Oakwood University, the historically Black educational institution in Huntsville, Alabama, has taken a novel approach to marketing. From November 6 to January 4, the university has rented advertising space on a huge electronic billboard overlooking Times Square in New York City.
For 10 seconds each hour, a marketing message for the university is flashed on the electronic big screen. Thus, the Oakwood message is seen for a total of four minutes in each 24-hour period. The university can change the messages displayed every two weeks.
It is estimated that 986,000 people will be exposed to the messages each day. The time frame for the advertisements includes New Year’s Eve when huge crowds of people pack Times Square.
Here is a video showing a 10-second clip of the ad as it appears in Times Square.