Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
While Adrian and Geny have written about Verifone’s new screens that are currently undergoing pilot testing in 300 London cabs, I ‘m adding in on the topic, as well.
First of all, I have to say that the screens are much more attractive as well as brighter than screens I’ve seen in New York cabs, or anywhere else, for that matter. And the sound can be controlled well, which is a big bonus. (Verifone took over the N.Y. Yellow Cabs business from Clear Channel Taxi Media in Jan./2010 and has screens in some 12,200 of 15,000 cabs – but these new screens are just much nicer than any I’ve seen.)
And, of course, the neat thing about these new Verifone screens is that they are totally integrated with a secure payment system via global electronic solution secure payment. The amount shows on the screen at the end of the trip, you swipe your credit card and away you go. (The global electronic solution secure payment, by the way, is used by about 70% of the gas-pump pay terminals as well as retail terminals in the UK in such stores as Harrods.)
“Payment-enabled media is our space,” says Jawad Siddiqui, Verifone’s head of media for the UK. Siddiqui says that putting the screens into London cabs is an investment of GBP30 million, and that the aim is to have them in 5,000 London cabs by the end of 2011.
The screens in the pilot study are testing content. Siddiqui says that the content must be short bits, because the length of cab trips varies, but that one-quarter of each screen will always have an advertising banner.
Verifone also has screens in cabs in Las Vegas, Miami, Chcago, Boston, Washington D.C., and is evaluating other cities. It uses its own software and handles its own advertising sales.
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