• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, April 11, 2012

How would you like to “take over” Time Square?! Yep, literally every digital billboard at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue from 42^nd to 50^th Streets (or thereabouts)? Every marketers’ wildest fantasy, right? That’s exactly what Tim Tompkins, President of Times Square Alliance, which represents all of the businesses in Times Square, is trying to make possible. Developed in partnership with the Ad Coalition, it’s called the “Time Square Moment,” and is currently limited to “non-commercial content” -- think arty affairs and public service messages -- being displayed on about 15 of the square’s screens, according to Tompkins. It’s essentially a way to “do something distinctive,” draw marketers attention to Time Square, and get them to think more boldly about the environment’s possibilities. It “started as a civic thing,” Tompkins explained during MediaPost" Digital Out-Of-Home Forum on Wednesday -- but he does think there are “enormous possibilities” for brands to eventually replicate the take-over or sponsor the non-commercial events. Ultimately, Tompkins sees the “Moments” taking over 40 to 50 screens in the square!