How RedSquare
works
RedSquare is a marketplace for the TVs in local businesses. Screen owners sell ad time on a screen they already have; local advertisers book plays on a screen near their customers. Here is every step, for both sides.
Every screen that joins makes the network more valuable for everyone on it: screen owners and advertisers are both early members, helping it reach the size where it pays off. Paid ad time opens once the network reaches 50 screens and payments are set up. When it does, payments will be made with PayPal.
Put your screen to work
No new hardware. The Screen Player runs on the TV, streaming stick or computer you already have.
Install the Screen Player
Install the free Screen Player on the device that shows the picture.
- A smart TV, a streaming stick, or a computer plugged into the screen
- Built for Android TV, Fire TV, Roku, Samsung, LG, Apple TV, Windows, macOS and Linux — the download page shows which builds are available today
- The Screen Player opens to a pairing code
Pair it and verify where it is
One trip to the TV: type its code, fill in one short form, and allow location once.
- Go to Add a screen in the RedSquare app and type the code the TV is showing
- Give the screen a name and an address advertisers will recognise
- Verify the screen's location from your phone, within 50 metres of it
Set your price and hours
You decide what a play costs and when the screen takes bookings.
- Set a price per 10-second play
- Choose the hours the screen takes bookings, in your own timezone
- Change either at any time from your dashboard
Approve bookings and get paid
You decide what reaches your screen.
- Approve each booking yourself, or let bookings through automatically
- Every ad is moderated before it can play
- Once paid ad time opens, keep 80% of the screen-time price, paid out through PayPal
Book a local screen
From finding a screen to seeing your ad's plays, in one account.
Find a screen
Browse screens on a map, or search by name or location.
Open the screen's page
Everything you need to decide, before you pay anything.
Upload your ad
Images, GIFs or video — checked before it can play.
Choose when and how often
Pick your hours and how many plays to buy.
Book and watch it run
Free while we grow the network: book, then follow the plays.
What happens after you book
The parts of RedSquare that protect both sides once money has changed hands.
Scheduled Playback
Each screen plays its booked ads in the hours they were booked for.
In detail: Each screen checks in with the platform about once a minute and picks up its schedule.
Moderated Content
Every ad is checked before it can play, and the screen owner can decline a booking.
In detail: Images get an automated check; videos, and anything the automated check cannot decide, go to a person.
Proof of Play
Screens report every play, so an advertiser sees what actually ran.
In detail: The campaign page counts plays from the TV's own reports.
Automatic Refunds
If a play you paid for does not run, you do not pay for it.
In detail: Plays that do not run are refunded to the advertiser automatically.
Where the money goes
Once paid ad time opens, owners keep 80% of the screen-time price and the platform fee is 20%. Payment processing is added to the advertiser's checkout at cost, so the owner's 80% is a true 80%. Until then every booking is free.
Questions people ask
Is RedSquare free?
The RedSquare app and the Screen Player are free to install, with no subscription. Every booking is free while we grow the network, and nothing is charged. When paid ad time opens (once the network reaches 50 screens and payments are set up), advertisers pay per play and RedSquare keeps 20% of the screen-time price of each booking.
Do I need to buy any hardware?
No. The Screen Player runs on a TV, streaming stick or computer you already have.
Which devices run the Screen Player?
Android TV, Fire TV, Roku, Samsung and LG smart TVs, Apple TV, and Windows, macOS and Linux computers. The download page shows which builds are available today. Phones get the RedSquare app, not the player.
How much does an ad cost?
Nothing, while we grow the network: every booking is free. Each screen owner sets a price per 10-second play for when paid ad time opens; you will see it on the screen's page, and the total before you pay. There is no contract.
How do I know my ad ran?
Your campaign page shows how many of the plays you bought have run, counted from the TV's own reports. Plays that do not run are refunded automatically.
Can I advertise and own a screen with one account?
Yes. Every account has both an advertiser dashboard and a screen-owner dashboard, with a toggle to switch.
Why is every booking free right now?
We're growing the network. Every screen that joins makes RedSquare more valuable for the advertisers who book it, and every advertiser makes a screen more worth listing, so screen owners and advertisers are both early members solving the same chicken-and-egg problem. Meanwhile a screen owner can advertise their own business free on the other screens. Paid ad time opens once the network reaches 50 screens and payments are set up.