Dec 19, 2006 6:01 AM, PROMO Xtra

Visa's signage lets consumers "paint" by waving their hands over the display

Reactrix Systems is bringing its distinctive interactive displays to malls nationally through a series of deals the media company struck last week.

Reactrix has signed exclusive long-term contracts with three mall management firms to be the exclusive provider of “reactive” media, computer-animated interactive P-O-P displays.

Taken together, the contracts with General Growth Properties, The Mills Corp. and CBL & Associates Properties let marketers execute displays through a single media buy with Reactrix. Until now, marketers have had to negotiate with each mall management firm separately.

Reactrix is pursuing similar deals with as many as 12 more mall operators, part of its strategy to become the only supplier of interactive displays in shopping centers nationally through this fledgling Reactrix Media Network. Reactrix’s three new contracts will expand its services to about 480 sites, primarily in the top 20 U.S. markets.

Reactrix now has displays in 160 sites; that includes 120 shopping centers, as well movie theater lobbies and other venues. Total traffic in all those venues is about 136 million consumers per month.

“As advertisers aggressively look for new media to reinvest traditional media dollars, Reactrix’s reach differentiates us from the many cool new media vehicles which just don’t get the consumer exposure big brands want,” said Kimber Sterling, Reactrix vice president of business development, in a statement.

The company spent four years testing its displays in a handful of properties run by GGP, Mills and CBL. That long test period has given Reactrix the chance to show consumers and marketers how its unusual displays work.

High-definition digital images are projected onto a floor or wall, and respond when shoppers walk by or gesture over the display. For example, shoppers can “kick” a soccer ball across a field just by shifting their legs, or set a display of water rippling by passing their arms over the display. (The projector reacts to body heat to move elements within the display.) Sprint, Hilton, eBay, Kraft and Visa have used displays from Redwood City, CA-based Reactrix.

"Reactrix combines sophistication, high-end design and entertainment to draw people into a destination, keep them there for extended periods and leave them with positive and sustained brand impressions,” said Jerry Sink, senior vice president-mall management at CBL & Associates, in a statement. “This is the relationship we want people to have from the moment they set foot in any of our properties.”

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