News

NJ firm selling ad space on kiosks in Northeast, Florida

February 17, 2003

ROSELAND, N.J. -- Motorists have an opportunity to check e-mail and browse the Internet on kiosks owned by New Jersey-based Omni Interactive that are found along Florida's Turnpike.

Omni sells space on the kiosks to advertisers, whose commercials play on the kiosk's 32-inch plasma screen with links to their Web sites and a printer that makes coupons, according to a report in the South Florida Business Journal.

"What makes it really unique is the footprint, the visual you get when you see it," said David Shteif, president of DM Buyers, a Boca Raton, Fla., company negotiating a deal to buy unused advertising inventory on the kiosks developed by Omni Interactive. "It actually attracts you and makes you come over and look at it. There's a computer in it that actually interacts with you. It has a speaker so it actually talks to you."
 
Omni has seven of the machines at turnpike rest areas, but would like 50 in the state, said John Silverberg, chief executive, president and partner of Omni Interactive. He was in South Florida last week to make presentations to advertising agencies.

The company has 15 of its kiosks in the Northeast, at locations like restaurants, gyms and shopping malls. According to Silverberg, Omni will add another 23 soon.

Silverberg said the company can update content on the fly via fiber optic connections at most locations, although it is using satellite dishes along the turnpike.

A typical customer pays $350 a month for a 15-second commercial shown 120 times in a 12-hour day or $600 a month for a 30-second commercial shown the same number of times, according to company literature.

Silverberg, who has three partners, said he expects to make $3,000 in revenue per machine a month and have a margin of about 40 percent.

The machines have a 9-square-foot footprint and Silverberg said he usually gives landlords advertising on the machine and a piece of the revenue. The potential revenue is $750 to $3,000, depending on the location, he said.

Silverberg said he has been coming to South Florida since the 1970s and his father lives in Boca Raton. "We like Florida. It has great demographics," he said, including travelers ready to spend.

Omni Interactive started in October after doing an asset purchase involving the technology, he said. Streak Technologies of San Diego manufactures the machines, which cost about $11,000 when all the electronics and display gear is added.

The machines have three ports for laptop users to hook up and surf the Web or check e-mail. There's also a camera that lets users send video postcards with their pictures.