Dynamo LED Displays built bespoke 2.5mm LED tickers for the launch of the Beats by Dre Solo Pro noise-cancelling headphones at Harrods, London. Mounted vertically inside the display cases, the tickers played animated noise until a shopper stood on a floor pad, which switched every ticker to a calm solid colour. Installed in one evening while the store was closed.
Updated October 2026. Case study first published August 2021.
Project facts
| Client | Beats by Dre, the Apple-owned headphone brand, for the launch of the Solo Pro |
| Location | Harrods, Knightsbridge, London |
| Display | Bespoke 2.5mm pixel pitch LED tickers, mounted vertically inside the Solo Pro display cases |
| Interaction | A pad set into the shop floor; standing on it switches the content on every ticker |
| Content | Busy animated “noise” graphics in the resting state, a calm solid colour when the pad is triggered |
| Installation | One evening, while the store was closed |
| Scope | Bespoke ticker build, floor-pad interactivity, installation |
The brief: make noise cancelling visible
The Solo Pro was the first Beats on-ear headphone with active noise cancelling, and the brand wanted shoppers to feel the difference before they put a pair on. The idea was simple: fill the display cases with visual noise, then let the customer cancel it. Dynamo answered with a set of bespoke LED tickers wired to a single trigger in the floor.
What Dynamo installed
Bespoke 2.5mm LED tickers, mounted vertically
Each display case carries a tall, narrow LED ticker standing on end behind the glass, so the moving graphics run up the case beside the headphones rather than along a wall. The tickers were built to the dimensions of the cases rather than taken from stock. At 2.5mm pixel pitch the Beats logo and the “New Solo Pro” copy stay sharp at the arm’s length a shopper stands from the glass.
A floor pad that cancels the noise
A pad set into the floor in front of the cases is marked “Stand here to cancel the noise”. While nobody is on it the tickers play a hectic animated pattern, the visual equivalent of a noisy street. Step on it and every ticker switches at once to a calm, solid colour. Step off and the noise returns. It is a one-second demonstration of what the headphones do, with no staff involved.
Installed in one evening while the store was closed
Department-store launches are fitted out between closing time and the next morning’s opening, so the tickers, the floor pad and the control wiring went in during a single evening with the store shut. Dynamo has worked at Harrods on several launches since, including the 27 LED tickers in the Brompton Road windows and the Oculus Quest 2 launch windows.
Current Dynamo options for an interactive LED ticker
Dynamo builds LED tickers from 80 mm to 960 mm tall, with 94 mm and 250 mm the standard heights, and the LEDs are rated for 100,000 hours. A ticker can be mounted horizontally, vertically or around a curve, and the control system can switch content from a floor pad, a button, a sensor or a schedule. For a 250 mm ticker the current default is the DIT Pro P1.9, with the DX Series as the alternative. The figures below are per 1 m × 250 mm cabinet; DIT Pro figures are from the supplier specification and DX figures from the DX Series datasheet. No prices are given here.
| Model | Pixel pitch | Height | Pixels per 1 m × 250 mm cabinet | Brightness | Suited to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIT Pro P1.9 | 1.95mm | 250 mm | 512 × 128 px | 600 nits | Display cases and counters read at arm’s length, logos and small type |
| DX2.5 | 2.5mm | 250 mm | 400 × 100 px | 800 nits or more | Tickers read from across a shop floor |
| DX3.9 | 3.9mm | 250 mm | 256 × 64 px | 800 nits or more | Long runs and window tickers read from the pavement |
Where the floor itself should respond to the customer, Dynamo’s interactive LED floor uses touch-sensing LED tiles rated for foot traffic. For shaped or non-standard builds see custom LED displays, and for message runs see scrolling LED displays.
Related Dynamo interactive and Harrods projects
- Interactive LED tickers for Paco Rabanne at Selfridges
- 27 LED tickers in the Harrods windows
- Audemars Piguet LED screen hire at Harrods
- LED screens for the Louis Vuitton x Kusama collaboration
- Interactive LED wall for BTS Arirang at Outernet London
Interactive LED tickers: frequently asked questions
What is an interactive LED ticker?
An interactive LED ticker is a long, narrow LED display whose content changes in response to the people around it rather than running a fixed loop. The trigger can be a pad in the floor, a button, a motion or proximity sensor, or a phone. At Harrods a single floor pad switched every Beats by Dre ticker from animated noise to a solid colour.
How does a floor pad trigger an LED display?
The pad contains a pressure switch. When someone stands on it the switch closes and sends a signal to the display controller, which swaps the playlist or scene for as long as the pad is pressed and returns to the resting content when it is released. Several displays can hang off one trigger so they all change together, as the Beats cases did.
What pixel pitch does a retail LED ticker need?
Choose the pitch for the closest distance a customer will normally stand. Inside a display case or on a counter that is about an arm’s length, which points to 1.9mm to 2.5mm so that logos and small type stay sharp. A ticker read from across the shop floor or from the pavement can use 2.5mm to 3.9mm and costs less per metre.
Can an LED ticker be mounted vertically?
Yes. An LED ticker is a run of modules in a housing, and the housing can stand on end, lie flat or follow a curve. Content is produced for the orientation of the run, so a vertical ticker scrolls up or down rather than sideways. The Beats by Dre tickers stood vertically inside the display cases to match the shape of the headphone stands.
How long does it take to install LED tickers in a department store?
A set of pre-built tickers with power and data already run to the cases can be fitted, wired and tested in one evening between closing and opening, which is how the Beats by Dre launch at Harrods was done. Bespoke housings are built off site beforehand, and the floor pad and cabling are planned with the store’s fit-out team so nothing is cut on the night.
Get a quote for an interactive LED ticker
Send us the length and height of the run, where it will be mounted and how you want it to react to customers, and we will come back with a pixel pitch, a build drawing and a written quote. Get a quote or call 020 3489 9878.
