Together with Boehringer Ingelheim, we made people aware of coughing and sneezing – the early symptoms of a cold that are usually ignored. We placed a sound-sensitive digital billboard at the Berlin Central Station, a hotspot for people and germs, that let’s them know there is help right around the corner.

To help people recognize these early symptoms of a cold and to help prevent a common cold or a flu from spreading, we built a custom-made digital billboard. This sound-sensitive billboard shows a message and product recommendation if it identifies a sneezing and coughing person within 5 meters, removing ambient noise based on a recognition pattern developed to only detect sneezing and coughing and ignore all other noise.

That allows us to post personalized message and attract pedestrian in a meaningful way, to shows them the right medicine at the right time and where to purchase it.

The sound-sensitive digital billboard is a prototype that is a trailblazer and defines a new media format. Boehringer Ingelheim is able to attract new customers and interrupt the pharmaceutical market, by standing out with an innovative ad that is present whenever flus break out, which results in an increase in footfall for pharmacies and in sales, because the product is placed and advertised exactly when and where the consumer needs it.