A vending machine with screen advertising sells two things: the products inside, and the attention of the people who walk past. Between transactions the display plays images or video. When someone taps it, the shopping screen takes over. This page explains how the ads run on a connected machine and what content works. It also covers how the audience is counted, what decides whether anyone will pay for the screen, which rules apply, and when an advertising screen is money you don’t need to spend.
Quick answer
- How it works: images and videos play as the idle screen, scheduled remotely to groups of machines; a tap brings up the shopping interface.
- What decides revenue: the audience (footfall, dwell time, who passes), not the machine or its product margin.
- What advertisers need: play logs, an audience count and a rate card. A radar sensor can count people without a camera.
- Screen spec: larger and brighter than a payment screen; 22 inches on our full-size machine, 32 inches on wall units built for advertising.
- Rules: general advertising codes apply, and the screen must still show what the sale requires, such as calories in the US.
- Wrong answer: low footfall, closed workforces, and places where nobody should linger.
How a screen vending machine shows advertising
On a screen vending machine, the display does two jobs at different moments. While someone is buying, it is the shop: product grid, cart, payment. The rest of the time, which at most sites is most of the day, it is free screen time. That idle time is the advertising inventory.
On KioskForce machines, idle content works like this (from our FAQ):
- Upload an image (PNG) or a video (MP4) in the Vending on Track cloud dashboard. The recommended size is vertical 1280 × 800.
- Set the duration. A video plays for its own length; an image defaults to 60 seconds and can be changed.
- Assign it to a group of machines, so one campaign can run on every machine in a building, a city or a client’s estate, and a different one elsewhere.
- Optionally add a description. When a customer taps, a QR code appears that opens the description on their phone. That is the bridge from an advert to a website, an offer or a sign-up.
The idle screen cannot be switched off; it also protects the display. Our visual advertisements platform manages this content remotely across a fleet and reports on each campaign. Reports cover impressions, the duration of each advertisement and call-to-action reveals.
What content works on a vending machine advertising screen
People pass a vending machine; they rarely stop to watch it. Content that works is built for a few seconds of attention:
- One message per item. A product, a price or an offer, and a reason to tap. Long brand films get cut off by the next customer.
- Readable from a distance. Large type, high contrast, no fine print. Test it on the actual screen, at the distance people walk past.
- Tied to the machine where possible. “Two for one on this machine today” converts at the point of sale in a way a general brand advert cannot. Pair it with a remote price change or happy-hour discount through VoTi remote settings.
- Fitted to the orientation. A portrait door screen needs portrait content; a landscape advert letterboxed into a portrait screen wastes most of it.
- Rotated. A loop that never changes becomes wallpaper to the regulars.
Video looks better than stills on a large panel. It also costs more to produce and needs a screen and computer that play it smoothly. That is one reason the 32-inch units on our period-product program were specified for smooth, high-quality video.
Screen size, brightness and placement for advertising
A screen good enough to buy from is not always good enough to sell advertising on. Three things change:
| Payment screen | Advertising screen | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 10 inches is enough at arm’s length | 21.5–22 inches on a full-size machine; 32 inches where advertising is the business model |
| Viewing distance | Arm’s length | Across a corridor, foyer or platform |
| Brightness | Standard indoor panel away from windows | Higher near glass or outdoors, ideally optically bonded |
| Orientation | Whatever suits the shopping interface | Matched to the content advertisers supply |
| Placement | Where buyers can reach it | Facing the flow of people, at eye level, with nothing in front |
| Reporting | Sales only | Plays, durations, CTA reveals, audience count |
The KF10X22 carries a 22-inch screen built for advertising, marketing campaigns and on-screen information. The compact wall-mount line takes screens from 7 to 32 inches. Brightness, touch type and glass are covered in choosing a vending machine touch screen.
Placement beats hardware. The same machine is worth far more facing the main flow of a transit concourse than tucked behind a pillar. If you can choose where the machine goes, choose for the audience first.
Counting the audience
Advertisers pay for people who could see the advert, and they increasingly want evidence. There are three layers:
- Play logs. What played, where, when and for how long. A connected machine records these as part of its telemetry.
- Interaction. Taps, QR scans and call-to-action reveals show who engaged, not just who passed.
- Footfall. How many people were in front of the screen. A machine can be fitted with millimetre-wave radar traffic counting, in technical preview, which counts people anonymously without capturing images. That makes it usable where cameras are not, including washrooms.
Camera-based analytics can go further and estimate whether someone looked at the screen. But a camera captures images of people. In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office guidance on video surveillance covers this, including facial recognition technology. Other jurisdictions have their own rules. If a camera is not needed to sell the screen, don’t fit one.
What decides the revenue
The machine does not decide what the screen earns; the audience does. A simple way to frame it:
Monthly audience × your share of the loop × price per thousand views.
The table below shows the arithmetic with illustrative inputs only. These are not benchmarks, quotes or a forecast; replace every figure with your own counts and the rates local buyers will actually pay.
| Input | Busy foyer (illustrative) | Quiet corridor (illustrative) |
|---|---|---|
| People passing per day | 2,000 | 150 |
| Days per month | 30 | 30 |
| Monthly passers-by | 60,000 | 4,500 |
| Share of the loop sold to one advertiser | 25% | 25% |
| Views attributed to that advertiser | 15,000 | 1,125 |
| Assumed price per 1,000 views | X | X |
| Monthly revenue from that advertiser | 15 × X | 1.1 × X |
The point of the table is the ratio. At the same price per thousand, the busy foyer earns more than thirteen times as much from the same machine and screen. That is why advertising revenue follows placement, and why a machine bought for advertising should be specified for its site.
The other cost is selling. Someone has to find advertisers, agree rates, schedule campaigns and send reports. Operators with a few machines usually start with brands whose products are already in the machine, and with the venue’s own messages. Outside advertisers come once there is a network and audience data to show them.
A real example: advertising that funds free products
A health-tech startup came to us to give women free sanitary products in public restrooms and other venues, funded by on-screen advertising rather than by the user. Because the screen is the revenue engine, each wall-mount machine carries a 32-inch Android touchscreen capable of smooth, high-quality video. Our Australian software partner Vending on Track built the cloud server and a questionnaire that gates free dispensing. The machines were installed locally from our mounting drawings, not by us.
Five prototype machines came to about US$20,000 including the hardware, customisation and shipping, with the software and cloud platform a further US$20,000. The startup went on to raise funding and ordered fifty more units. See the free sanitary products case study and the period product vending machine guide.
Rules that apply to ads on vending screens
This is a summary for planning, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the regulator where the machine will stand. Facts as of October 2026.
- General advertising codes. A screen in a public place is advertising media. In the UK, the CAP Code’s scope includes “posters and other promotional media in public places, including moving images”. Other countries have their own codes, plus rules for specific categories such as alcohol, gambling and food.
- The sale still needs its information. In the US, operators covered by FDA’s vending rule (21 CFR 101.8: operators of 20 or more machines, or those who register voluntarily) must show calories for electronic machines before the customer buys. Advertising must not push that off the screen. See nutrition information display.
- Accessibility. Ads must not get in the way of the controls a customer needs. In the US, the 2010 ADA Standards apply the section 309 operable-parts rules to vending machines (§228.1).
- Privacy. Audience measurement that captures images of people brings data protection duties. Anonymous counting avoids most of them.
We build the screen and the platform to your specification. Responsibility for the content and its compliance sits with the operator and the advertiser.
What to specify if you want an advertising screen
- The site and its footfall. Where the machine stands, which way people walk, and any counts you have.
- Screen size, orientation and brightness, from the viewing distance and the light.
- Who supplies content and in what format. Images or video, portrait or landscape.
- What reporting advertisers will need: play logs, CTA reveals, an audience count, and whether a camera is acceptable at the site.
- The products and payment, because it is still a vending machine. See payments.
Published starting prices: KF10X22 with a 22-inch screen from USD 2,100; compact wall-mount units USD 800–1,500, with a larger screen adding to the price. See vending machine cost and touch screen vending machines for sale, or send your enquiry.
Where an advertising screen is the wrong answer
- Closed workforces. Industrial PPE, tool and MRO machines serve the same staff every shift. There is no audience to sell, and the screen’s job is login and selection.
- Low footfall. If a few dozen people pass a day, the screen will not cover its own cost in advertising. Buy for the products.
- Places where nobody should linger. A discreet health product in a clinic corridor or washroom may sell better from a quiet, screen-free machine.
- When you have nobody to sell the space. Unsold screen time earns nothing; use it for your own promotions instead.
Frequently asked questions
Can a vending machine make money from advertising?
Yes, if enough of the right people see the screen. The revenue comes from the audience, so it depends on footfall, how long people stay near the machine and who they are, not on the product margin. A machine in a busy transit concourse or campus foyer can sell its screen time; one in a back corridor usually cannot. Advertisers will also ask for proof that their content played, so the machine needs play logs and ideally an audience count.
How do ads play on a vending machine screen?
On KioskForce machines, images or videos are uploaded in the cloud dashboard and assigned to a group of machines, and they play as the idle screen when nobody is buying. Images play for a set duration, 60 seconds by default, and videos for their own length. When a customer taps the screen, the shopping interface takes over. An optional description can be attached, which appears as a QR code the customer can scan to read more.
What size screen does a vending machine need for advertising?
Larger than it needs for buying. A 10-inch screen read at arm’s length works for browsing and payment, but an advertisement has to catch someone walking past. KioskForce’s full-size KF10X22 uses a 22-inch screen for advertising and campaigns, and wall-mount units have been built with 32-inch Android touchscreens where on-screen advertising is the business model. Brightness matters as much as size: a screen that washes out near a window cannot carry an advertiser’s message.
How is the audience for vending machine ads measured?
The machine can log every play of every item, and the KioskForce advertising platform reports impressions, the duration of each advertisement and call-to-action reveals. To show how many people were actually in front of the screen, a machine can be fitted with millimetre-wave radar traffic counting, in technical preview, which counts people anonymously without a camera. Cameras can estimate attention, but they capture images of people and bring privacy obligations.
Who buys advertising on a vending machine screen?
Typically the brands whose products are in the machine, the venue promoting its own services or events, local businesses that want to reach the same footfall, and sponsors of a public program. Brand promotions tied to products in the machine are the easiest sale, because the advert and the purchase are a tap apart. Selling to outside advertisers needs audience numbers, a rate card and someone to sell and schedule the campaigns.
Are there rules for advertising on vending machine screens?
Yes. The general advertising rules of the country apply: in the UK, for example, the CAP Code covers posters and other promotional media in public places, including moving images. Product rules still apply too. In the US, operators covered by the FDA vending rule must show calories on electronic machines before purchase, so advertising must not crowd out the information needed to buy. Camera-based audience measurement raises data protection duties. Check the rules where the machine stands.
Does an industrial PPE vending machine need an advertising screen?
No. An industrial PPE, tool or MRO machine earns its return from controlled issue, per-worker records and less waste, not from ad impressions, and its audience is a closed workforce. Its screen is there for login, selection and instructions. Advertising screens belong in consumer-facing, high-footfall places such as transport, retail, hospitality and campuses. Specify the screen for the job, and leave out the media capability where there is no audience to sell.
References
- Advertising Standards Authority / CAP — “Scope of the Code”, UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising (CAP Code) (accessed 3 October 2026). https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_folder/scope-of-the-code.html
- US Food and Drug Administration — 21 CFR 101.8, “Vending machines”, eCFR (accessed 3 October 2026). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-101/subpart-A/section-101.8
- Information Commissioner’s Office — “CCTV and video surveillance” guidance (accessed 3 October 2026). https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/cctv-and-video-surveillance/
- US Access Board — “ADA Accessibility Standards” (§228.1, §309; accessed 3 October 2026). https://www.access-board.gov/ada/
- LITEMAX — “Outdoor Display Brightness Guide: How Many Nits Do You Need?” (26 May 2026). https://www.litemax.com/news-detail/Outdoor-Display-Brightness-Guide/
Related
- Smart vending machines: the hub for this cluster
- Touch screen vending machines for sale
- Choosing a vending machine touch screen
- Vending machine remote monitoring
- Vending machine software
- Can a vending machine make money from advertising?: the retail media background
Talk to us about a vending machine with an advertising screen
Send the site, the footfall you expect, the screen size you have in mind, the products and how many machines. We will come back with a configuration and a price.
Project brief · 60 seconds
What are we building together?
Three quick steps. Your brief goes straight to the engineers who design, build and support KioskForce systems.
