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Taxicab digital signage going mobile

When people talk about the covergence of mobile and digital out-of-home advertising, they don't generally mean mobile digital out-of-home signs — but in-cab signs are spreading.

October 3, 2010 by Christopher Hall — w, t

Captive audience? Check.

High dwell time? Check.

Affluent, engaged audience? Check.

Given all those factors, it really is kind of surprising that taxicabs still are a largely untapped market for digital signage — but that appears to be changing.

Digital place-based media and entertainment company Reach Media Group (better known as RMG) recently announced that it has partnered with electronic taxi booking service Taxi Magic to add new digital signage advertising opportunities to thousands of Taxi Magic’s in-taxi fare payment devices.

“This is really a virgin territory for most cities outside of New York,” said RMG vice president Luke Zaientz, who manages this vertical for the company.

RMG says it will provide a localized video entertainment solution that will provide advertisers with targeted reach within the largest cities in the United States, using Taxi Magic’s onboard technology that includes HD screens, speaker system, touch screen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability, and 3G connectivity.

Taxi Magic’s Passenger Information Monitor (PIM) lets passengers pay for their taxi ride via credit or debit card, thanks to an interactive touch screen TV. The interface will also entertain and advertise to passengers throughout their rides. The first 5,000 Taxi Magic PIMs are currently being installed with major taxi fleets in the Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Denver metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).

There are about 61,000 taxis in the country, Zaientz says, and of that about 13,000 or so are in the greater New York City area, where it has already been mandated that every taxi have one of these systems.

“So if you’re a New Yorker you probably think that the PIM or the digital sign in a taxi is omnipresent, but the reality is that there are a couple of pockets outside of New York … where taxis are starting to see this type of technology,” he said. “But for most of the rest of the country riding in a taxi is still kind of a boring and inconvenient experience.”

In most cities, he says, passengers still have to pay with cash, or if they want to pay with a credit card they may have to wave off taxi after taxi while they wait for one that will take plastic. And in most cabs, there’s nothing to entertain the passenger during the ride to their destination, he says.

“The nice thing about taxis is that you’re starting the experience knowing a little bit about the frame of mind of the passenger. If you’re picking somebody up at an airport at 9 in the morning they might see different types of content than you would air in front of somebody that you had just picked up at a bar at midnight,” he said. “So we have an opportunity to try to really align the content experience with the need state of the rider, which is something that we really find exciting … that also aligns well with our brand partners’ needs.”

Jay McClary, vice president of marketing for Taxi Magic, says the announcement is “big news for passengers, taxi fleets and the media industry.”

And Zaientz says the plan to roll out digital place-based advertising in taxis also squarely hits the intersection of factors that out-of-home advertisers are seeking. There’s a steady, generally affluent and mobile audience; there’s full audio and video for the passengers; there’s a high dwell time, along with “fantastic” viewer engagement; and the digital signs are right at eyeball height, or in comfortable view, for passengers.

“It really hits on all of these things very well in a taxi,” he said. “And we also think that, taking the business model away, it really lends itself to a nice content and entertainment experience for the passenger as well.”

(Photo by Ben Fredericson)

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