Having operated a store in New York’s Times Square from the 1930s through the ’70s, Walgreens was ready for a comeback. The national drugstore chain returned to the block in 2008, in modern, high-tech style.
Towering 341 feet above the street and wrapping around three sides of the building, Walgreens’ digital billboard includes a 25-foot-tall screen on the south side; a 341-foot-long diagonal wrap rising up the east side and down the west; and a north-facing screen mounted 8 feet above the sidewalk.
The digital network carries Walgreen-branded messaging and paid advertising from third-party vendors. “It’s a revenue generator, but more important, it’s a brand builder,” says Arthur Gilmore, president of Gilmore Group, the firm that designed the digital video signage.
By the Numbers:
- 43,730 square feet of decorative and video components
- 12 million LEDs
- 1.6 million impressions delivered daily
- 9 to 11 percent increase in foot traffic inside the store