Vibe’s obscure billboards aim at start-up insiders

Vibe, a New York-based advertising technology start-up, put up a string of enigmatic billboards around San Francisco that many outside the tech world would miss. One read "Target Marc on TV," with a prominent forehead alluding to Marc Andreessen; another showed a leather-clad shoulder referencing Jensen Huang, and a third pictured a kitchen sink nodding to Elon Musk.

The campaign, which ran through January, aimed to play a microtargeting game: nudge a tiny audience of investors and influencers who might "get the joke" and look for the advertiser. Arthur Querou, Vibe’s chief executive, said the company builds targeting and analytics software and that one product can place streaming ads in front of specific people, like executives in a particular region.

Outdoor-advertising executives say demand for space has climbed as start-ups attract funding and marketing budgets.

vibe, ad tech, billboards, san francisco, microtargeting, marc andreessen, jensen huang, elon musk, streaming ads, targeting software