Full Motion Digital Ribbons on London Underground

Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief

Exterion Media and Transport for London (TfL) have kicked-off the new year by announcing Google, Netflix, O2, Disney and easyJet as the advertiser launch partners for the new Digital Ribbon screens live at key London Underground locations.

Chris Reader, Head of Commercial Media, TfL, said “Our new digital ribbon screens at three of our most iconic Tube stations are a fantastic addition to our advertising estate, making it more attractive to brands by allowing them to engage with the London audience and create more memorable moments for our customers. We are continuing to invest in our advertising estate, which is already one of the most valuable in the world, and enables us to raise vital revenue to reinvest back into the transport network.”

The high-impact, HD screens – the first of their format in the UK – span the length of major escalator locations in King’s Cross St Pancras, Piccadilly Circus and Tottenham Court Road stations, reaching a highly-prized commuter audience across 15 million individual journeys each month. Each screen is a 42-inch, HD screen (1920 x 1080pixels). The number of screens varies depending on each station starting from 15 screens each side at Piccadilly Circus and Kings Cross St Pancras and Tottenham Court Road having 25 screens each side.

The dynamic capabilities of the full-motion format allow for an advertiser’s campaign to seamlessly flow across the full length of the screens, offering a stand-out creative canvas that will engage London commuters on a whole new scale.

At launch, the screens carry campaigns for Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns, Netflix’s Bandersnatch, Google’s Pixel 3 mobile phone, and New Year’s campaigns for easyJet and O2, promoting their seasonal sales offers.

The premium screens are the first of eight to be rolled out by mid-2019, with further installations planned in stations such as London Waterloo and Liverpool Street.

Research by Exterion Media and Bournemouth University last year, into the impact of full-motion ads on London Underground, showed them to be four times more engaging than traditional ad formats. Full motion advertising also drives positive sentiment and action among audiences, increasing online searches for a brand or category after viewing the ads.


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