The Newest Form Of Advertising: Recycling Bins With LED Screens

Take a moment to think up of all the different places you could see an advertisement when you’re out. Walls, buses, tv, taxis, wide screen monitors. A lot of real estate is taken up with advertisements and we’ve become so used to them that they now blend in with the scenery.Reaching out to consumers in new and eye catching ways has become more difficult with every new idea that’s used. However, there are some new methods being used to reach audiences and London is at the heart of one such change.

Renew has taken a different approach to not just advertising, but also the relaying of news and information by creating recyclable bins with LCD side screens. These screens display advertisements as well as information such as breaking news, transport timetables, emergency alerts and even stock quotes. If there are any emergencies happening, the bins are equipped with instant-messaging capabilities that allows the civil and emergency authorities to communicate with the public.

Setting up over 50 different displays around London when it launched on January 26th, the company was rewarded a 21-year contract with the city to help tackle the problem of free newspapers littering the city. Among that, they estimate that based on their 50 screen launch, the average professional would view it a minimum six times every working day.

Among the many statistics the company gives are estimating that their daily audience, which currently reaches 750,000, will increase to over three million by the time the Olympics is happening, by which point there will be 200 different Renew bins dotted across the city.
According to MSNBC.com, each bin costs around $30,000 (€22,798), which is dedicated towards Renew in order to sell content providers access to the LCD screens. The bins are also made of a material that’s reported to be four times stronger than steel, making it a feature that could thwart attempts to use them as a place for planting bombs.

They’re all very striking statistics and features. The fact that the bins are at eye level and directly placed along the pavement means that they’re more noticeable than other forms of advertising. However, for any city thinking of investing in them, the cost is pretty high ($1.5 million for 50 digital bins isn’t the most economically astute purchase), while the cost of maintaining them isn’t entirely clear either.

How much energy they use and the cost of keeping them live is another matter entirely, and a factor that may put some cities off installing them if the answer happens to be a high one. Yet their viewing rate will no doubt be attractive for advertisers who will surely view it as a novel way of communicating with their target audience. The Olympics will be the first main test for this advertisement method and if it’s successful, then we could easily see similar devices being set up in other cities. More details about the project can be found on their main site.