Renault UK uses innovative advertising techniques to sell the All-New Megane at Holland Park Roundabout.

• Renault is the first car manufacturer to use pioneering vehicle recognition technology in roadside advertising
• All-New Renault Mégane features in innovative campaign in West London
• Vehicle recognition technology uses number plate information to identify vehicles and display customised advertising messages to stationary motorists as they wait at traffic lights
• All-New Renault Mégane goes on sale in July with a host of innovative technology convenience and safety features
• Campaign created in partnership with Ocean, out-of-home advertising specialists

Renault UK has today unveiled an innovative advertising campaign for the All-New Renault Mégane by targeting drivers, whilst stationary at traffic lights, with customised messages using pioneering vehicle recognition technology.

Developed and tested over the past 12 months by Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) advertising specialists Ocean, the vehicle recognition technology will be used for the first time at their Holland Park Roundabout location in West London. 

The unique campaign, featuring the French car brand’s all-new compact family hatchback, is based on the popular car journey game, I-Spy.

The vehicle recognition technology uses cameras positioned at DOOH sites facing stationary traffic to identify the make, model and colour of stationary vehicles from their number plates and then serves the driver and passengers messages based on specific audience demographics and data relevant to that vehicle.

The state-of-the-art vehicle recognition technology activates when a specific vehicle is stationary at the location, allowing the messages to be displayed in real-time. All vehicle details are matched with an anonymised vehicle specification database that does not store or record any personal data.

Colette Casey, Brand Communications Manager, Renault UK, said: “The technology really pushes the boundaries, enabling us to showcase the All-New Mégane in an engaging and unique way versus the rest of our extensive outdoor campaigns. 

Our aspirations are not only about showing a stylish image of the All-New Mégane, but to speak to customers in a fun and friendly way which we are doing through one of the UK’s most popular car journey games –  I Spy. 

What is also particularly clever about vehicle recognition technology is that it allows us to speak directly to drivers, something we haven’t been able to do before in roadside out of home advertising.”

Ocean’s Head of Screen Investment, Kevin Henry, said: “Vehicle recognition is a progressive technology integrated into digital out of home which optimises and innovates the way brands connect with target audiences.

“This pioneering system identifies and accesses valued audiences in real-time and there are a range of ways it can be deployed: it can serve adverts for a new model of the same car or it can be leveraged to launch a new product that’s relevant to a particular driver demographic.”

This innovative UK-first draws parallels with the technologically advanced All-New Mégane, bringing a number of unique features to the compact family car segment for the first time, such as Multi-Sense vehicle personalisation, an 8.7-inch portrait touchscreen infotainment system, Launch Control, Multi-Change gearshift and the unique-in-class 4Control four-wheel steering. 

With a 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating, the All-New Mégane is also extremely efficient, with CO₂ emissions from as low as 96 g/km and fuel economy as high as 76.4mpg (combined NEDC). All-New Mégane is available to order now from £16,600 with the first customer deliveries taking place later this month.

Vehicle recognition is now live in London at Ocean’s landmark Holland Park Roundabout location, and Renault, in conjunction with Ocean, plans to install the technology on other key DOOH road-facing sites in Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle this year to reach commuters and shoppers.  

Motorists passing by the Holland Park site will be able to see the All-New Mégane campaign from today for two weeks.

The pioneering technology offers brands highly defined targeting and greater efficiency than standard out-of-home play-out, hitting core target audiences with zero wastage.

Vehicle Recognition – How it works:

• Once a vehicle stops at the traffic lights, cameras monitor the stationary traffic in each lane
• Cameras detect the vehicle’s number plate and the technology matches it with the anonymised vehicle specification database and pulls out the make, model and colour of the stationary vehicle
• Once the target vehicle is detected, the Vehicle Recognition Technology triggers a corresponding creative to be served in real-time
• The sophisticated platform delivers a post campaign report every time the ad is triggered (time stamped confirming a vehicle’s presence, day-part delivery breakdown and proof of play-out)