National Academies Press: OpenBook
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Practical Measures to Increase Transit Advertising Revenues. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14269.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Practical Measures to Increase Transit Advertising Revenues. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14269.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Practical Measures to Increase Transit Advertising Revenues. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14269.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Practical Measures to Increase Transit Advertising Revenues. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14269.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Practical Measures to Increase Transit Advertising Revenues. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14269.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2009. Practical Measures to Increase Transit Advertising Revenues. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14269.
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TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2009 www.TRB.org T R A N S I T C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M TCRP REPORT 133 Research sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in cooperation with the Transit Development Corporation Subject Areas Public Transit Practical Measures to Increase Transit Advertising Revenues Jane Alpers DENNEEN & COMPANY Boston, MA

TCRP REPORT 133 Project B-33 ISSN 1073-4872 ISBN 978-0-309-11786-9 Library of Congress Control Number 2009929685 © 2009 Transportation Research Board COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Transit Cooperative Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board’s judgment that the project concerned is appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. The members of the technical advisory panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical panel, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the Transit Development Corporation, or the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical panel according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, the Transit Development Corporation, and the Federal Transit Administration (sponsor of the Transit Cooperative Research Program) do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the clarity and completeness of the project reporting. TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM The nation’s growth and the need to meet mobility, environmental, and energy objectives place demands on public transit systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need of upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency, and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is necessary to solve operating problems, to adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to intro- duce innovations into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it. The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special Report 213—Research for Public Transit: New Directions, published in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration—now the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). A report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Transportation 2000, also recognized the need for local, problem- solving research. TCRP, modeled after the longstanding and success- ful National Cooperative Highway Research Program, undertakes research and other technical activities in response to the needs of tran- sit service providers. The scope of TCRP includes a variety of transit research fields including planning, service configuration, equipment, facilities, operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and administrative practices. TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992. Pro- posed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was autho- rized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum agreement out- lining TCRP operating procedures was executed by the three cooper- ating organizations: FTA, the National Academies, acting through the Transportation Research Board (TRB); and the Transit Development Corporation, Inc. (TDC), a nonprofit educational and research orga- nization established by APTA. TDC is responsible for forming the independent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee. Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodically but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the TOPS Committee to formulate the research program by identi- fying the highest priority projects. As part of the evaluation, the TOPS Committee defines funding levels and expected products. Once selected, each project is assigned to an expert panel, appointed by the Transportation Research Board. The panels prepare project state- ments (requests for proposals), select contractors, and provide techni- cal guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The process for developing research problem statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB in managing cooperative research pro- grams since 1962. As in other TRB activities, TCRP project panels serve voluntarily without compensation. Because research cannot have the desired impact if products fail to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on dissemi- nating TCRP results to the intended end users of the research: tran- sit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit practice, and other support- ing material developed by TCRP research. APTA will arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, and other activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban and rural transit industry practitioners. The TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can cooperatively address common operational problems. The TCRP results support and complement other ongoing transit research and training programs. Published reports of the TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America

CRP STAFF FOR TCRP REPORT 133 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Gwen Chisholm Smith, Senior Program Officer Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Natalie Barnes, Editor TCRP PROJECT B-33 PANEL Field of Service Configuration Barbara D. Moulton, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Boston, MA (Chair) Gerald Bachmayer, Ontira Communications Inc., Vancouver, BC Emmett J. Crockett, Jr., Jackson State University, Jackson, MS Michael D. Furnary, Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority, Antioch, CA William Griffin, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Atlanta, GA Samuel Harrell, Tesoro Refining and Marketing, Inc., San Antonio, TX Jeffrey Kaley, Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (LYNX), Orlando, FL Carol G. Smith, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Atlanta, GA Aaron S. Weinstein, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Oakland, CA Timothy Steinitz, FTA Liaison Jack Gonzalez, APTA Liaison Peter Shaw, TRB Liaison AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The study reported herein was performed under TCRP Project B-33 by Denneen & Company, a pri- vate growth strategy consulting firm in Boston, Massachusetts, between March 2007 and September 2008. Jane Alpers, Executive Vice President, was the Project Director, Principal Investigator, and report author. Research assistance was provided by Mitzi Desselles, Ph.D., Vice President, as well as Tina Elortegui, senior consultant; Natalie Stokke, research assistant; and Lee Navins, analyst. Strategy devel- opment collaboration was rendered by Mark Denneen, President and Chief Executive Officer. C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S

TCRP Report 133: Practical Measures to Increase Transit Advertising Revenues provides strategies to significantly increase transit’s share of total advertising expenditures. The report describes advertising decision makers’ perceptions about transit advertising products (current and future products) and includes a strategic responsive communications plan and recommen- dations to improve those perceptions and increase transit revenue. This report will be helpful to transit agencies, transit marketers, transit advertising sales organizations, media planners, media buyers, and advertisers. Recent trends in the advertising industry have weakened traditional advertising media. Television advertising, in particular, which has long dominated national advertising sales, faces media fragmentation due to a mushrooming spectrum of cable and satellite channels and commercial-skipping technologies such as TiVo. These trends tend to decrease the attractiveness of television as a medium for advertisers. In this context, transit advertising stands out as one of the last truly affordable mass media. Advertisements on transit cannot be turned off, deleted, fast forwarded, or easily ignored. Sale of advertising in public transit facilities and vehicles is a nearly $1 billion industry generating approximately $500 million annually to transit agencies. Yet transit advertising revenue was 0.3% of total U.S. advertising expenditures in 2007. The other 99.7% of adver- tising revenues went to television, radio, billboards, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, and other media. Research was needed to understand the viewpoints of advertising decision makers and to identify ways to influence them to purchase more transit advertising. Under TCRP Project B-33, “Practical Measures to Increase Transit Industry Advertising Revenues,” Denneen & Company conducted a comprehensive review of literature and information on the best practices within transit and other media-trade organizations related to boosting shares of national ad spending. The information gathered included a 10-year trend line of transit advertising revenues, comparing it to all media. The cornerstone of the research was a quantitative study of media planners on a national basis. The research sought to understand their familiarity with transit advertising, percep- tions, and decision-making processes. The research team also conducted interviews with media planners, advertisers, and advertising sales contractors. Based on analysis of the infor- mation gathered, the team identified the best strategies for significantly increasing transit’s share of total advertising expenditures. Included in these recommended strategies are a new positioning strategy upon which to base communications, strategies for addressing per- ceived deficiencies relative to other types of media, and a marketing strategy for broaden- ing awareness of transit media and communicating its updated value proposition. An eight-page Executive Summary of this report and a presentation explaining the find- ings, conclusions, and recommendations of TCRP Project B-33 are available on the TRB website (www.trb.org) by searching for “TCRP Report 133: Practical Measures to Increase Transit Advertising Revenues”. F O R E W O R D By Gwen Chisholm Smith Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

C O N T E N T S 1 Summary 9 Chapter 1 Background 9 Problem Statement 10 Scope of the Study 10 Research Objectives 11 Literature Review 14 Media Industry Overview 18 Promotion Activities of Media Trade Organizations 20 Marketing and Advertiser Trends 22 Chapter 2 Research Approach 22 Media Planner Quantitative Research 24 Advertiser Interviews 24 Advertising Sales Contractor Interviews 24 Transit Agency Survey 25 Chapter 3 Research Findings 25 Media Planner Quantitative Research 55 Advertiser Interviews 56 Advertising Sales Contractor Interviews 60 Transit Agency Survey 62 Chapter 4 Conclusions, Recommendations and Further Research 62 Conclusions 64 Recommendations 69 Further Research 71 References 72 Glossary A-1 Appendix A Media Planner Quantitative Survey B-1 Appendix B Advertiser Interview Guide C-1 Appendix C Advertising Sales Contractor Interview Guide D-1 Appendix D Media Planner Pre-Survey Interview Guide E-1 Appendix E Transit Agency Survey

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TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 133: Practical Measures to Increase Transit Advertising Revenues explores strategies designed to significantly increase transit’s share of total advertising expenditures. The report examines advertising decision makers’ perceptions about current and future transit advertising products and highlights a strategic responsive communications plan designed to improve those perceptions and increase transit revenue.

An executive summary and PowerPoint presentation on this report are available online.

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