What are the disadvantages and advantages of transit advertising?

Answer 1

Advantages

• Exposure to one ad can be long if the ad is inside a transit vehicle.

• Frequency, the number of times a viewer is exposed to an ad, may be high if the viewer uses the same method of transportation repeatedly. For example, a person may ride the same subway to and from work 10 times a week.

• Ads on the exterior of buses and cabs are seen by large and diverse audiences. You can also say that some of the audience is captive, too, if you consider the number of drivers stuck behind a bus or the number of walkers waiting for a stopped bus to move past.

• The ad message can be timely because often the person riding mass transit is on the way to shop, eat or visit an entertainment outlet.

• Ads can be geographically targeted because you know the people are all in a certain area at a certain time.

• Ads can be lifestyle targeted in some instances. Some transportation travels through very distinctive neighborhoods.

• This method of advertising tends to be quite inexpensive in both absolute and relative terms.

Disadvantages

• Your ad design is usually limited to the size of frames or holders you ad will be placed in.

• People on mass transit are often not in a receptive mood or they may be so used to ads appearing in certain spaces that they don't even see them.

• Transit ads are hard to target. Your ad reaches a lot of people, but many are not even potential customers.

• You may not have mass transit in your advertising area. For example, many cities and towns don't have subways or bus service.

• Subways, buses or other mass transit environments may not suit the product image.

• The surroundings may detract from your message. A mud-splashed bus, a graffiti-sprayed subway car or a crumbling subway entrance wall may not be the showcase you had in mind.