TDK set to discontinue its iconic neon ad sign at London’s Piccadilly Circus

To some Londoners the 101.3m² TDK screen, which is owned by the UK’s largest property company Land Securities, is just as synonymous with the capital as red top buses, however, a new advertiser is now set to take up the space.

Outdoor advertising consultancy Wildstone has been appointed by Land Securities to secure a new brand for the screen, which is seen by up to two million people a week.

“We are incredibly excited about finding a new brand for this screen at the heart of Piccadilly Lights, one of the most famous advertising sites on the planet,” said Wildstone CEO Damian Cox. “While it feels like the end of an era to see TDK leave the site, a number of world famous brands will jump at the opportunity to claim the site as their own, possibly for decades to come.”

Marketing Week understands that a replacement has already been lined up to go live from late March, although Wildstone is yet to disclose which brand it will be.

In 2005, TDK altered the previous fluorescent tube neon sign to a more energy-efficient LED neon sign, which finally enabled animated advertising spots. And TDK’s final video ad, to run this month, will be a 30 second piece that looks at its evolution from analog to digital technologies with the tagline ‘TDK, With you always.’

After making its name as a consumer recordable videotape and stereo brand, the Japanese electronics producer has shifted its focus towards business to business operations over recent years and now heavily supplies components for ICT operations.

TDK said that this shift away from consumer operations was the primary reason behind the decision to discontinue the sign.