The World's First Digital Advertising Backpack

The Kitcast company has found ways to integrate its software into just about every digital sign outlet, from Apple TV to the 3D signs in China and Tokyo. Now, they have even honed their software so that it works on digital advertising backpacks. What are digital advertising backpacks? They are backpacks with their own digital signs on the back of them, and companies are using them to promote everything from their best-selling products to their Instagram feeds.

Why Was This Invented?

To start with, this technology was built as a bit of fun. Kids and teens want a cool backpack, well what is cooler than a backpack that has a moving GIF on it. However, these days, it isn't just a few LED lights running on a backpack. These days, kids can have as many as 360p videos running on their backpacks. The idea of running adverts on these digital screens was more of an afterthought, though it dominates some marketing companies’ business plans at this point.

At the moment, digital backpacks and/or digital advertising backpacks are more of a novelty than a fully-fledged idea. You can buy them off the Internet, and you can buy them from independent sellers. They are not overly sophisticated by today’s standards, but they are something that simply couldn’t have been done 20 years ago (at least not in a practical utility and pragmatic way). So, the fact they exist today is somewhat of a step in the right direction.

Where The Idea Quickly Evolved

Most people buy things and order services over the Internet, so marketing is mostly Internet-related these days. However, companies want to advertise to people when they are offline too. That is why buses have banners on them and why highways still have billboards. People are not always on their phones and on their PCs/laptops. Companies want to advertise to people when they are looking at other people's backpacks. There are some marketing companies who are very eager to have people walking around with moving adverts on their backpacks.

Are They Safe?

The first question people ask is how long the batteries last, which is an ongoing problem because longer battery life means bigger batteries, which means less space in the backpack. There is also the possibility that larger batteries mean more danger since they could overheat and may crack because of damage upon impact. There is also concern about them getting wet in the rain, which isn't a problem at first, but as the backpack ages and takes damage, then wiring and various components may become exposed to the air and may get wet and/or become dangerous.

At the moment, we are dealing with fairly low wattages and small batteries, so there is not a massive danger of fire or other varieties of injury. The biggest problem is making the digital screens and/or the LED lights last. Plus, if even a small part of the digital display is damaged, then it ruins the entire effect.

Where Will This Technology Go in the Future?

The weird thing is that companies have big plans for this technology. Companies are hoping to use an Instagram adverts model with people's backpacks. Instead of people having an Instagram channel and being able to host adverts on their accounts, people simply host adverts on their backpacks so that passers see them, and then people are paid for running them. This is the overall and eventual plan, but at the moment it has a problem. There is no way of knowing if a backpack owner is walking through a busy hallway with an advert backpack on, or if the backpack is running in some kid’s locker. Plus, there are age-related rules when it comes to paying minors and when it comes to which adverts can be shown to kids, so at the moment, the idea of being paid for wearing an advert backpack is just a pipe dream.