Does subway advertising work?

[coolbusinessideas]

There's a relatively new advertising technology which works like an animation and is shown to subway riders. Many still images are placed on a stretch of tunnel wall. The images are transformed into a mini-movie advertisement as the train goes by. More information in this article I wrote.

I'm intrigued by this new advertising technology. Will it be effective and perform better than traditional advertisements?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
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[adigaskell]

I guess it will be like alot of advertising in that it will initially grab peoples attention because of the innovative method of delivery. As people become more used to it however it will probably blend into the background with the rest of advertising methods.
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[thejack]

I would imagine the cost involved is pretty high. Instead of one frame/poster, now you need hundreds just for one ad.

It is a cool thing though, and would catch my eye the first times I saw it.
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[foundThroughAdminSig]

I think it's one of more effective ways to advertise. Even if you take subway from one station to another, you are exposed to ads for minutes, not seconds. There is nothing much to do while you are in a train, so there is a good chance that people notice ads.
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[redsand]

What about marketing OF the subway... for example "Mind the Gap" shirts that I bought in London ... hehehe
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[Nathan]

I'm sure the cost would be high... but man, why didn't someone think if this before? Great idea!
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[-=Hero Doug=-]

Isn't this method of advertising meant to be placed outside the train on the walls.

I don't see how it would be so effective if you site right in front of it when you need to be walking past it for it to work.

I personally wouldn't spend money on it.

During rush hours when there are a lot of people on the train to see the ad, there will also be a lot of people on the platform waiting for other trains, blocking the ad.

Plus, people will need to be looking out the window at just the right time to see the ad.

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[redsand]

I wouldn't pay for it either ... unless I had money to burn ... so hard to gauge ROI on this type of a deal
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[savialeigh]

Whether the technique would be effective depends a lot on the placement of the ads. As noted, if the ads are on the platforms, rush hour traffic will block a lot of it out. However, if they placed the ads in the tunnels and lighted them, they might be very effective. The light would draw attention, and the movie effect would keep the attention. That would also let the subway system sell a lot more ads, and generate revenue from space that isn't doing anything else.

I would hope to see targeted ads in that space - if near station B there is a club, restaurant, retailer, and the ads on the wall promote that venue, then the advertising would also promote increased ridership of the subway. People who never got off at station B might get off to visit that establishment, then pay an additional fare to get on and go home. That brings increased revenue to the advertiser, the subway, and likely to other establishments between the advertiser and the station, which results in establishing an image for the neighborhood as a place to go. Everyone could benefit if it were handled that way. Wouldn't that be a nice change?

If you travel the DC subway system (and since the majority here seem to be in England, I doubt any of you have) the bulk of what you see are ads about how beneficial Xcompany is to government. They're almost all image ads, not product ads.They mean absolutely nothing to me. I'd love to see that be only ads for places near the station. Of course, little places can't afford saturation advertising, so they rarely get an ad in the subway system. I doubt the transit authority would be willing to tamper with gauranteed revenues to try lower priced ad space sold to neighborhood businesses as a way to test the increased ridership potential.

[redsand]

How much do these ads cost anyways?
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