We’re putting 20 apps up on a Times Square billboard for a week, and yours could be one of those apps

In case you missed it, we just came into some money, which means a flood of suggestions on how to spend that funding in #topic-dumb-ideas (the internal Slack channel that produced gems like the App Store Rejection Socks, “wavy cat”, and more). One of those suggestions was a Times Square billboard. Not for us, though, but for you. The fact you’re reading this blogpost means that it’s one of those “dumb ideas” we actually decided to execute:

What’s happening on Times Square?

From Monday, June 24th to Sunday, June 30th, we’ll run ads on the top screen shown below for 10 minutes out of every hour. We’ve cut those 10 minutes up into 30 second chunks, which will all highlight one app built on RevenueCat. That means we’ll feature 20 apps, who will each be up on the screen 168 times over the duration of the week.

To keep the effort necessary for you to show your app to an absolute minimum, we’re developing an animation template. Within that animation, we’ll show screenshots of your app, a brief tagline (this’ll be limited in length, because you’ll want folks that walk by to be able to read it), and a QR code to download. We won’t brand the template: For 30 seconds, that screen will be all yours.

How to apply

Half of the 10 spots, we’ll randomly select from all RevenueCat users by May 13th. If you’re not on RevenueCat yet, today is a great day to get started. If your app is selected, we’ll reach out to the project owner’s email address. If that doesn’t lead to a response within 3 days, we’ll need to move on to the next app to make sure you have enough time to pull together the necessary creative to put in your ad.

To grab one of the other 10 spots, share and comment on this Tweet, this LinkedIN post, or both before May 10th, 2024 at 1pm ET. By May 13, we’ll randomly pick from our followers across LinkedIN and Twitter that have shared the announcement, and commented on the original with a link to their app. If you’re selected, we’ll reach out directly to your account on social. Again, if we don’t get a response within 3 days, we’ll have to move on to the next app, so make sure to keep an eye out.

You do not have to be a RevenueCat user to grab one of the second 10 spots (tho we will count entries by current users double).

What happens when I’m selected?

We’ll reach out (either via email or socials), and will need you to respond within 3 days before we’re forced to move on to the next app. We’ll then ask you for three things:

1. Send us the link you want people to visit when they scan your QR code. Remember, this QR code will be up on a billboard on Times Square which sees about 400,000 people walk past, every day – make sure it’s a destination that makes sense for your audience!
2. Send us one short sentence (7 words or less) that pitches your app. This will be visible a few times during your ad, and should compliment the screenshots we’re about to ask you for
3. Screenshots! Send us 4 high quality screenshots that clearly communicate the value of your app. Keep in mind that the billboard is high up so fine details will probably not really stand out, though the full ad will use animation to zoom in to parts of the screenshots

We’ll then incorporate your elements into the template and send it to you for final approval. Note that we can’t make any changes to the template itself, but can update the elements you shared with us.

When your ad is actually up on Times Square, we’ll have a crew present to record it and send you a copy so that – even if you can’t make it to New York yourself – you’ll have proof that your app made it there.

Good luck, everyone, and – hopefully – see you in New York in June!