Dutch startup puts adverts in people’s front windows

Add My Window enables anyone with a public facing window to rent the space out to companies looking for alternative ad space in the area.

We have already seen Screen Donor enable charitable smartphone users to donate their dormant screens to a good cause and now, Add My Window makes use of another unused surface: front windows.

Add My Window enables anyone with a public facing window to rent the space out in return for a monthly fee of up to EUR 150. Participants simply create an account, detailing the size and location of their window. The Dutch start-up then calculates a rate and finds a suitable advert to install. Advertisements come in the form of large stickers containing hundreds of small holes: they are stuck to the inside of the window meaning they can be seen from the outside only, maintaining much of the light and view for the resident.

Advertisers can determine which location they want their ads to be placed in according to target audience, but the startup only operates in cities where this type of advertising is allowed. All adverts are created by the companies themselves — giving them free reign over creativity and visual style: window owners can opt out if they are matched with an advertisement they don’t like but they will be charged a fine to do so.

Add My Window currently offer 238 windows throughout the Netherlands. Is this a scheme that could work in other urban cities?