Advantages and Disadvantages of Transit Ads.

First of all, what is transit ads?

Transit ads are basically advertisements that are placed on anything which moves, such as buses, subway advertising, truck side, and taxis, but also includes fixed static and electronic advertising at train and bus stations and platforms. (Wikipedia, 2011, online)

 Stone, A. (2011) Taxi Advertising is perfect way to advertise your business: Drive Your Product in Regard to Target Market with Taxi Ads. [online] Available at: http://taxiadvertisingcampaign.blogspot.com/2011/05/drive-your-product-in-regard-to-target.html [Accessed: 7 Nov 2012].

 Kabak, B. (2008) NYC Transit unveils an anti-graffiti/advertising pilot program :: Second Ave. Sagas. [online] Available at: http://secondavenuesagas.com/2008/12/17/nyc-transit-unveils-an-anti-graffitiadvertising-pilot-program/ [Accessed: 7 Nov 2012].

This is called bus wrap.

-Ads that covers the entire surface of a bus.

Crankycreative.com (2009) transit advertising | transit advertising | Ignite Your Mind | Cranky Creative Idea Blog. [online] Available at: http://www.crankycreative.com/sandbox/blog/?Tag=transit%20advertising [Accessed: 7 Nov 2012].

Some examples of transit ads above.

Advantages

1.Low Cost
Traditional advertising methods can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but transit advertising methods cost few thousand dollars.

2.High Impact
-Unique and eye catching presentation ensures higher retention rates.
-Your advertisement is effective, every minute it is displayed on the streets.
-Target your consumers with far more accurate reach and frequency.
-Flexibility to expose your brand/service to peak hour traffic, create general exposure in high crowd density locations, or use in conjunction with point of sale promotions, all in one day.
-Stunning Internal lighting system allows for brilliant night time campaigns.


 3.Maneuverability
-Utilizing our comprehensive crowd density, locality, and events databases we add value through our ability to choose precise locations to transit and park your Trans-Ad.
-Advertising locations are based where it matters most - continually assessed each moment to gain extreme exposure.
-Advertising can be geographically targeted because you know the people are all in a certain area at a certain time. 
-Reaches a broad section of the population
-Messages reinforced through frequent exposure, you can't ignore it.

4.General
-It offers flexibility of ad size and location. (Kobliski.K, 2005, online)
-Outdoor has proven time and again that it provides strong market penetration and high sales results. Whether you are looking to utilize our Trans Ads to spearhead your campaign, or as a complementary support media, we can significantly raise the profile and increase the impact of your campaign.
-At the completion of your campaign, you will be provided with a comprehensive report, detailing all aspects of the exposure achieved, and including photos/video for further promotional needs.
(eXtreme.e, online)


Disadvantages 

-Limits in terms of message design. It must meet several conditions: to be short, can be remote-received by people who are generally in motion (Leonado.T, 2011, online)

-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.

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

-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. (Wiki, 1950, online)

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

-Vandalism will occur with having public advertisements.

-The weather could also destroy the billboard. (Yahoo, 2008, online)







References :

1.», G. (1950) What are the disadvantages and advantages of transit advertising. [online] Available at: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_disadvantages_and_advantages_of_transit_advertising [Accessed: 7 Nov 2012].

2.Answers.yahoo.com (2008) What are the advantages and disadvantages of advertising on a billboard? - Yahoo! Answers. [online] Available at: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090111134954AAcjEQr [Accessed: 7 Nov 2012].

3.En.wikipedia.org (2011) Out-of-home advertising - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out-of-home_advertising [Accessed: 7 Nov 2012].

4.Teleanu.com (2011) Outdoor advertising: advantages and disadvantages – Leonardo Teleanu - logo & brand identity designer. [online] Available at: http://www.teleanu.com/outdoor-advertising-advantages-and-disadvantages/ [Accessed: 7 Nov 2012].

5.Extremeexposure.com.au (n.d.) eXtreme eXposure :: the transit advertising experts. [online] Available at: http://www.extremeexposure.com.au/Advantages.htm [Accessed: 7 Nov 2012].

6.Kobliski, K. (2005) The Advantages of Transit Advertising - Outdoor Ads | Entrepreneur.com. [online] Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/76826 [Accessed: 7 Nov 2012].

7.Google.com.my (n.d.) [online] Available at: http://www.google.com.my/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarketing.bgca.org%2FGettingStarted%2FAdvertising%2FDocuments%2FAdvertisingChannelPro-con.doc&ei=DpyaUIqMN4bxrQfPqIGgDA&usg=AFQjCNGcNGH_5Tcp4NzWE_msuVhpwXR-3A&sig2=TpxKR4FaiqMAFz3FIrnWbA [Accessed: 7 Nov 2012].



Shu Man