Since 2017, ‘LinkLocal’ has delivered more than $16M in free ads and over 800 million views for New York City-based small businesses, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations
NEW YORK, NY – Today, LinkNYC announced new enhancements coming soon to its LinkLocal program, which provides free advertising for community-based small businesses and nonprofits. The upgrades will provide greater flexibility and accessibility for entrepreneurs to maximize engagement with their communities via LinkNYC’s vast network of more than 4,000 digital screens citywide.
The enriched LinkLocal program will introduce additional free features, including:
- Free advertising for eligible organizations on 6 LinkNYC screens at a time;
- Customizable advertising templates and colors to align with business branding;
- Inclusion of logos and QR codes on ads for more bespoke, engaging, and interactive messaging;
- An interactive map to help advertisers select preferred LinkNYC sites for maximum visibility.
“LinkNYC’s signature LinkLocal program empowers community development and strengthens our local economy,” said Nick Colvin, CEO of LinkNYC. “LinkLocal is a powerful tool to help our city’s entrepreneurs level the playing field, engage their fellow New Yorkers, and scale their success.”
The announcement was made during LinkNYC’s Appreciation Breakfast for Small Business Owners, where Dynishal Gross, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), and Councilman Oswald Feliz, Chair of the NYC Council Committee on Small Business, gave remarks. In 2024 alone, LinkLocal provided over $4.3 million in free advertising space for more than 1,300 community organizations and local business owners.
“When I speak with small business owners across the city, they tell me that access to effective and affordable advertising remains one of their highest hurdles to growth,” said SBS Commissioner Dynishal Gross. “LinkNYC’s LinkLocal program has been a gamechanger for hundreds of local establishments in every neighborhood and every borough. I want to thank Nick Colvin and the entire team at LinkNYC for their continued partnership as we work together, finding new ways to support small businesses in New York City, including through our innovative SBS-LinkLocal webinar series.”
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About LinkNYC
LinkNYC is the world’s largest and fastest free public Wi-Fi network. Each Link kiosk provides free superfast Wi-Fi, phone calls, device charging, access to social services, and displays content such as real-time weather, transit info, public art, and local information. The city-wide network has more than 17 million Wi-Fi users and has connected more than 30 million free phone calls. All of LinkNYC’s services are completely free to users and taxpayers, provided by CityBridge, a joint venture led by Intersection Media and Boldyn Networks. The second generation offering will deploy thousands of new kiosks, called Link5G, enabled with 5G wireless technology across the city. For more information about LinkNYC or to find a Link near you, visit www.link.nyc.
About the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS)
SBS helps unlock economic potential and create economic security for all New Yorkers by connecting New Yorkers to good jobs, creating stronger businesses, and building vibrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs. For more information on all SBS services, go to nyc.gov/sbs, call 888-SBS-4NYC, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.