• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, August 21, 2009

Schematic, the interactive advertising and media design unit of WPP Group, Thursday launched Schematic Touch, a new division focusing on digital out-of-home media. As its name suggests, the unit will emphasize the unique, tactile sensory opportunities that only place-based media can facilitate.

Ad industry insiders got a first-hand look at - actually they got a hands-on feel for - the kind of tactile experience Schematic is going for in June during the 2009 Cannes Lions International Ad Festival in France, where the agency launched an interactive Touchwall. The massive 12-foot long by five-foot high intelligent, touch-controlled display, was actually previewed during a keynote by Schematic CEO Trevor Kaufman at MediaPost's Digital Out-of-Home Forum in New York in April, but it was deployed during the Cannes festival at which ad industry executives got to walk up to, touch, and experience Schematic's state-of-the-art gestural and touch navigation screen technology.

The screen, which utilizes highly intelligent, touch-controlled display technology, was the central information hub for the Cannes festival, and it was designed by two experiential marketing pioneers - Eric Mauriello and Josiah Hobson - who have been tapped to lead the Schematic Touch division. Mauriello will serve as senior vice president, and Hobson as its creative director.

Mauriello and Hobson move to Schematic from interactive agency Operand where they developed interactive experiences for brands and cultural institutions including, Levi's, Cisco, Mercedes-Benz, Ralph Lauren as well as New York Historical Society, The National Constitution Center, the Smithsonian and The Franklin Institute.

Among the new projects they've begun working on for Schematic clients are a multi-location, intelligent multi-touch kiosk initiative for a major, unnamed retailer; a redesigned business center experience for an undisclosed global B2B client; and an immersive interactive experience for a prestigious U.S. museum.

Schematic already has a rich history of deploying touch-sensitive screen technologies for clients. The agency's Chief Creative Officer, Dale Herigstad, who consulted with and helped come up with the "gestural interface" used by actor Tom Cruise in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's "Minority Report," previously developed a highly engaging touch-sensitive installation for client Accenture.

As a Microsoft global agency partner, Schematic was the first shop to receive a "surface table" in order to train its teams on the new technology. They also partnered with Microsoft to launch "Silverlight 2"" in 2008 for NBCOlympics.com.