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Times Square Campaigns Live On, Online

Companies have been successful in creating street-level campaigns that go viral online in recent weeks, particularly in Times Square.

Charmin’s ‘potty-paluza’ campaign - public toilets set up for shoppers during the holidays - have already been used by thousands and have been written about liberally on blogs and MySpace profile pages, writes The New York Times. Similarly, Nascar’s display of race cars has seen YouTube videos viewed more than 1,800 times. It has been written about by more than 60 people on their blogs and more than 60 people have posted pictures on Flickr.

Target’s stunt over Thanksgiving - suspending magician David Blaine above Times Square for two days - had videos shot by viewers, posted on YouTube and viewed more than 19,300 times.

Permits to use Times Square areas for experiential marketing stunts start at $25,000 but can go up to $50,000 or more for a day. So far this year, 112 companies have paid for permits.

The traffic islands in Times Square have been made available on a regular basis for the first time this year, increasing the number of companies who were able to make use of Times Square for their campaigns.

Some advertising executives, in fact, are wondering if marketing in the Square might have reached the saturation point.“It is now getting to the point where there just might be a little too much going on in Times Square,” Lori Robinson, senior vp of Hill and Knowlton, a WPP Group agency is quoted as saying.