7 August 2007
APN Outdoor study reveals rail advertising is a great way to target 18 to 24 year olds

Most rail commuters find advertising on stations and carriages to be a good source of information, providing entertainment and a welcome distraction, especially for young consumers, according to a new study undertaken by APN Outdoor.

The study, which is part of APN Outdoor’s consumer and research program, Ozone, found that 51 per cent of those surveyed believed advertising was a good source of information, which often prompted them to seek further details of products or services.

The study also found that 48 per cent of respondents made a mental note of something they had seen advertised while 47 per cent visited a website, store or phoned the relevant advertiser to find out more information.

For advertisers targeting the hard to reach 18 to 24 year old market, the rail commuter environment recorded a high concentration of this usually very elusive audience - with a third of its commuters’ aged 18 to 24 years of age.

In the study, APN Outdoor wanted to gauge the extent in which commuters engaged with cross-track advertising and whether they were receptive to ads, if platform ads were relevant, and if they were a resource for commuters’ purchasing decisions.

Asked if rail advertisements caught them at times when they had time to think, 59 per cent of respondents agreed.

Among respondents, 41 per cent said ads were often entertaining, and 38 per cent believed ads were aimed at people like them. More than a quarter - 27 per cent - also said ads had prompted them to buy products.

The study found that the rail environment played an essential and integral role in commuter’s lives with 92 per cent of respondents familiar with their local station, 91 per cent saying they took the train as part of their daily lives, and 85 per cent of respondents relied on rail to get around.

For advertisers, the study revealed the type of advertising rail commuters were most interested in including new technology, music and entertainment, internet sites, travel, fashion, health / beauty products, cars, sports, alcoholic beverages, property and financial advice of information

APN General Manager Sales and Marketing, Tony Prentice, said: “Our study shows rail commuters are generally positive towards the medium, with a large number of commuters interacting and engaging with ads positively. It showed the rail environment is an ideal opportunity for advertisers to reach commuters every day while they are waiting for their trains. Few other advertising environments have such an important role for consumers.”

“Rail advertisements can make a real impact on audiences, their prevalence on platforms delivers greater frequency and penetration into the everyday lives of the particular rail commuter audience the advertiser is trying to reach,” he said.

“An investment in rail advertising can pay dividends for advertisers through the mediums ability to bring the message closer to the commuter’s immediate vicinity, as well as closer to point-of-sale opportunities, increased awareness and sales revenue for advertisers.

“By utilising outdoor media products such as rail advertising as part of an entire media plan, advertisers can access a cost effective, highly targeted medium that reaches audiences that are cost-prohibitive for other media to reach, has huge visual appeal and ensures advertisers achieve maximum coverage of their target markets.”

According to the study, 31 per cent of rail commuters were aged 18 to 24, while 25 per cent were aged 25 to 34, another 11 per cent were aged 35 to 39, and 19 per cent aged 40 to 54. A further 14 per cent were 55 and over.

The aim of the study was to uncover new insights into the rail commuter to determine what role rail and it’s advertising played in their lives and how commuters interacted and engaged with cross-track advertising, as well as highlighting the communication opportunities for advertisers with the medium.

Two levels of research were undertaken to help guide the study including the use of AC Nielsen’s Online (Omnibus) survey and surveys conducted by APN Outdoor in Sydney with rail commuters aged 18 plus over three days, using a sample size of [320] people.

Key findings:

• On a typical day, over 1 million people travel on CityRail
• 54% of rail commuters are “GenY”, “NetGen” or the “Millennial” generation
• 31% of Sydney rail commuters are people 18-24 years old
• 91% take the train as part of daily life
• 85% rely on rail to get around
• 59% think ads catch them when they have time to think
• 51% agree ads liven up platforms
• 59% notice when advertising changes
• 42 % read ads time and time again
• 38% believe ads are aimed at people like them
• 51% find ads a good source of information
• 47% visited a website or store to find out more information as a result of the viewing rail ads
• 34% have tried or bought something that was advertised
• 20% talked about something that they had read in an ad

About APN Outdoor’s Ozone Program

APN Outdoor’s Ozone consumer insights and research program is a series of consumer studies aimed to understand how people interact with and respond to outdoor advertising.

In 2005, APN Outdoor commissioned The Leading Edge to conduct its first research study into how consumers think about, embrace and interact with different media and outdoor media.

For further information please contact:
Misty Cambray
Product Marketing Manager
APN Outdoor
Direct: 02 8569 3125
mistycambray@apnoutdoor.com.au
www.apnoutdoor.com.au

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