“Real-Time Taxi Top’s”
125 taxi cabs and
45,000 data points
show how convenient
it is for New Yorkers
to reach United flights
at Newark Airport
mcgarrybowen won a pair of Lions from the Cannes Festival of Creativity for its work on the United Airlines Real-Time Taxi Top campaign.
Real-Time Taxi Top uses GPS real-time traffic data to dispel the myth that travel to JFK is faster than travel to Newark Airport. This represents the first time that live traffic data has ever been used to dynamically display messaging on top of a taxi.
The spontaneously updating concept earned a Silver for Creative Use of real time data and a Bronze for data-driven targeting.
JFK has long been considered “New York’s Airport.” However, Newark Airport has many claims to be better for New York travelers, the most compelling being its proximity and ease.
To prove it, mcgarrybowen fitted 125 New York City taxis with GPS software to show a real-time comparison of the travel times between the city and JFK and Newark airports.
The digital displays are synced with data from the Curb application and update in real time with every change in a taxi’s position and evolving traffic patterns.
Working with Verifone Media and Kinetic, over 45,000 data points were analyzed to optimize the campaign in keys areas within NYC.
The ads displayed relative travel times to both JFK and Newark airports, updating in real-time as each cab’s position changed. The software used is the most reliable source of data when considering Manhattan.
Over 45,000 data points including distance, traffic patterns, accidents, and road-works are analyzed and optimized in real-time.
The idea combined people’s need to know how long their travel time is, with the very means they use to travel. As each GPS outfitted taxi moved, the times displayed updated, irrefutably favoring Newark’s EWR airport.
This campaign for United launched on the heels of its $120 million renovation to their Terminal C at Newark Airport.
By the numbers, over 41 million passengers fly out of Newark each year (with over 28 million on United). It ranks 15th in terms of passenger volume amongst US airports.
Send your agency updates to Reel Chicago Editor Dan Patton, dan@reelchicago.com.
