By Leigh Andrews

There’s been a definite move away from static bus-stop branding to mobile bus branding. Bus branding is effective as your message is on the move, and therefore has a higher chance of being seen by your target audience. After all, the purpose of a bus-stop is to serve as a place to wait for your bus to arrive. If the bus-stop is full, passersby are less likely to read the message.

Johannesburg PEP took advantage of this when it re-wrapped ten Metrobus double-deckers in colourful graphics in February. These buses travel some of Joburg’s busiest commuter routes between the CBD and main suburbs, to maintain top-of-mind brand awareness. Says SP Media CEO, Charl Timms: "Fully-wrapped double-decker buses have a branded surface area of ninety-nine square metres. A fully-wrapped Metrobus is almost impossible to ignore.” Bus exteriors are seen by volumes of traffic, pedestrians and passengers daily, generating far more brand impressions than possible with a static medium. Craig Doubtfire, ComutaNet’s General Manager of Sales, agrees: “Branded buses are huge mobile billboards which deliver excellent visibility and clear communication to both the rural and the urban commuter market.”

While external branding possibilities are endless, there are also numerous exciting possibilities to brand public transport internally. Massiv TV was launched at the Loerie Awards in July last year, providing packaged information and entertainment shows to commuters. Programming is delivered in two two-hour loops, providing fresh content daily to a captive audience of commuters. This gives brands measurable viewership through sophisticated tracking technology. There are also endless internal transit branding possibilities in terms of posters and banners.

I interviewed SP Media CEO, Charl Timms and ComutaNet’s GM of Sales, Craig Doubtfire, on the topic of transit advertising, and recorded their views on this lucrative medium separately.

The SP Media Interview, with CEO, Charl Timms

LA: Do you feel there been a move from static bus-stop advertising to mobile bus/taxi branding, or does bus/taxi-stop branding still have a place?
CT: Bus advertising has grown in the last seven years by 32% with a national audience of 12 950-million. The medium is extremely unique in the fact that you can reach two distinctly segmented target markets at one time. The exterior of the buses are viewed by motorists, who generally fall into a higher LSM bracket of 6 to 10, while the commuters travelling on the buses mainly consist of LSM 5 to 7, using the bus as a method of transport. I believe bus/taxi-stop branding still has its place, as it communicates specifically with the commuter target audience at the point from which they depart to work or home. So to answer your question, I believe that bus/taxi-stop advertising falls into a static medium category and therefore does not compete directly with a motion/transit medium - and that both are essential in specific application to the brand and target audience communication. However, I strongly believe that transit media does have a far better reach and frequency than any static medium.

LA: Can you tell me more about advertising/ using media while IN transit, such as the launch of Massiv TV in taxis last year?
CT: From an internal bus advertising point of view, research indicates that 42.5% of Metrobus commuters spend on average 20 to 30 minutes on a bus, travelling to or from work. As a captive audience, this allows for highly effective engagement marketing opportunities to demonstrate the power of brand values, and enables the clear delivery of brand messages and value propositions. Through internal branding, like interior strips and activations, the campaign can be re-inforced with sampling promotions and brand experience en route. With the launch of Massiv TV, a powerful internal communication vessel is now able to inform, communicate and advertise to a captive audience, and as a cost-effective medium, should be going from strength to strength.

LA: What’s your opinion on the future of transit marketing – what new developments do you foresee?
CA: In my opinion, based on the expansion trend within the SP Media business, the future for transit marketing appears to be bright, based on the increase of major national brands using this alternative media solution. Metrobus advertising does not compete with traditional/classic mediums, but is rather a media solution that enhances an overall brand campaign. This transit medium is cost-effective and larger than life, with a high reach and frequency which provides brands with a breakthrough opportunity to demonstrate their individual brand value. To date, there has been a huge increase in material development and wrapping application, which allows for much quicker turn-around time. This development will steer the transit media sector into a direction which allows advertisers to use the medium for shorter, more direct and retail-driven campaigns. With technology such as Massiv TV advertising, I believe the medium would become a much stronger contender for consideration as it allows for a holistic marketing platform providing the target audience with a complete brand message, exposure and experience.

The ComutaNet interview, with General Manager of Sales, Craig Doubtfire:

LA: Do you feel there has been a move from static bus-stop advertising to mobile bus/taxi branding, or does bus/taxi-stop branding still have a place?
CD: Absolutely - clients are looking for media types that grab consumers’ attention. Research has shown that ‘mobile’ or transit media is certainly more impactful than static media, as static media inevitably becomes wall paper in a cluttered media environment.

LA: Can you tell me more about advertising/ using media while IN transit, such as ComutaNet’s Star Radio?
CD: ComutaNet uses interior taxi, bus and train advertising as a means of enhancing a media campaign and to optimise the advertising message to a captive South African audience. Additionally, Star Taxi Music, which is distributed to 11 500 taxi drivers, contains the latest music genres interspersed with advertisements.

LA: What’s your opinion on the future of transit marketing – what new developments do you foresee?
CD: Transit marketing will continue to evolve as it is a dynamic media platform. An innovative way to ensure quality interaction with a captive transit audience is in-taxi promotions. In this form of promotion, branded promoters perform one-on-one promotions in the captive arena of the taxi while the vehicle is in transit. Various information-sourcing devices, such as potable DVD players and PDA devices, are used to educate commuters en route to their destinations.

It seems that while there’s still a need for static transport marketing, such as bus and taxi-stop branding, the rise of transit marketing, targeting would-be consumers while they’re on the move, is definitely the way of the future.

SP Media owns the Johannesburg Metrobus media contract. Joburg Metrobus offers 450 mobile sites, on over 80 of the city’s main arterial roads. For more information, contact 011 879 1948 or info@spmedia.co.za.

ComutaNet offers South African marketers access to more than 20-million commuters. ComutaNet"s eleven media platforms include Rank TV, Star Taxi Music, Commuter FM, Star Radio, Taxi, Bus, Train and Trailer Advertising, Commuter Outdoor platforms and Interactive Promotional Campaigns. For more information, visit www.comutanet.co.za.