Even as smartphones and tablets proliferate, a Westport company is testing the notion that people will continue to embrace advertising delivered on big screens in public spaces ”“ in its case, coffee shops hugging the rails of Metro-North.
StopTips L.L.C., launched this year by the founder of Westport-based Brand Studios, provides commuters with the estimated time of arrival for their trains. To date, the company has installed train-monitoring screens at coffee shops and cafes adjacent to five rail stations in Stamford, Darien, Westport and Fairfield, and is actively seeking additional venues. StopTips is looking to expand farther south into Westchester on the New Haven line, and eventually to the Metro-North Harlem and Hudson lines and possibly throughout other parts of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority service area.
“We surveyed every hub that is in the area,” said Kenyon Weiss, who leads both StopTips and Brand Studios. “We asked people, ”˜Where”™d you get your coffee?”™ ”¦ Every one of these (shops) has an interesting story. Some of them have been there a long time.”
Weiss thinks the StopTips system will breathe new life into some of those mom-and-pop establishments. Though it is the case now, he does not plan on limiting StopTips locations to just rail stops.
The company provides the screens for free to its host cafes, making money through advertising. In addition to ads, StopTips earns its moniker by providing “tips” and other information on commuting. Café owners provide the company with “cash register ring” counts to approximate the number of commuters exposed to ads run on its network. Weiss said he hopes to be able to attract advertisers with train-related businesses, such as the New York Yankees for which Metro-North has a dedicated station.
An Argentina native who previously worked for the Norwalk-based Modem Media unit of Publicis, Weiss left Publicis to found Brand Studios and subsequently developed the StopTips system even while handling a range of branding and interactive services for clients like Fairfield-based General Electric Co., MGM at Foxwoods, and the Norwalk Transit District.
If StopTips seems at first glance an anachronism in an age when smartphones and tablets are rapidly proliferating, Weiss sees the service co-existing with mobile apps that provide train data today.
If a decade ago the mobile phone was thought of as the “third screen” after televisions and computers, that order has since been juggled ”“ with tablets also elbowing their way into the picture. Weiss is not oblivious to the long-term implications of smartphones.
“It”™s very easy for us to deploy an app ”“ that”™s a no-brainer and we will probably do it,” he said. “Clearly having the information in your pocket is great, but it hasn”™t killed advertising (on big screens).”
For evidence of that, look no further than an elevator or hotel lobby near you. Captivate Network Inc. was among the first companies to make a major push to capture advertising revenue by placing TV and information screens in public locales, initially in elevators and later public lobbies. Sold in 2004 to Gannett Co. Inc., Chelmsford, Mass.-based Captivate today has more than 9,500 screens installed in the United States and Gannett says the unit has enjoyed significant growth in the past year.
Others have chased their own niche markets, including New York City-based Zoom Media Networks, which focuses on screens for fitness centers, bars and restaurants; San Francisco-based Reach Media Group whose Out-of-Home (OOH) network totals more than 200,000 screens today as it reportedly considers filing for an initial public offering of stock; and CBS Outdoor, which of course runs a video network inside MTA stations and some transit cars.
MTA”™s Metro-North service and Connecticut”™s recent spate of extreme weather continue to provide perhaps the most compelling case for StopTips. Even as passengers sweltered aboard Metro-North trains that ground to a halt in the third week of July ”“ U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Jim Himes said passengers received no updates while temperature topped 100 degrees ”“ it was no picnic on the platforms either for anyone waiting for their train in vain.
If an extreme example, it nevertheless demonstrates the value of Stop Tips”™ network for the myriad situations that can delay the trains ”“ and the appeal of coffee shops that can provide a temporary oasis from weather extremes.
“Wait until it gets really cold ”“ no one is going to want to be on the platform,” Weiss said. “You can relax and enjoy your cup of coffee.”
”“ Ryan Doran contributed to this article.
Company’s website is http://www.stoptips.com.
Great idea! Best of luck Kenyon!