The average commute is 59 minutes, according to a DfT report. And if you’re in London this goes up to about 1h 20. That’s a lot of time to spare.  

There’s an opportunity for brands and advertisers here. Around 70% of commuters use their smartphone during their journey. Thanks to ever-improving wireless connection and the impending 4G service scheduled to roll out on London's underground by mid-2020, the commute is becoming a lucrative chance to capture sales.

A whopping 73% of passengers use their mobile devices to browse online, with a quarter of these actually making purchases. Further studies show that 94% of passengers notice on-train advertising and a third of these go on to make a purchase as a result.

More than ever before, content marketing is important to help drive a more personal and connected dialogue. So how can brands capitalise on this opportunity?

Why good content marketing works

In the Transport Statistics Great Britain 2018 report by the Department for Transport (DfT), it was recorded that there were a total of 11.68 billion passenger journeys made: 4.85 billion being bus journeys, 1.71 billion national rail and the remaining 0.27 using light rail.

With figures like these it’s crucial to engage the passengers using your mode of transport.

A missed opportunity

A mistake some brands make is assuming passengers aren’t receptive to advertising while travelling. But often on public transport, advertisements work in a more discreet way. Passengers will be listening to music or podcasts, watching videos on their phones or reading a book. But they’re also likely to be checking their surroundings. It's the perfect opportunity for content marketing to work as additional entertainment.

Out of Heathrow alone there are over 1,300 flights per day carrying 350,000 passengers tall over the world. With this in mind, the opportunity to reach a wider audience is enormous. Some 85% of long distance passengers were able to recall some form of in-flight advertising according to surveys conducted by QMedia.

The way commuters and passengers interact with advertising is also changing, with augmented reality (AR) and QR codes at the forefront of this trend. AR technology’s ability has seen audience engagement increased by 30% and is fast on track to become a mainstream tool. Much of its application can be found on smaller billboards at bus stops.

Brand engagement

One campaign of note was done by Pepsi – the AR technology showcased a playful personality and gained 6 million views on YouTube, cementing it as one of the most watched advertising campaigns of 2014. What was most surprising was that it featured almost no Pepsi branding. The buzz from the customer experience and level of engagement was enough to generate the desired result.

Coming into contact with a piece of marketing content within the transport sector is unavoidable. Whether you're aware of it or subconsciously take note – it’s there. Unlike television where the audience can pause, skip through or simply change channel, exposure to advertising while travelling is inevitable and brands would do well to capitalise on this.

At Crocstar our experience working within the transport industry has been largely successful with several campaigns with East Midlands Trains and Stagecoach group amongst others receiving positive feedback. Kate Squires of East Midlands trains had this to say about our work:

“An impressive 89% of our customers have told us that they like our advertising. Given we're in the rail industry, we were really surprised and thrilled that we had managed to make an impact, landing our key marketing messages”. You can find the rest of her review here.

To learn more about what we have to offer and the ways we can help market your organisation don’t hesitate to give us a call on 020 7183 1431 or email hello@crocstar.com.