Animated videos now light up SkyTrain tunnel while trains are moving

Example of Adtrackmedia's in-tunnel digital advertising system, programmed for Pokemon Detective Pikachu movie promotion. (Adtrackmedia)

No longer an empty, dark void, SkyTrain passengers now have a reason to look out the side window when their train is travelling through the Expo Line’s Dunsmuir tunnel in downtown Vancouver.

In-tunnel digital advertising has been installed on the eastbound tunnel between Waterfront Station and Burrard Station, and over the coming months it will also be installed on the westbound tunnel between Stadium-Chinatown Station and Granville Station.

This innovative Canadian-owned technology is already found on major Asian and European subways, but its use on SkyTrain will be the first time it is implemented on a North American public transit system.

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The technology uses the installation of 360 vertical LED lights on each tunnel wall to create the illusion of a moving picture advertisement when passengers look out the windows of their speeding train. Sensors will detect the presence and speed of an incoming train to automatically activate and sequence the speed of the smooth in-motion videos.

Adtrackmedia uses proprietary technology of end-to-end software and hardware to deliver the high-resolution, dynamic LED moving images to reach the large, sought-after urban commuting audience.

#TransLink‘s now the first North American transit system to install an in-tunnel dynamic digital advertising system using LED strips.

Look out the window between #SkyTrain Burrard and Granville stations for a 10-sec moving picture animation! #vanpoli 1/3https://t.co/PBNPq3NsR2 pic.twitter.com/SNTg17jDjS

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) April 12, 2022

skytrain dunsmuir adtrackmedia led video vancouver f

Adtrackmedia’s vertical LED lights installed onto the wall of SkyTrain’s Dunsmuir tunnel in downtown Vancouver. (TransLink)

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This new advertising medium is a partnership between TransLink and Vancouver-based Adtrackmedia, which has brought its subway in-tunnel digital advertising technology to its home city, after installing the proven digital system in some of the world’s largest and busiest subway networks over the past decade.

“With an established global presence, we are excited that our North American expansion begins here at home in Vancouver with TransLink and Telus,” said Ken Bicknell, CEO of Adtrackmedia, in a statement.

“Adtrackmedia’s technology has created a premium media format that is highly in demand in the growing global digital out of home advertising landscape.”

Adtrackmedia is responsible for the full cost of installation, operations, and maintenance, and TransLink benefits from the partnership by receiving a new advertising revenue source.

Some reserved messaging space dedicated to the public transit authority also enables a unique way to display TransLink-related communications to passengers.

“This new technology provides an innovative and immersive experience for customers travelling along the Expo Line,” said TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn.

“This first-in-Canada technology is transforming marketing and communications on transit systems all over the world while also allowing agencies to collect new revenue.”

TransLink’s first public communications video using Adtrackmedia’s system in the SkyTrain tunnel:

The rise of the use of physical-digital advertising — everything from video walls and screens to in-tunnel digital advertising — comes at a time when global advertising trends are seeing flat or declining revenue, and traditional print advertising signage on public transit systems around the world is no exception.

Increasingly, companies are looking for more creative and immersive ways to showcase their brand and products, while also providing an entertaining and memorable experience that adds value to their brand to stand out from the increasingly crowded mass media marketplace.

Telus will be the first company in North America to purchase advertising space from Adtrackmedia, with the new SkyTrain in-tunnel digital advertising allowing the company to create content that animates their renowned use of animals to showcase their brand.

The first Telus advertisement video using Adtrackmedia’s system in the SkyTrain tunnel:

Adtracakmedia’s in-tunnel digital advertising technology could potentially be installed on other future tunnel segments of the SkyTrain network.

Their technology is also found in the subway systems of Seoul, Sao Paulo, Zurich, Rome, Madrid, Rotterdam, Barcelona, Mexico City, and Singapore.

In-tunnel moving pictures displaying advertising is not a completely new concept, as older iterations of this medium, which are still in use, depend on using back-lit printed posters in subway tunnels to create the same effect.

The company’s technology was first developed in Japan, and initially used by South Korean companies. A decade ago, Adtrackmedia bought the Canadian company that licensed the technology, and then later eventually acquired the technology and began working with the South Korean companies to further improve the medium for its further commercialization and scaling up.

The federal government’s Trade Commissioner Service has also been assisting Adtrackmedia with bringing its technology to subway systems around the world.

“I see Adtrackmedia’s success as a win-win on so many levels. It is great to see how this amazing Canadian company has been able to grow their technology platform by accessing those international markets,” said Mary Ng, the federal minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development.

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