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Malaysian Influencer Reveals How Much She Paid For 15 Seconds Of Fame On NYC’s Times Square Billboard

Malaysian Influencer Reveals How Much She Paid For 15 Seconds Of Fame On NYC’s Times Square Billboard

Ivor Xian Z paid only $40, which is equivalent to RM180, for a 15-second video to feature her HYGR product on the Times Square billboard in New York City.

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If you have been on TikTok a lot, you’ll definitely be accustomed to this famous influencer that reviews basically everything, from food and products to long trips in the US and even paid toilets!

Her famous tagline is, “Trying … (everything) so you don’t have to”. Her name is Ivor Xian Z. Previously a law graduate, she found her true calling in making entertaining & informational review videos, as well as founding her own organic cosmetic business, HYGR.

(Credit: @ivor_xianz / TikTok)

Recently on her trip to New York, she posted a video of her brand going on the big screen at the famous Times Square. Her caption read, “Look, Dad, the brand you told me wouldn’t do well is finally on the big screen.”

The video featured Ivor standing in front of the billboard holding her multipurpose lip balm product while waiting for the ad to come out. When the 15-second ad finally did, she excitedly applied the lip balm on her lips and posed with her ad behind her.

@ivor_xianz Look dad the brand u told me that it wouldn’t do well is finally on the big screen 🥰❤️🇲🇾 @HYGR #timesquarenewyork ♬ original sound – Ivor trying so u dont hve to

Apart from her fans congratulating her, many wondered how much Ivor paid. They were curious and wanted to know more.

Well, Ivor, being the queen of reviewing everything as simply as she can, made another video just to explain how she did it and how much she spent on it.

In the video, she clarified that she actually didn’t spend that much on it, as most people would think so. In fact, she only paid $40 (RM183) for the 15-second ad, through an app specially designed for that billboard advertising called TSX.

@ivor_xianz Replying to @hzlntttttt how to feature yourself on Timesquare billboard New York 🇺🇸❤️😂 #timesquarenewyork ♬ original sound – Ivor trying so u dont hve to

How does it work?

Ivor explained that one billboard is indeed expensive, costing a minimum of $5,000 a day, depending on the location, and whether it’s an image or a video. But some companies are smart to find a loophole, which is to buy the billboard for a whole month and just open up a 15-second slot for all the interested brands, influencers or anyone, for an affordable price.

She illustrated the breakdown with a simple calculation. If they need to pay $20,000 for a month of the billboard and sell it in small bits that cost $40 for 15 secs, they would get approximately $7 million in sales for a month.

(Credit: @ivor_xianz / TikTok)

She told her viewers that she is not the one who’s rich, the rich person is the company that buys the whole billboard for a month.

As she didn’t have a billboard-ready ad made for HYGR during her trip to the US, she recorded a simple video of herself using the lip balm and deodorant in her bathroom. It was just a simple last-minute video, but she still made it on the “big screen”.

The video needs to be uploaded in a square ratio and they’ll review it in an hour or so to see if it’s accepted or not. For your information, hers got rejected thrice because apparently, you can’t put a website link in the video.

Lastly, she advised that you need to be 15 minutes early to the billboard if you wanna catch it live because if you’re one minute late, you’ll miss your 15 seconds of fame.

It was the best $40 I’ve ever spent for my 15 seconds of fame.

Ivor Xian Z, Malaysian Influencer & Founder of HYGR

What’s TSX?

Based on our search, TSX Entertainment is a company that deals with advertising on one of the main billboards in Times Square, New York City. According to Fast Company, eventually, TSX Entertainment will use the billboard to broadcast concerts and other related pop-culture programs, but currently, they’re leasing it to the public through 15-second videos.

Basically, anyone can feature their videos (of doing anything) on the billboard, given that they follow the basic rules of a screen viewed by around 400,000 people a day, which includes no nudity, violence or offensive content.

Previously, one person even posted a straight 15-second video of her sipping wine, and another posted a video of them taking a mundane selfie. Mostly, people post their own videos of them at Times Square, just to witness themselves on the big screen, live. All you have to do is download the TSX app, book your slot, and pay $40 for your 15 seconds of fame. As simple as that.

@tsxentertainment Dream proposal? 😍 #fyp #love #proposal #proposalvideo #proposalgoals #goals #relationship #bae #engaged #engagement #inlove #surprise #tsxentertainment #tsx #timessquare #nyc ♬ original sound – spedupsongsnlyrics

The co-founder and co-Ceo of TSX Entertainment, Nick Holmstén said that they wanna stray away from big companies buying slots to advertise their products as they can make it in their own way. TSR wants to support small/medium-sized brands or influencers to make it big on their 25-foot-high LED screen, creating more opportunities for an average Joe or an innovative brand to be discovered on the world’s largest social feed.

We don’t want companies to buy 15 seconds on that screen, our view is this is the world’s largest social feed.

TSX will never end up in a situation where we run traditional programs that are happening on other screens where you can buy long-term advertising campaigns.

Nick Holmstén, Co-founder & Co-Ceo of TSX Entertainment

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