Walgreens

Objective
Walgreens wanted to build an iconic brand presence and promote their products & services at multiple high foot traffic stores. These locations included Harmon, MGM, and The Venetian in Las Vegas, as well as their sales-leading store at One Times Square in New York. Part of the strategy was to develop the potential of the One Times Square LED spectacular as a revenue generating advertising billboard. The goal was to take advantage of the ample amount of facade ‘real estate’ and maximize impressions in saturated visual environments.

Solution
From napkin sketch to installation, Gilmore Group led the collaborative effort with D3 LED to build the largest LED spectacular in New York City at the time. Totaling over 41,000 square feet, we designed a spectacular that unified eight separate billboard properties on the building to create an unforgettable branding statement. The system included fifteen separate displays that were all synchronized, allowing for dynamically integrated animations to flow from one display to the next and speak out across Times Square southern plaza. The east-facing screens across from the NASDAQ building enabled companies that became publicly listed to advertise their IPO status in an eventful way. We also leveraged the proximity of the busiest metro station at 42nd St-Times Square with the south-facing screens, achieving millions of impressions every year.
Gilmore Group organized events with brands in partnership with Walgreens, such as The American Cancer Association, Duracell, and Hershey’s, as well as the Red Nose Day campaign. The displays were often leveraged to create memorable and shareable experiences, such as livestreaming photos of event volunteers and participants on the screens.

In the end, our work included assessment, strategy, concepts, design, engineering, project management, marketing, operations, and content.

Gilmore Group partnered with Daktronics to remotely manage the Las Vegas content playlists, as well as perform diagnostics pertaining to the health of the screen systems.

Results
The One Times Square LED spectacular became the highest grossing Times Square spectacular in advertising sales after launch, and the store experienced increased sales. The LED spectacular became an iconic brand landmark within the One Times Square landscape. The “colossal multi-component LED sign” was featured in multiple publications including Variety, Engadget, and The New York Times, and garnered a lot of positive publicity for Walgreens.

For the Las Vegas locations, Walgreens achieved increased visibility of their footprint in the world-renowned Las Vegas Strip.