Tube signs up to moving ad sites

London Underground (LU) is to launch a service that will enable advertisers to show moving images on the wall opposite platforms.

Nearly 18 months after first proposing the idea, LU has signed a deal with four companies that will enable the medium to be tested this year. The deal was through advertising contractor TDI, which is seeking advertisers for trials and campaign bookings.

Called XTP (Cross-Track Projection), advertising messages will be digitally projected, over the heads of waiting passengers, onto large-format sites on facing walls.

TDI says images of all types can be transmitted, from still pictures to full-motion video. Individual ads will run in a repeated cycle every two to three minutes. TDI says this time-frame reflects the average passenger waiting time.

In addition to conventional spot advertising, TDI says there will be opportunities for brands to provide and sponsor editorial content.

LU will begin installing the systems in the autumn and expects to have 100 sites in place across central London by the end of next year. If XTP is a success, LU intends to install 400 sites in the next five years.

LU’s other partners in the scheme are Citylink Telecommunications, DHJ Media – the installers of the projection hardware – and Thales Translink Services.