In recent years, consumer perceptions of Yahoo! as an innovator has lagged behind those of rival Silicon Valley firms. Our challenge was to demonstrate Yahoo!’s innovation in technology and products, revitalize brand perceptions, and recapture some pop-culture mojo.We responded with The Yahoo! Bus Stop Derby; a citywide contest and integrated effort that transformed 20 analogue bus stops into first-of-their-kind interactive gaming hubs.

Using 20 proud neighbourhoods of San Francisco as a catalyst for competition, the Derby allowed public-transit users to play against other commuters at rival bus stops head-to-head in real-time.After 10 weeks, the winners won a free concert in their very own neighbourhood with viral music sensation OK Go!Along the way, we stoked the media and bloggers to follow and hype the installations, competition, and winning neighbourhood's concert and helped turn a local competition into international news.

The Yahoo! Bus Stop Derby was a citywide challenge that transformed 20 analogue bus stops into first-of-their-kind interactive gaming hubs. At 72 inches, they are the largest outdoor interactive touch screens in use today.Using Yahoo! mobile apps within custom-created games, people competed through the immersive touch-screen experience, which demonstrated the simplicity and innovation of YAHOO! products.

Using the beloved neighbourhoods of San Francisco as a catalyst for competition, the Derby encouraged public-transit users to play with—and against—other commuters at rival bus stops head-to-head, in real time. Commuters rallied together, using the screen’s’ free Wi-Fi and live streaming twitter feed to exchange smack talk and ignite competition.The Derby transformed the traditional, static bus shelter billboard into something new, engaging and creative.

According to arbiters of hip-technology Gizmodo, The Yahoo! Bus Stop Derby was "the coolest thing Yahoo! has done, like, ever." On all accounts this integrated effort transformed the traditional, static bus shelter billboard into something new, engaging, and creative while surpassing all performance expectations.Engagement: • Over 180,000 individual games were played (in a city with a population of just 800,000) equalling more than 3,000 hours of engagement.

• 89% of people that started a game completed it.Buzz:• Local, national and international news media and blog coverage has generated tens of thousands of dollars and millions of earned media impressions.• National media outlets added to the chatter, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Gizmodo.com and the Fast Company.Persuasion:• According to custom qualitative research, 77% of Derby players surveyed postgame believe Yahoo! is a more innovative company than they had believed before play.