What are the steps that you will need to take if you want to buy a billboard in Times Square? Continue reading to learn more! This article contains affiliate links, which means that I will get a small commission only if you decide to purchase after clicking on the link.
Times Square is one of the most visited commercial intersections in the world, and one of New York’s most iconic places that tourists love to visit. In fact, over 360,000 tourists visit Times Square every day – which is more than 50 million people every year!
These amount of visitors also makes Times Square an extremely attractive place for advertisers who are looking to gain visibility and increase sales. In fact, a company placing a promotion even for a day can expect to get over 1,500,000 impressions, more than you can expect from any Digital Marketing channel.
How to buy a billboard in Times Square, one of New York’s most visited places
In this article, we will give you some tips on how to buy a billboard in Times Square in 3 easy steps – and for cheaper than you could have expected. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into it:
1. Decide on the time period
If you are looking to buy a billboard in Times Square, the first step that you will have to take is to decide when you want to conduct your campaign.
Even though Times Square gets thousands of visitors per day and millions of visitors per month all year, there will be worse and better times depending on your industry.
For example, if you are in the fashion industry, you can maximize your results further if you promote during the New York Fashion Week, one of the biggest international fashion events in the world with an economic impact of $887 million per year.
Image source: architecturaldigest.com
But Fashion week is not the only event that happens in Times Square. New Year’s Eve celebrations attract more than one million people, which is more than twice the usual amount of visitors that the area receives daily.
Street fairs, parades, festivals, farmers’ markets, block parties and seasonal events are just a few example of what happens in Times Square throughout the year.
For this reason, if you are looking to buy a billboard in Times Square, deciding when you want your campaign to happen, especially around events related to your industry, can boost your results even further.
You can start by doing some research on what events are happening in the next weeks and months, and planning accordingly.
2. Plan your campaign
The next step that you will need to take before you go and buy a billboard in Times Square is to decide what your campaign will be. What do you want to promote? Is it a particular product, service, collection or the brand itself?
Keep in mind that thousands or even millions of people will see your billboard, so you will want to make it as impactful and attention-drawing as possible.
How to buy a billboard in Times Square. Image source: hotels.com
If you are about to launch a new product or service, it might be a great time to get as much visibility as possible by advertising in Times Square. Times Square billboards are also excellent for brand awareness, especially considering how many different people will see campaign.
Here are some tips before you buy a billboard in Times Square:
2.1. Make sure the name of your brand is clear and visible on the ad
Unlike Digital Marketing campaigns, in which you can click on the banner and be taken to a website or a landing page, Times Square visitors aren’t really able to click on your billboard.
While big brands that are easily recognizable can get away with a small logo or company name, small companies need to make sure that people can easily search for them once they’ve seen the ad.
If the billboard looks great, but people don’t clearly see the name of your company or your product on it, they might not be able to find you later on the Internet when researching – even if they wanted to. So, make sure that your billboard has all the necessary information.
2.2. Set up your traffic and conversion sources
If you are looking to buy a billboard in Times Square, another thing that you will have to keep in mind is that you can expect the traffic to your website to increase during the campaign and even after it. With increased traffic, you can also expect more conversions.
However, you won’t be able to see the results if you don’t have any tracking tools set up. Undoubtedly, one of the most important ones (and entirely free) is Google Analytics, so if you don’t have it yet, you should go ahead and set it up before running your campaign. Just click on this link.
In addition to setting your Google Analytics account, make sure to set up some goals as well. For example, if you want to track how many people purchased or inquired about your product after you promoted it in Times Square, you can set an ecommerce conversion or a lead generation form.
If you don’t know how to do that, you can also get in touch with us about our Google Analytics GA4 services, and we will be happy to help you with your account and goals.
In addition to Google Analytics, some other tools that might be helpful for you to measure the impact of your campaign include:
- Hotjar – a great tool for recording user sessions on your website, as well as getting heatmaps and collecting feedback. It provides additional insights to how users behave.
- Google Search Console – a completely free tool that allows you to track traffic more closely, including the search terms that people used on Google in order to get to your website.
- Sprout Social – you can either use a social media management tool like Sprout Social, or take a look at your social channels directly to monitor possible increase in followers and engagement.
In addition, if you are running brand campaigns on Google Ads, pay close attention to the days in which your campaign is running, as well as the days after the campaign, to monitor the increase in traffic and conversions. And of course, compare that to the period before the campaign.
2.3. Showcase the unique character of your brand
If you are looking to buy a billboard in Times Square, and you want to maximize the results from it, don’t hesitate to showcase the unique character of your brand.
Campaigns on Times Square, especially if you are on a budget, can last weeks and months, but they can also last only a day or a couple of days (I am not talking about big brands with huge budgets that can run them all year long).
As opposed to regular Digital Marketing campaigns, such as the ones on Google Ads, where you can constantly be testing multiple creatives with the slightest differences.
For this reason, don’t be afraid to get creative and make something different that really draws the attention so you can stand out from all other billboards on Times Square. In addition, make sure that your campaign stays true to its corporate colors and branding so you can generate brand awareness as well.
3. How to buy a billboard in Times Square
Now that you know what and when, the next step is to actually buy a billboard in Times Square. Many small and middle-sized companies think that advertising in Times Square is extremely expensive and impossible for them to afford it – and they are right, to some extent.
Advertising with traditional media buyers can cost you anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 per day, which unfortunately is out of the budget for many. However, there is a much more affordable option if you want to see your campaign in Times Square.
Five Tier is a connected media platform that you can use to place instant ads directly in Times Square, from just $1.00 USD per ad play. They offer affordable options starting from just $500 per campaign, so you can see your brand among the biggest companies in the world in Times Square.
Let’s take a look at the options:
3.1. Billboard in Broadway Plaza Spectacular
How to buy a billboard in Times Square – Broadway Plaza Spectacular
You can get an entry level board overlooking the Broadway Plaza (between 42nd and 43rd streets, which is the Southern Times Square entrance).
It is positioned in front of the busiest subway station in the world, which means that you can get an estimated 1,500,000 impressions per day for just $500.
This billboard is 95′ wide and 19′ tall, and for this budget, you will get a placement that plays 20 times (for a visual of 15 seconds), which will give you a huge visibility between the hours of 12 pm – 2 pm on a Friday afternoon.
This option is perfect for companies who are unsure of whether advertising in Times Square will bring them the results that they are looking for. They can use it to do a test that doesn’t break their bank, and can later move to options with more visibility if they are happy with the results.
3.2. Billboard in 43 East Rotunda
You can also buy a billboard in Times Square on the 43 East Rotunda, which is a popular placement over the Crossroads of the World (where Broadway and 7th meet in Times Square).
It is also next to the iconic ball drop that millions of visitors witness every year on New Year’s Eve.
With this billboard, you can also leverage the benefits and visibility of the busiest subway station in the world. The billboard itself is 84′ wide and 120′ tall, and you can get an estimated 1,500,000 impressions per day by promoting your company or product there.
If you purchase a 15-second visual on the 43 East Rotunda billboard placement, it will play 100 times over a 6-hour period on a day of your choice. This option is perfect for companies who are looking for some extra visibility over a longer period of time.
Do you have any questions? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or schedule a call using my Calendar for more information!
