A few years ago, we targeted a company call NPA outdoor with the
NYSAT project because they were illegally operating hundreds of street level billboards in NYC alongside a massive illegal Flyposting campaign. The result of the NYSAT action was a massive crackdown on NPA by the NYC DOB which resulted in the near eradication of illegal Flyposting in the city as well an indictment of NPA's illegal billboard activities. Through legal gymnastics, NPA went out of business only to reappear as
Contest Promotions, the same company operating at the same locations under what they argued were different legal circumstances. Long story short is Contest Promotions claimed they were not in the advertising business at all but rather working directly with mom and pop businesses to run a raffle program which allowed them to call their advertising product and their business operations first party, not third.
Surprisingly Contest Promotions was able to argue their case affectively and now those once illegal billboards are legal first party signage. Sad to see the illegal advertising company dodge responsibility and continue operating, we never expected our civil disobedience project to spur the city into action, but took heart in the fact that it did. It was a moment of staggering excitement when I noticed Flyposting had almost entirely stopped in NY and that the city was cracking down on the illegal business practices of NPA Outdoor.
You can imagine my reaction some two years later as Flyposting has begun full force in the city once more. I cannot say for sure who is behind these illegal activities but given my resources I will make sure to get to the bottom of this problem and bring whoever is responsible to light. Please send us pictures of any illegal Flyposting campaigns you see and if you can catch someone in the act, please take their picture so we can confirm the identity of the company in charge.
Also, if you are interested in the backstory, look back into our archives under NPA Outdoor, NYSAT, or Contest Promotions and you can read more from about this companies sordid past.
Labels: Contest Promotions, DOB, illegal advertising, New York, NPA outdoor, Wildposting
5 Comments:
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As an industry insider, I can say with 100% certainty that these are not being posted by NPA/Contest Promotions. NPA is only posting on permitted, framed panels. This is another copycat company who took advantage of the fact that NPA stopped traditional "Wildposting". Have a look into Eyegoo and/or Switch It Communications - they are the likely culprits here.
industry insider eh? arent NPA's "ads" not ads at all but rather first party signage which is why they dont require permits? And isnt this just another perfect example of why the industry as a whole must go and targeting specific companies does no good. You guys get away with what you can in an effort to bombard public space with commercial messaging for your own private profit. Holding an OOH company accountable only results in another company filling in their spot. Why must the taxpayer be burdened with tracking down and bringing to court the OOH industry as a whole and why is the industry unable to police itself and act in accordance with the law. hmmm
You asked for information about who was behind it, and I gave it to you. Judging by the consistent lack of comments on your blog, I thought you might appreciate someone providing useful feedback. No disrespect - just saying.
non taken. Sorry if my tone came off abrasive. I do appreciate the tips but im not sure if I really care who is responsible so much as that it is happening again. As an industry the OOH business doesn't seem to have a lot of restraint.
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