There are literally thousands of ads scattered throughout New York City, but soon marketers will have the opportunity to cut through that clutter by reaching taxicab passengers while they ride.
New York's Taxi and Limousine Commission has approved a plan that will require the city's 13,000 yellow cabs to be equipped with interactive touchscreens by the end of the year.
The screens will feature interactive content, along with ads, as well as give riders the opportunity to pay and tip drivers with credit cards and get trip information with the touch of a button.
"Every taxi must have the technology at the date of their first scheduled inspection after Oct. 1," says Allen Fromberg, spokesperson for the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. He says the screens will be provided by four different companies, and each will handle content and advertisements independently.
Right now the screens are in a beta test phase in 200 of the city's taxis, with each of the four companies-- TaxiTech, Digital Dispatch Systems, VeriFone Transportation Systems and Creative Mobile Technologies--present in 50 cabs each.
"Almost anywhere you touch on the screen, something happens," says Amos Tamam, CEO of VeriFone Transportation Systems. He says his company has deals with NYC's WABC to provide news and weather information, ESPN for national sports content, and Zagat for hotel, event and other travel information.
On VeriFone's screens there will be a 12-minute video content loop that starts at the beginning of each ride, with seven minutes of content and five minutes of ads.
There will also be banner ads that can be visible for the whole ride or a different amount of time selected by the advertiser. Further, there will be sponsorship opportunities for each of the screens tabs, which allow the rider to sift through internet-style information.
