Public transport provides effective opportunities for businesses to reach a wide and varied audience. By advertising on public transport, businesses can promote their products and services in a way that reaches both locals and visitors. But how does it really work? And what does it cost to advertise on public transport?

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How does advertising in public transport work?

Public transport advertising can be in the form of advertisements on buses, trains, subways, commuter trains, trams, central stations and bus stops. These ads can be in different formats such as digital screens, known as Digital Out of Home Advertising (DOOH), or posters known as Out of Home Advertising (OOH). 

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There are usually two main types of advertising in public transport:

Stationary advertising: This type of advertising is most often found at bus stops and stations. It can be posters or digital screens and this type of advertising is visible to anyone passing through the stop or station.

Mobile advertising: Mobile advertising campaigns mean that the advertisement is placed on the means of transport itself, such as buses, trains and subways. These ads can be either on the outside of the vehicles or inside them, thus reaching those who are at the location of the vehicle. 

You may want to know that there are special rules for specific industries such as gambling companies, companies selling alcohol or products containing nicotine. 

To buy an advertising campaign on public transport, you can contact the retailer directly, but many advertisers work with media agencies who are used to and experienced buyers of media space. A media agency can help with media strategy, negotiating prices, booking and monitoring the campaign. 

By buying public transport outdoor campaigns programmatically, you as an advertiser can get hand-picked digital screens from multiple publishers, which is unique to the programmatic buying approach. The advantage of this is that you can "own" a space with your message. 

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How much does advertising on public transport cost?

The price of advertising on public transport depends on several factors: where you as an advertiser want your message to be seen, any targeting you want and the length of the campaign. For example, it costs more to be seen in places where many people move around than in smaller towns. 

If you are curious or have questions, feel free to contact us!