Times Square Billboard Ads on a Small Budget: Costs, Booking and Social Media Success Stories

A 15-second Times Square billboard appearance has supplied the footage for social posts reaching tens of thousands of viewers. Some advertisers paid less than $100 for their screen time, then turned the booking, journey and reveal into a story people wanted to watch. The billboard ad in the image above has been digitally edited for illustration. However, an ad for a small business like marketing-blog.com on a huge billboard is actually quite realistic:

The opportunity is accessible to small businesses, founders and creators through short digital billboard bookings. For a campaign following the approach in these examples, the filming plan deserves attention before the screen booking because the social video needs to explain the idea and capture the reveal.

Historic $40 success stories demonstrate the potential. However, the original service behind several examples is no longer a verified booking option. Other providers still advertise short appearances, with published starting prices ranging from around $40 for selected inventory to $500 for business packages with repeated daily plays.

Four Billboard Stories Worth Studying

Adam Hayes: $40 in Screen Time and 50,000 TikTok Views

In July 2024 founder Adam Hayes described booking a 15-second appearance through the TSX app for $40. During his visit to New York he travelled to Times Square to see the advertisement, paid a photographer to take stills and recorded video himself for a post documenting the experience.

Hayes then posted a video documenting the experience on the Drops TikTok account, which had four followers. He reported 50,000 views and several potential customer leads. His reference to thousands in possible monthly recurring revenue described the opportunity from those leads, rather than completed sales.

Read Adam Hayes’s first-person account, including photographs and a link to his TikTok. His account illustrates a useful approach for founders: make the process part of the content, giving viewers a reason to follow the story before the advertisement appears.

Darren Dowling: A Slice of Bread and Almost 170,000 Views

Scottish creator Darren Dowling used a $40 TSX booking to show himself eating bread. His followers had helped choose the idea. Someone in New York recorded the appearance for him.

According to January 2023 reporting from digital signage publication Sixteen:Nine, now hosted by invidis, Dowling said the TikTok had generated nearly 170,000 views. The contrast between an ordinary activity and an enormous screen supplied the joke. The report does not document a sales result.

Rachel Carlisle: A $250 Cookbook Promotion

Cookbook author Rachel Carlisle paid $250 for an advertisement scheduled to appear for 15 seconds every hour over 24 hours. She created the artwork in Canva and included a QR code directing viewers to her website.

PEOPLE reported approximately 420,000 TikTok views in its May 2025 interview. No verified increase in cookbook sales was disclosed. The $250 price belongs to her historical booking rather than a current rate.

GameStop: Ten Plays for $18.71

During the GameStop trading frenzy in January 2021 a Times Square billboard displayed the message “GME go BRRRRR”. The booking through TPS Engage, now Blindspot, cost $18.71 for ten 15-second plays within the noon-to-1pm hour.

In its contemporary account published on 3 February 2021, the provider reported more than 400,000 Reddit upvotes and around 12,000 comments after photographs circulated online. The provider also reported a sharp increase in traffic to its own platform.

The message reached an existing community during a major news event, giving people following the GameStop story a reason to share the photograph even if they had never visited Times Square. The figures are provider-reported engagement results, with no independently verified return on advertising spend.

What Happened to the Original $40 TSX Offer?

TSX PixelStar sold short appearances on an approximately 18,000-square-foot screen at Times Square. The $40 offer featured in early coverage and in Hayes’s 2024 account.

A later account by former TSX Director of Product Management Ted Lin describes the business closing and the team being furloughed in August 2024. The original TSX website was not accessible during research for this article.

Older instructions recommending the TSX app should therefore be treated as historical. A recently updated third-party guide repeating the price does not confirm a working booking service.

Where to Book Times Square Billboard Ads Today

The following offers were checked on 11 November 2026. All prices are in US dollars. Published prices do not confirm availability for your preferred date or include every production and filming expense.

Blindspot: Advertised Entry Price Around $40

Blindspot’s Times Square guide advertises appearances from around $40 through pay-per-play buying with hourly scheduling. The final screen, price and available inventory require access to its booking platform.

The guide describes campaigns going live within hours after the required checks. Treat this as an advertised turnaround rather than a guaranteed deadline. Its One Times Square listing has a daily minimum of 720 plays, so the headline starting price does not apply to every screen.

Start through the booking link on the guide. The portal redirects to a login page, so a live checkout quote was not independently verified. Hourly scheduling also does not promise an exact playback minute. Ask about the filming window before committing to travel.

Welcome to Times Square: $500 Daily Business Packages

The Welcome to Times Square business page lists a $500 daily package with three alternatives:

• A 15-second advertisement shown 88 times.
• A 30-second advertisement shown 44 times.
• A 60-second advertisement shown 22 times.

The listed screens include 1560 Broadway, measuring 55 feet wide by 31 feet high. The second is 1619 Broadway, measuring 65 feet wide by 45 feet high. Confirm your specific screen during booking.

To book, email [email protected] with your preferred billboard, package and date. The requested date must be at least seven business days away. The provider says customer service will respond within 24 hours. Holiday pricing is subject to surcharges.

Concept by JC: Online Business Bookings from $500

Concept by JC lists business packages on the 1560 Broadway screen:

• $500 for one 15-second play per hour over 24 hours.
• $950 for two 15-second plays per hour.
• $1,450 for four 15-second plays per hour.

Use the online booking form and select Business for promotional content. The two- and four-play hourly packages require at least four business days of lead time. The provider lists a $100 rush fee for bookings within one to three days.

Video capture is listed at $80. Adding this to the $500 business package produces a published base cost of $580 before any rush fee or further extras. A photoshoot is listed separately at $350.

The two providers’ $500 offers have different play counts. Compare the exact package even when the screen address matches and check the playback arrangements, since an email announcing the advertisement is already live does not provide advance notice for a camera operator.

Arrange a Filming Window Before Booking Travel

A 15-second advertisement leaves little room to correct a missed shot. Get the scheduled playback time, the allowed timing variation and the notification method in writing before booking a photographer, especially if the package supplies only one appearance.

TimesSquareBillboard.com’s personal-booking FAQ promises an exact hourly slot at least one day before display. The same site explicitly prohibits business advertisements and directs advertisers to its commercial service. Do not assume the personal scheduling promise also applies to a business order.

For a commercial booking ask the provider to confirm:

• The playback minute or maximum waiting window in New York local time.
• How far in advance the final schedule arrives.
• The next available play if the first recording fails.
• The response to delayed playback or a screen fault.
• The camera position offering a clear view of the purchased screen area.

For remote capture request an example of the footage before paying. Confirm the recording shows the advertisement running on the real screen, the delivery deadline and permission to reuse the footage in social posts or paid advertising.

Build the Campaign Around a Story

The historical examples suggest several promising directions: a founder milestone, an unusual joke, a product release or a message relevant to an existing community. They do not provide enough comparative evidence to rank industries by expected return.

For a book launch show the author preparing the artwork and travelling to see the result. For a business anniversary involve the people who helped reach the milestone. A topical message needs a clear connection to the brand and audience, rather than borrowing attention from an unrelated news story.

Plan the opening of the social video before designing the advertisement, because a short explanation of the idea gives viewers a reason to follow the preparation and wait for the reveal. Capture the artwork, the journey and the team reaction as well as the screen itself.

Keep the Billboard Message Readable

Use one dominant visual, a visible brand name and a short message. Preview the proposed street footage at phone size. If the words disappear when the screen occupies only part of the frame, simplify the design before submitting.

Concept by JC’s file guidance specifies landscape 16:9 media, ideally 1920 by 1080 pixels. Accepted formats include JPG or PNG images and MP4 or MOV videos. Other screens have different specifications, so request the actual dimensions before exporting your creative.

QR codes also require a package-specific check. Concept by JC permits QR codes on business bookings. Blindspot’s Times Square guidance advises against them. Prepare the creative for the chosen placement instead of assuming every billboard accepts the same content.

Measure the Social Campaign and the Billboard Separately

A location’s total daily footfall does not represent the audience for one 15-second appearance. Record delivered plays separately from social video views, then track website visits and customer actions through links attached to your social posts.

Use a dedicated landing page or tagged campaign links for the posts sharing your footage. If the selected screen permits a QR code, give the code a separate tracking destination so responses from the street are distinguishable from visits generated online.

Include screen time, design, filming, editing and travel in the campaign cost, since a cheap appearance loses its price advantage quickly when a team travels to New York specifically to record the advertisement.

When publishing results report the measured outcome: views, qualified leads or completed sales. If a lead has not purchased, describe the lead without assigning hypothetical revenue. Date the figures so readers understand the period covered by the campaign report.