Times Square or the Las Vegas Strip where zoning regulations actually encourage the installation of ever-larger electronic signs.
Schuvart also says that the Mediamesh displays are “environmentally friendly.” That claim is based on the mesh’s open weave design, which allows air to circulate through the display, eliminating the need for cooling, even on hot days. Mediamesh displays use one-sixth as much electricity as traditional LED displays with the same surface area, Schuvart says.
To make the Mediamesh design work, GKD had to figure how to run the circuitry for the LED nodes through the metal rods, which are only three-quarters of an inch thick, and how to build looms capable of weaving the metal mesh. The company also put a lot of work into the software that ties together all the LEDs, driving animations “in sizes ranging from hundreds of square feet to hundreds of thousands of square feet,” says Schuvart. The first Mediamesh display was installed on GKD’s building in Duren, Germany in 2007, and A2aMedia is helping clients plan new installations in New England and other regions, with a focus on large venues like sports stadiums, casinos, malls, airports, and parking garages.
I asked Schuvart whether 2009 is a good time to be rolling out the Mediamesh technology in the United States, given that the advertising industry is being hit hard by the economic downturn. “The outdoor media industry is doing better than most segments of the market,” he replied. “Although advertising budgets are smaller in 2009, a higher percentage of these budgets is going to outdoor advertising. Mediamesh is so unique and exciting, we are finding plenty of companies and advertisers who are excited about teaming up with us.”
