Advertise for Free through LinkLocal

Did you know that LinkLocal provides free and low-cost advertising for small businesses, community groups, non-profits, and local events on LinkNYC kiosks on city streets?

The LinkLocal program helps business owners and community leaders connect with customers and community members using pre-designed advertising templates that they feature on selected LinkNYC kiosks throughout the five boroughs. LinkNYC kiosks offer super-fast free Wi-Fi, free phone calls to anywhere in the United States, a USB port for charging, a tablet featuring city services, maps, and directions, and a 911 button, and have two screens, one on either side, which are perfect for advertising your services or events.

Those eligible to participate include:

•  NYC small businesses with less than 50 employees and less than three brick-and-mortar locations
•  Small online businesses based out of NYC
•  Non-profit organizations based out of NYC
•  Community organizations
•  Schools, summer camps, and museums

There are two versions of LinkLocal: LinkLocal Free and LinkLocal Plus.

LinkLocal Free is, you guessed it, completely free and offers two LinkNYC kiosks totaling four screens. With this program, you don’t get to decide the template, color, or exact location of your kiosks; the LinkLocal program uses a pre-selected template and stock colors and selects the kiosk locations based on your business/organization/event’s zip code. There are special promotions that run throughout the year that allow certain businesses or organizations to advertise on four kiosks rather than two. Black-owned small businesses qualify for this promotion in August in honor of National Black Business Month, after-school programs in September in honor of Back to School Month, and women-owned small businesses in October in honor of National Women’s Small Business Month. 

LinkLocal Plus comes with a cost, but it’s fairly low. You start at $100 for two kiosks, and each additional two kiosks cost $50. You can display your ad on up to ten kiosks. You also get the opportunity to select the addresses of the kiosks yourself, as well as the background color of the ad, and include your logo or QR code.

The process is pretty simple. Fill out the request form here, at least one week ahead of and no more than one month before your desired campaign start date, then wait one to five days to get an email confirming the ad details, and finally, send back any edits or your approval to launch the campaign.

Community Boards have a different form to fill out, and their advertisements display in all the kiosks within their zone. BIDs and Small Business Organizations must get in touch with LinkLocal’s External Affairs team to get their event or announcement displayed on LinkNYC Kiosk screens. These ads only run for fifteen seconds at a time but can include creative and will run on every kiosk within the BID’s boundaries.

If you have any questions or want to submit a request, you can reach out to hello@link.nyc. For more information, check out this presentation and this flyer about the program.

Graphics Credit: LinkLocal