundreds of units have already been sold in various parts of the world,
mainly in Europe and North America. This has made SixEye a recognized
player in the outdoor advertising market. At the same time, the company is
continuing to develop the Vision View, and plans to launch it within two years.
Do you already have strategic partnerships at the
technology and marketing level?
Poliakin: "We currently have three
groups of investors: a holding company I founded which includes industrial
companies in the cable television field, another group of Israeli
investors, and a foreign investor from the telecommunications field,
represented in Israel by Pnina Ramon. We also maintain business ties with
very large companies on the technological side, and we're hoping for
strategic ties with another marketing partner."
Is an offering planned in the near future?
Poliakin: "It's likely to become
relevant shortly. We're looking for a financial partner specializing in
advertising, publishing and entertainment. Such a partner could lead us to
a market value estimated at billions of dollars. We're convinced we have a
winning product."
Have you considered using the product's
advantages directly, by entering the outdoor advertising market yourselves,
instead of selling it to media companies?
Rosen: "That's a strategic question.
Do we want to compete with our customers? It's a business model we haven't
ruled out, but for the moment we still prefer to concentrate on developing
the technology."
SixEye is convinced that its product will change not only outdoor
advertising, but also the architectural approach to the urban environment.
"Our idea is revolutionary," Poliakin says. "We can make ordinary walls in
an urban environment appear to be in a different scene, just like in the
movie 'Blade Runner'. The urban environment is on the verge of changing,
and we hope to be a partner to it."
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 23 February, 2000