• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, February 17, 2012

OK, in this case the displays themselves aren’t digital, but there’s a digital component involving mobile interaction -- and the model employed by transit advertising company Titan and Internet emporium Peapod, enabling commuters to do on-the-go grocery shopping, is neat enough to bear a closer look.

Billboards along Philadelphia transit corridors -- including signage in stations and on train platforms -- are carrying Peapod ads that invite passers-by to scan a mobile QR code and download the Peapod app. In addition to the QR codes, the signs also feature images of frequently purchased grocery items, which can also be scanned with a mobile device to add them to virtual shopping cart. Once the app has been downloaded, users can also browse the Peapod store for thousands of other groceries for purchase.

To sweeten the deal, Peapod is inviting users to text “PHILLYRAIL” as a promo code to get $20 off their first order and 60 days of free delivery. The ads highlight brands that partnered with Peapod to create the ads, including Coca-Cola, Stroehmann and P&G.

Titan has been the official out-of-home advertising partner for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority -- which serves Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties -- since 2005.

No word yet on whether Titan and Peapod will be bringing similar shop-while-you-commute promotions to other cities. However it’s worth noting that in December Titan won the right to sell media along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, connecting New York City to Washington, D.C., including Washington’s Union Station, Penn Station in Baltimore, the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, and Penn Station in New York, as well as over 40 other stations. Titan also has advertising sales partnerships with the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) and New Jersey Transit.