Have you ever found yourself on a platform, casually glancing around, when the vibrant colours of an ad plastered on a passing train catches your eye? Before you know it, you’re hooked, reading a smart tagline or viewing an engaging creative that makes you smile. Well, Mondelez pulled off something similar, but with a little twist. For their Diwali campaign, Cadbury Celebrations partnered with IRCTC to help people secure last-minute train tickets, ensuring that families can come together for Diwali, no matter the distance. The campaign featured two distinctive purple coloured Cadbury Celebrations coaches that travelled across the country, boosting brand visibility while also embodying the spirit of connection & togetherness that defines Diwali.
“Train branding lends a layer of authenticity to the initiative. Beyond enhancing on-ground awareness, it underlines the credibility of this initiative among the passengers and general audiences. Reiterating the fact that Cadbury is genuinely helping people secure a confirmed seat, so that they can get home in time for Diwali,” says Sukesh Nayak, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy.
From covering the entirety of trains in bold campaigns to adorning autos with quirky slogans, transit advertising has been making public transport a lot more interesting—and profitable! The BEST buses across Mumbai were once instantly recognisable due to their signature red colour. Now, you’ll see buses draped in vibrant shades of purple promoting Instax or bold blues representing Imagicaa, signalling a lively shift in urban advertising.
“We’re seeing more brands use transit advertising across various categories like education, FMCG, BFSI, and entertainment. A key trend is customising and tailoring ads to fit specific contexts, which enhances their effectiveness. QR codes are also increasingly used in long-distance trains and metros to engage passengers interactively,” explains Vinkoo Chakraborty, President, Rapport Chrome (an OOH arm of IPG Mediabrands India).
Why Transit Ads Take the Fast Lane to Engagement
Well, when people are on the move, they’re a captive audience, whether they like it or not. And brands? They’re taking full advantage, transforming everyday commute into a visual experience that’s hard to ignore. “Transit spots like Delhi metro or autos, etc. add to that overall theme of the campaign and help us reinforce the brand positioning in front of the customers. We see it as a reminder medium that keeps our brand on the top of our consumers’ minds,” opines Manish Bandlish, Managing Director, Mother Dairy, Fruit & Vegetable Pvt. Ltd.
Transit advertising provides a wide array of opportunities to engage passengers throughout their journey, enabling brands to tailor messages that resonate with their target audience by factoring in the speed of travel and the nature of their trip. For instance, Times OOH recognises key areas where passengers spend significant amounts of time, such as at baggage carousels, boarding areas, and retail zones in airports, etc. They also craft communication strategies based on the passenger’s destination. A notable example is the Times’ campaign for Daikin ACs at the Delhi Airport, where they cleverly displayed the destination city’s temperature right at the boarding gates. When messaging is both useful and relevant, it naturally grabs the audience’s attention.
Routes that set Transit Ads apart
Unlike traditional OOH, transit advertising offers a range of media options that can be used to craft compelling storytelling at a single location, enhancing engagement. It helps reinforce messaging effectively by building frequency and reach. At transit touchpoints like airports, brands have the opportunity to engage with a diverse audience travelling from different parts of the country and the world. In transit locations such as metros, brands can connect with regular commuters, helping to build higher recall through repeated impressions.
Another key benefit, according to Times OOH, is that at transit touchpoints the quality of media is premium, elite, and compliant with legal standards. This is highly valued by quality-conscious international and national brands. “When it comes to metro advertising, we offer a smart and effective advertising proposition—Station Branding. This allows brands to establish a significant presence with multiple advertising opportunities, such as adding a prefix or suffix of the brand’s name to the station. Station branding ensures that brands become a part of the passengers’ daily journey, facilitating landmark brand-building. Moreover, it also captures the attention of audiences travelling by road, with the brand name/logo prominently displayed on station boards and entry gates,” says Rohit Chopra, COO, Times Innovative Media Ltd., (Times OOH).
At Times OOH, they invest heavily in digital OOH formats, which enables brands to create impactful communications. The asset composition includes 30% DOOH formats, allowing for programmatic messaging, high-definition creatives, and innovations like anamorphic effects that engage the audience. “Another critical factor is the strategic placement of media assets. During media planning, we carefully select locations where ads are most likely to be seen, such as near eye level or in high-traffic areas like ticket counters and platforms, ensuring maximum visibility and impact,” adds Rohit Chopra.
One of the most impactful and enduring innovation trends in transit advertising is station branding, which enables brands to take ownership of a space and leverage multiple elements, locations, and media formats for holistic branding. This approach has gained significant traction across various brand categories, as they recognise the immense value it offers as returns for their investment. Bank of Baroda, one of India’s top public sector banks, has secured exclusive co-branding rights for three Metro stations in Delhi—Inderlok, South Extension, and Rajouri Garden. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) granted the bank naming rights for a duration of 10 years, starting in 2024.
VG Senthilkumar, Head - Marketing & Branding, Bank of Baroda, states, “Transit advertising has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, but the benefits definitely outweigh the challenges. When comparing it to other channels, we allocate about 10 to 15% of our investment to transit media. It’s difficult to assess the immediate cost-effectiveness of this medium as it’s more of a long-term strategy. Unlike digital marketing, TV, or radio, transit media offers value in a unique way, which is something we account for when evaluating its impact.”
The number of people using public transport has surged, with Delhi Metro seeing 60 lakh daily riders and 17.5 lakh in Mumbai Metro. This large audience offers brands a prime opportunity to connect with potential customers during their commute, reaching them conveniently when they’re most receptive. Transit media allows for effective communication, making it a valuable platform for brands to engage with their target audience.
Taking the Festive Route
Transit advertisements also leverage certain festivals to spread brand awareness. In Kerala, Cuticura holds an unmatched level of trust and loyalty, securing a unique spot in the hearts of its consumers. This year was particularly significant for the brand as it unveiled a new range of products to broaden its portfolio. In light of Onam’s widespread popularity, Cuticura rolled out an extensive branding campaign throughout Kerala, incorporating Kochi Metro trains to showcase product benefits to consumers on the move.
Speaking about brand visibility, Anupam Katheriya, CEO, Cholayil, shares, “Factors that determine the effectiveness of on-go mediums are the number of daily impressions they lead to. For instance, on 24 August, daily commuters on the Kochi Metro surged to 103,000 from 85,000 the previous day, and this number is expected to climb during the peak festive season due to heightened public transportation use, shopping, and celebration-related travel. Hence, it becomes highly cost-effective during festive season when engagement is high. Secondly, passengers spend an average of 15-20 minutes on the metro, which ensures sustained brand exposure inside the metro.”
Medimix, another leading Ayurvedic brand under Cholayil, tapped into the popularity of Ahmedabad’s Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) for its transit advertising campaign. Targeting 51 high-footfall locations across key areas for four months, the brand ensured maximum visibility by branding both the interiors and exteriors of these sites. The campaign aimed to raise awareness about Medimix’s face wash and soap range, featuring brand ambassador Katrina Kaif, and highlighting the products’ unique benefits.
Revving Up Brand Awareness on the Road
One of the key components of RedBus’ marketing strategy that has been highly effective is auto branding. In January 2023, RedBus launched a pilot auto branding program in Indore and Bhopal, which proved so successful that it became a recurring element of their broader Madhya Pradesh strategy. From April 2023 onwards, the campaign expanded to cities like Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, and Sagar, remaining a strong pillar of their overall strategy in MP and other regions as needed.
Auto branding was aligned with RedBus’ strategic goal of tailoring communication for specific markets. The aim was to ensure the messaging resonated not only with the state or region but also with each individual city. For example, in Indore, one of the taglines used was “Bhiya ko chahiye AC sleeper, Bawa ko chahiye Volvo sleeper,” incorporating local dialect for added relatability.
Most importantly, RedBus focused on creating fun, engaging content that would be memorable and non-intrusive, such as the line “Indore mein naukri, Sagar mein tafri,” which sticks with the audience long after seeing it.
Pallavi Chopra, CMO, RedBus, adds, “We did an internal analysis and realised that transit advertising gave a better bang for the buck and was more effective than stationary media. Customising communication around major consumption moments, primarily festivals like Shivratri and Rakshabandhan, as well as advertising calling out relevant RedBus features, kept our communication very fresh and relevant. For instance, during Shivratri, one of our buses said, ‘Ujjain mein ashirwad paiye, manpasand seat le jaiye’.”
In the past two years, at relevant times, this strategy has also been deployed in other states and cities such as Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Vijayawada, Vizag, and Salem. This remains a staple in RedBus’ strategy. For instance, around the festive Diwali - Dushera period in 2023, the company branded 17,800 autos across 12 cities. According to the company, while this transit branding was only 5% of their overall media spends, they were able to create a phenomenal impact.
Transit Ads as Reminders on the Move
BBC Media Action’s #Invaluables campaign seeks to build respect for Bengaluru’s waste pickers through a multi-platform approach, combining social media with out-of-home (OOH) activities. The company employed transit advertising and OOH platforms to serve as reminder tools, encouraging simple actions that foster respect and pride for this essential profession. “Transit platforms are nearly 3-4 times more expensive for us compared to social media. This is largely due to the high cost of transit advertising, which poses a challenge for a non-profit organisation like ours that operates on a limited budget for content dissemination,” say Nishant Kumar, Head of Project & Tej Prakash Yadav, Senior Project Manager, BBC Media Action.
They further add that, “In this phase of #Invaluables, we have allocated nearly 39% of our marketing budget to out-of-home activities, including transit media such as branding bus shelters in key locations across Bengaluru, stickering on takeaway and delivery food boxes, and branding in RWA lifts through digital OOH activities, among others. BBC Media Action has utilised transit platforms in several cities in the past, and we believe that costs have increased significantly in major cities over the past few years.”
Weighing the Advantages and Pitfalls of Transit Advertising
Transit advertising presents a dynamic way to reach a large, mobile audience, but it also comes with its own set of challenges. One of the most significant hurdles is the lack of precise targeting. Unlike digital advertising, which allows for hyper-specific targeting based on demographics, behaviour, and preferences, transit ads are seen by a wide range of people, making it difficult to focus on a specific audience segment. Brands often have to adopt a more general approach, which can dilute the effectiveness of their messaging.
“At SBI General Insurance, we have used transit media, leveraging buses, for a multicity tax campaign in Feb and March. However, if you try scaling them nationally, they become uneconomical compared to other media like TV, Digital etc. Digital has far better targeting, measurability, and personalised connect with the audience and is any day a preferred medium to transit media,” says Rathin Lahiri, Head Marketing & CSR, SBI General Insurance.
Another challenge is the short exposure time. Commuters typically see transit ads in passing, whether on a bus, train, or at a station. This limited window means that the ad must convey its message quickly and clearly, making creativity and concise communication essential. Poorly designed ads may fail to make an impact in the brief moments they are visible.
“One of the challenges we faced was monitoring and tracking such extensive outdoor advertisements. We had to ensure the execution was done well—that autos were in fact carrying our collaterals. Then there were recurring audits—that is to say, ensuring that the collateral was still in place and the quality was intact,” adds Pallavi Chopra.
Measuring the effectiveness of transit advertising is also tricky. Unlike digital channels, where clicks and conversion rates can be tracked in real-time, it’s harder to directly measure the ROI of transit ads. While foot traffic and ridership numbers can provide an estimate of how many people may have seen an ad, attributing actual conversions or sales to transit advertising remains a challenge for marketers. However, transit advertising continues to grow, especially as ridership on flights, metros, and other public transport is steadily increasing. Post-COVID, there’s been no decline; in fact, more companies and corporations are encouraging travel, moving away from the work-from-home model. As a result, travel for business has risen significantly, with more people commuting regularly.
“In cities like Mumbai, where new metro lines are being introduced, many who find personal transport challenging are opting for public transit. This growing ridership presents a great opportunity for brands to leverage transit media. However, it’s important to note that transit advertising isn’t a quick-impact channel. Brands need to carefully select and analyse the best properties to ensure maximum effectiveness and efficiency from this opportunity,” elaborates VG Senthilkumar.
As we zoom into the future, one thing’s for sure—transit advertising is here to stay, and it’s only getting bolder and brighter! Sure, it has its flaws, like blink-and-you-miss-it moments or tricky ROI tracking, but the potential for turning daily commutes into eye-catching brand adventures is unbeatable. With more people hopping onto metros, buses, and trains, the ride’s just beginning for brands. So, buckle up—whether you’re stuck in traffic or cruising through the city, those clever ads aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
