Vroom To It: Advantages of Transit Advertising

Hi Weekly Report readers! Communication Specialist Kennedy Heidel here, filling in for Dave Saunders. Between boats, planes, trains, and automobiles, Dave has had a very big travel week and asked me to write this week’s Weekly Report.
Just like my boss, it seems like we’re always in motion. Whether we’re commuting to work, catching a bus or a train in the big city, or simply finding our way to a new place. 

Although Americans have been commuting less over the past two years, the average amount of time people spent commuting in 2019 was a record high of almost 28 minutes. As they say, time is money. For advertisers, this is a unique opportunity to reach people in motion. 

Transit advertising is a popular type of out-of-home (OOH) or outdoor billboard advertising that is found on the outside (or inside) of public vehicles like buses, trains, subways, airports, cabs, and also in the transit terminals/stations. Today, you can even be served transit ads on your navigation app (think Waze for example.) 

At Madison+Main, we’ve created and placed various forms of transit advertising for clients who wanted to get their product or service in front of commuters and travelers. Based on your marketing plan goals, transit advertising might be a beneficial tactic for the following reasons:

Long-Time Exposure
That’s one of the biggest advantages of a transit ad. An average ride on public transport lasts for 30 minutes where passengers have nothing else to do and nowhere to go. It’s a captive audience. 

Frequency
Our daily routines are just that — routine. Commuters are likely to be exposed to ads along their route 10 times each week, to and from work. Folks who ride buses, subways, and or commute to work, are likely exposed to the ads repeatedly. The locations of station and shelter signs also afford a high frequency of exposure.

Geographic Targeting
For local advertisers, in particular, transit advertising provides an opportunity to reach a very select segment of the population, in and around a local market. A purchase of a location in a certain neighborhood will lead to exposure to people of specific ethnic backgrounds, demographic characteristics, and so on. For example, if the majority of your customers are in the West End of Richmond, you probably only need to consider a billboard placement on I-64, the major artery that connects Richmond to that demographic. 

Cost-Effective
Transit advertising tends to be one of the less expensive forms of media in terms of both absolute and relative costs. An ad on the side of a bus can be purchased for a very reasonable CPM (cost per thousand). 
On the go pretty often? Go on then — call us to help with your transit marketing efforts — 877-623-6246.