POSTAR Expands To Include Tube Advertisements
Advertisements on the London Underground train network will be included in the POSTAR survey following the accreditation of the Tube Research Audience Classification (TRAC) system by POSTAR’s management.
Helen Tridgell, managing director of POSTAR, announced today that the move is the first step towards unified out of home media measurement, expressing delight at the inclusion of TRAC data and stating that combined figures would be published via POSTAR’s delivery system and website.
She said: “It has been a very complex process but we now have comparable and compatible data which fulfils the brief we were given when we started the process. This could not have happened without real co-operation from all members of POSTAR. It is evidence of a mature industry working together.”
Viacom Outdoor currently operates London Underground’s poster sites. Mike Baker, the company’s european marketing and development director said: “It has been a long time coming but we’re very happy to be part of the expanded and more inclusive POSTAR. Advertisers can now see the Underground audience figures on exactly the same footing as Roadside. The next step is to include additional media formats and make POSTAR’s reach even wider.”
Viacom recently published research claiming that Londoners are shunning online advertising in favour of outdoor campaigns, with the company’s findings reporting that entertaining campaigns on the capital’s buses and Tube networks are seen as a welcome addition to the commuting landscape (see NewsLine).
London Underground’s £1.2 billion advertising contract is currently up for renewal, with incumbent Viacom Outdoor facing stiff competition from the likes of Clear Channel and JC Decaux.
However, several smaller companies are also vying for the business, with SMG’s Primesight, Spanish advertising group, Cemusa, KBH Transport Media, Media Initiatives Group, Stroer Out of Home Media, Insight Outdoor and T4 Media all understood to have made bids (see Ten Firms To Contest Underground Ad Contract).
POSTAR: 020 7479 9700 www.postar.co.uk