Vertical City
Vertical City operates a North American digital out-of-home advertising network built on elevator and lobby screens, serving property managers and advertisers across 1,800+ screens, 1,000+ buildings, and 130+ cities via its elev8 CMS and Vertical Impression ad platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersEdmonton, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Vertical City does
Vertical City operates a North American digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising network built on elevator and lobby screens installed in residential, commercial, hotel, hospital, government, university, and entertainment properties. Founded in 2014 in Edmonton, Alberta (originally as Visio Media, rebranded in October 2019), the company supplies free hardware, installation, and internet connectivity to qualifying buildings in exchange for a share of advertising revenue, while property managers retain use of the elev8 cloud-based CMS for tenant communication, local news, weather, and notices. The platform spans 1,800+ screens across 1,000+ buildings in 130+ cities, with 700+ screens added in the trailing year. The elev8 CMS supports multilingual (English, French, Spanish) dashboards, Smart Triggers driven by weather, time, and day-of-week conditions, and integrations with property management systems (Condo Control, Building Link, GeniePad) and programmatic advertising partners (Vistar, Hivestack, Place Exchange, Broadsign). Pricing for buildings is freemium; revenue is generated via the Vertical Impression advertising sub-brand, which uses AI-powered ad targeting and anonymous audience detection to deliver and measure campaigns.
The company's revenue model is a dual-sided platform play: free hardware and software to property managers (a customer-acquisition cost treated as an upfront capex), monetized through programmatic and direct DOOH advertising on captive elevator audiences. Enterprise property management customers include Oxford Properties, Bentall Green Oak, First Service Residential, Melcor Developments, Mainstreet Equity Corp., Urbandale Corporation, Midwest Property Management, Mayfair Properties, Crossbridge Capital, and Dell Property. Vertical City was the first Canadian DOOH communication firm to receive Privacy by Design certification (audited by KPMG, issued by PECB MS in 2020), and operates with a remote-first team of 34 employees distributed across offices in Edmonton, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal, and Kelowna. Leadership includes CEO and founder Fouad El-Masri, Executive Chairman/Co-CEO Bruce Johnson (former co-founder and CEO of Intuit Canada and Chair of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute), CFO and Privacy Officer Kevin Gunderman (former CFO of BioWare), and VP/Co-Founder Nicolette Leonardis. Early-stage funding has been disclosed only from Accelerate Fund (2020), with no publicly reported valuation or institutional round.
In July 2023 Vertical City and Vertical Impression announced expansion into the United States alongside programmatic partnerships with Vistar, Hivestack, Place Exchange, and Broadsign, marking the company's largest strategic shift to date and broadening the addressable market beyond Canada into commercial, hotel, entertainment, hospital, government, and university verticals. Recent product expansion includes multilingual support (English, French, Spanish) launched in September 2023 to support Quebec operations and US Hispanic-market growth.
Vertical City firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Vertical City
- Legal name
- Vertical City
- Website
- https://verticalcity.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Vertical City operates a North American digital out-of-home advertising network built on elevator and lobby screens, serving property managers and advertisers across 1,800+ screens, 1,000+ buildings, and 130+ cities via its elev8 CMS and Vertical Impression ad platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Vertical City industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Out-of-Home Advertising
- NAICS
- Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (541850)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Smart Elevators, Escalators & Vertical Transportation (HSAPAPAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Industry-Specific Low-Code Platforms (Vertical App Platforms) (HDAEAKAL)
Keywords
Where Vertical City is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Edmonton
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Vertical City business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Advertising Revenue (Vertical Impression): Primary revenue stream from digital out-of-home advertising displayed on elevator and lobby screens. The company shares revenue from ads with building partners.
- Revenue Share with Buildings: Buildings receive a generous supplemental revenue stream from any ads that run on their screens. The company covers costs of hardware, internet, and installation.
- Screen Network Monetization: Property networks can monetize their screen infrastructure through integration with the DOOH advertising network.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free screens for qualifying buildings |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Vertical City product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Vertical City installs and operates digital elevator and lobby screens inside residential, commercial, and institutional buildings, powering them with its cloud-based elev8 content management system. Buildings qualify to receive screens, hardware, internet, and installation at no cost, while Vertical City monetizes the resulting screen network through programmatic digital out-of-home advertising sold under its Vertical Impression brand and shares a portion of that ad revenue back with property partners.
Product overview
Vertical City is a multi-product platform comprising elevator and lobby digital screen systems, the elev8 cloud-based CMS software, and Vertical Impression advertising technology. The core offering consists of hardware (Screen Solutions), the elev8 content management platform powering 1800+ screens across 1000+ buildings, and the Vertical Impression AI-powered advertising network. Buildings receive free hardware installation and ongoing maintenance while generating revenue through ad shares. The elev8 platform enables property managers to post notices, schedule content, and manage building communications from any device, with integrations to Condo Control, Building Link, and programmatic ad partners (Vistar, Hivestack, Place Exchange, Broadsign).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- elev8: The company's content management system (CMS) that powers elevator and lobby screen networks, enabling property managers to post notices and monetize screens through advertising.
- Vertical Impression
Products and services
- Screen Solutions
Quantifiable outcome
- Add elevator and lobby screens within 6 weeks of qualification
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Vertical City
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Vertical City technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
AI capability3 records
Feature6 records
Vertical City partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- VistarcoreProgrammatic advertising partner providing mediation solution that connects Vistar's ad server to multiple SSPs and hosts unified auctions for ad spots.
- HivestackcoreProgrammatic advertising partner enabling seamless advertising solutions across the North American network.
- Place ExchangecoreProgrammatic advertising partner for DOOH advertising solutions.
- BroadsigncoreProgrammatic advertising partner supporting the digital out-of-home advertising network.
- Condo Control CentralcoreIntegration partnership allowing Condo Control users to share building notices directly to Vertical City elevator and lobby screens. Management can draft and send announcements using Condo Control's Announcements feature and post them directly to screens.
- Daily HivecorePartnership with Canadian digital publication for hyper-local content featuring on elevator and lobby screens in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary.
- CBC NewscoreNational news partnership providing breaking and in-depth reporting of local, national, and international news on all elevator and lobby screens. French-language news also provided for Quebec screens.
- Citytv (Rogers Media)coreCitytv stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, and Montreal provide intensely-local, urban-oriented, culturally-diverse television programming for screens.
- Daily HivecoreHyper-local content and news partnership providing local news, recommendations, and city insights for Ontario, Alberta, and BC screens.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Vertical City competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Pattison Outdoor: One of Canada's largest out-of-home advertising companies operating billboards, transit, and digital signage networks nationwide. Comparable as a broad OOH incumbent with digital inventory and Canadian market scale, but with a wider product set than elevator-focused players.
- STRATACACHE: Large US digital signage hardware, software, and services company serving retail, stadiums, and commercial real estate. Comparable as a digital signage platform and network operator with a much broader hardware-and-software portfolio than Vertical City.
- Hivestack: Programmatic DOOH supply-side platform that powers automated ad buying for DOOH networks including Vertical City. Comparable as a partner and a competing ad-tech layer in the programmatic DOOH ecosystem.
- Vistar Media: Leading programmatic DOOH ad server and SSP, providing unified auction infrastructure to networks like Vertical City. Comparable as both a partner and an ad-tech layer that competes for the programmatic DOOH dollars flowing through the ecosystem.
- Intersection: A major US-based digital out-of-home (DOOH) media company operating screens across transit, airports, and urban environments, including LinkNYC. Comparable as a broad DOOH incumbent that monetizes captive-audience digital screens, but with a much wider portfolio than Vertical City's elevator focus.
- Broadsign: Global DOOH ad platform providing CMS, ad serving, and programmatic capabilities to digital signage networks. Both a Vertical City partner and a comparable ad-tech infrastructure provider for the DOOH ecosystem.
Direct peers
- Cineplex Digital Media: Canadian DOOH network operator with screens in theaters, retail, and commercial real estate, including digital signage and programmatic capabilities. Comparable as a Canadian DOOH peer expanding into building and venue digital advertising.
- Loop Media: US-based digital out-of-home media company that streams content to screens in restaurants, retail, and commercial venues. Comparable as a digital signage content/network operator targeting captive in-building audiences.
- Captivate: The largest North American elevator and office-tower digital screen advertising network, operating across office buildings in major US and Canadian markets. Direct competitor to Vertical City in the elevator/lobby digital screen advertising category with similar product and customer profile.
Emerging players
- Place Exchange: Programmatic supply-side platform purpose-built for DOOH, connecting networks to omnichannel DSPs. Comparable as both a Vertical City partner and a competing programmatic infrastructure layer in the same DOOH ad ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Vertical City social profiles
Digital presenceVertical City compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Vertical City financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Vertical City leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Vertical City subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Vertical City funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Vertical City M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Vertical City
What does Vertical City do?
Vertical City installs and operates digital elevator and lobby screens inside residential, commercial, and institutional buildings, powering them with its cloud-based elev8 content management system. Buildings qualify to receive screens, hardware, internet, and installation at no cost, while Vertical City monetizes the resulting screen network through programmatic digital out-of-home advertising sold under its Vertical Impression brand and shares a portion of that ad revenue back with property partners.
Is Vertical City a public or private company?
Vertical City is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Vertical City founded?
Vertical City was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Vertical City based?
Vertical City is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Vertical City make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Advertising Revenue (Vertical Impression) is the primary driver. The others are revenue Share with Buildings and screen Network Monetization.
Who are Vertical City's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Pattison Outdoor, STRATACACHE, Hivestack, Vistar Media, Intersection and Broadsign. Direct peers are Cineplex Digital Media, Loop Media and Captivate. Place Exchange is listed as an emerging player.
Does Vertical City have an API?
No public API is recorded for Vertical City.
What industry is Vertical City in?
Vertical City's product category is Digital Out-of-Home Advertising. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSAPAPAH, Smart Elevators, Escalators & Vertical Transportation, with a secondary code of HDAEAKAL, Industry-Specific Low-Code Platforms (Vertical App Platforms). Its NAICS code is 541850.