A cancer survivor, Sharon Murray, operator of Nuvo Media, took the bold but calculated step of launching her own indoor media company after realising that her illness had affected her marketability in the working world. - peta-gaye clachar/photographer

Marketing is essential to any business for its growth and success. There are the traditional ways of marketing and advertising and of course, there are the new and emerging non-traditional ways which seek to fill the gaps left untouched. Fully operational since early this year, Nuvo Media fill these gaps.

Operated by Sharon Murray, this company seeks to tap untouched markets to bring advertisements and messages to different target audiences at specific locations.

"It is taking the advertisement to the customers and demographic to locations they visit," says Murray.

How does it work? "Nuvo Media is an indoor advertising medium. We advertise for companies at locations that are frequently visited and we mix television with digital advertising. We use television screens or projectors and incorporate the advertisement to educate while they are being entertained.

"It is really about the subliminal effect, where the advertisement is placed at the bottom left of the screen while the regular cable television or DVD is being shown. So while watching, the viewer can see the ad," says Murray.

Wide cross section

With a network of nine locations including The Deck, Truck Stop, Apex X-Ray and Gynae Associates, Nuvo Media caters to a wide cross section of people through its visibility and set-up in the different locations targeting the kinds of customers advertisers are reaching out to.

Nuvo Media was born out of an opening Murray saw in the advertising industry. A cancer survivor, she decided to pursue this opportunity as a way of establishing something for herself. From a technical background, she carried out research to test the feasibility of such a venture.

"It came out of my decision to try a different way of advertising. It is innovative and is a strategy that is used to showcase products."

Since launching out, Nuvo Media has been received positively by advertisers. "They love the idea, and even though many companies are experiencing budgetary constraints, it is still good. Clients have been coming on board."

With advertising rates as low as $10,000 per location monthly, advertisements are rotated on screen every five to 10 minutes. They last 15-30 seconds and can be created by Nuvo Media.

"We can even create advertisements from flyers, and if the client does not have a flyer, we ask for a logo, a few pictures to incorporate in the ad, as well as about five sentences on the business. We welcome any type of business and complement the different types of advertising media."

Specifically selected locations

A more popular type of digital advertising similar to what Nuvo Media offers are the electronic slides erected in what are considered high-frequency locations. There is usually heavy traffic - motorists and pedestrians - daily, especially in the Corporate Area. These slides feature different advertisements and are shown on huge screens. But Murray emphasises Nuvo Media brings more to the table and she explains what sets it apart.

"The locations that we choose are specifically selected to give high visibility, so this means that, on average, the minimum time spent at these locations is one hour and the average time of seeing the ads is 20 to 40 minutes."

Everything is virtually operated. "We can control the signs and make changes without going to the physical location anywhere in the world as long as we have Internet connection. I can just upload the information and get the ad out in minutes."

Nuvo Media also creates customised boards for clients.

"We create a network for them according to their needs and they will then be able to manipulate it and make changes on demand. This will be suitable for menu rate boards for cambios."

In the near future, Murray hopes to expand to other parishes. There are also plans to use Nuvo Media to tap into the tourism industry.

latoya.grindley@gleanerjm.com