You Can Now Book 15 Seconds Of Digital Billboard Fame In Times Square – For $40
January 13, 2023 by Dave Haynes
The owner/operators of a new multi-purpose development in NYC’s Times Square are making it possible for people to book 15 second messages on its 18,000-sq. ft. LED screen for $40 – an offer already taken up by a Scottish man, who used his fleeting moment of purchased fame to eat a slice of bread in front of the tourist mob.
TSX Entertainment recently introduced its TSX App, a “mobile-integrated entertainment platform” that lets users book a time window on the big screen, located in the middle of the tourist mecca.
“It’s a whole new way for anyone to enjoy their 15 seconds of fame. The experience is amazing and has to be seen to be believed,” says TSX Co-CEO Nick Holmstein. “The launch of our app introduces a new digital canvas for individuals, innovators and artists alike.”
“It was absolutely wild seeing my stupid face eat a slice of bread in New York City, what a buzz it was,” says Darren Dowling, a 26-year-old from Glasgow who has a TikTok following built on performing eating stunts, like eating an eight patty Whopper.
He came across the TSX app, asked followers what he should do, and went with the suggestion of eating bread.
He told an interviewer he had generated nearly 170,000 views on TikTok.
@yerboidazza I paid $40 to show a video of me eating a slice of bread in Times Square
TSX says booking spots on the platform puts a message in front of a portion of the 400,000 or so daily viewers measured in Times Square. Obviously, only a fraction of those might see the spot on the big screen, but the greater value is in social shares – like Dowling ensuring someone in New York video-recorded the ad when it ran. He then ran it on TikTok to get all of those 170,000 views.
According to the Times Square Alliance, Times Square receives 8 billion annual social impressions.
TSX is the venue that has a stage and swinging LED-clad doors that will enable performing artists to pair album or singles launches with live concerts to people in Times Square. The display tech on the main screen is from SNA Displays.
The TSX development is slated to open to the general public in 2024, with recording studios, a “super club”, galleries, restaurants, bars, rooftop terraces, and immersive experiences integrated with the TSX app.
The arrangement is very similar to the Shoutable platform launched last year by the programmatic firm Adomni. It is also $40 to put an ad up, but Shoutable offers opportunities across Lamar’s digital OOH inventory in the US.
The math on this is actually pretty compelling:
- 4 booked messages per minute = $160
- 60 minutes of messages is $160 X 60 = $9,600
- 24 hours at $9,600/hour = $230,400 per day
- $230,400 X 365 = $84 million, or $7M/month
That’s fully booked out, which would probably never happen. However, while I have no visibility over the costs of digital billboard campaigns in Times Square, I don’t think any boards get close to $7 million a month.
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