Intersection Brings Digital Bus Shelters to Minneapolis
Minneapolis is renowned not only for its cold winters but also for its exceptional transit system, which includes convenient airport connections, dedicated bike lanes along the curbs, and a highly efficient bus network.
Intersection and the Twin Cities’ Metro Transit have deployed 12 new digital bus shelters throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul. These are the first digital bus shelters in Metro Transit’s 150 shelter network, as previously they only had static advertising panels.
Brands will engage with customers through 75″ digital screens that also display real-time transit information with customers. Over the next six months, Intersection and Metro Transit will deploy a total of 40 digital shelters positioned in high-traffic areas, including downtown and high traffic suburban areas.
“We are mostly focused where the buses head downtown,” Scott Goldsmith, President and Chief Operating Officer at Intersection said.
Intersection is currently in the go-to-market process and selling ads for the new shelters. Ad loops are about 90-seconds. Ten of the 12 total spots are for advertising, while the other two slots are for Metro Transit’s content.
“Enhancing everyday experiences in cities is core to our mission,” said Goldsmith. “The ability to deliver real-time customer information in more locations, and deliver more impactful advertising that will generate incremental revenue is a testament to the future-focused nature of our longstanding relationship with Metro Transit.”
The goal was to provide riders with accurate real-time information in a variety of ways while at the same time generating revenue to support transit operations.
Intersection has been Metro Transit’s advertising partner since 2007, deploying and managing a wide variety of media formats on mostly bus and rail assets. A couple of years ago Intersection responded to an RFP issued by Metro Transit suggesting that they digitize some of these assets.
Digital Bus Shelters provide riders with real-time information about when the next bus is arriving and other key details. Not only will Metro Transit Minneapolis be able to generate more revenue from digital, but everyone one of the screens provides persistent real-time transit information. Though the majority of the screen is an advertisement, at the top it says when the next bus or train is coming.
“This is incredibly helpful for more revenue for the transit authority and for helping the customer experience. It is communicating with people in real time,” Goldsmith said.
Intersection’s media network also extends across the top U.S. media markets – New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, and San Francisco – in addition to other major regions such as Austin, Charlotte, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Portland, Boston and more. In all, Intersections network reaches over 50 million people monthly through more than 400,000 digital and static assets nationwide.
The map above shows where the current and future digital bus shelters will exist. They will mostly be in downtown where they can serve the most impressions and generate the most revenue.
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