Advertising can sell a space in a train. It is a widely acknowledged rule, with no risk of failure whatsoever, on only one condition: that the advertisement should be well-thought-out. A new service on the market, with direct benefits for the passengers, awakes curiosity, especially at the beginning when that specific service has not yet passed tests. But after this first phase, advertising should not be abandoned. Or it will fade away while definitely leaving its marks in the railway company’s incomes. It happens to all mass transport operators which fear competition and want to keep their customers or increase their number.
There are, of course, many different advertising methods, and sometimes the difference between them is huge. For example, Japan has recently announced its intention to manufacture the fastest train in the world, Daily Mail writes. It is a unit running on a particular type of gauge, on magnetic pillow, at a speed of 500 kilometres per hour. Well, such a train will probably need no other advertisement to sell a space. The mere fact that “the fastest train in the world” was manufactured, officially released as news, will weigh more than any other ad. Who wouldn’t want to travel by such a train? But beyond any rhetorical question, lies another question. Who wouldn’t want to advertise in such a train?
Among actors and illusionists
In Europe, on a completely different continent, although technologies are advanced, we cannot yet speak about “the fastest train in the world”. For example, the French from SNCF, keep the sales level up by different methods of attracting customers, especially for TGVs. Moreover, the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, said trains should be equally supported. “Improving the rail network quality, guaranteeing security and the quality of the provided services, as well as reducing maintenance costs, these are our country’s priorities”, the President said quoted by www.ville-rail-transports.com. It is well-known that all these priorities pointed out by the French official have to be supported through advertising. But until new concepts and strategies are drawn up, the French have had a winter to cross and they have probably wanted to go by train to the Alps or to the French Riviera. Or, why not, rapidly travel between different cities. SNCF’s intuition has determined the operator to constantly organise events during holidays, a relevant example being that of “Prix SNCF du polar”, when several hundreds passengers are invited in a train, in a fairytale world, to join actors and illusionists. “Entertainment”, a method that the French have tried for several years, has proved its efficiency, compared to the traditional, strictly informative ads, that most of the time fail to persuade the target public.
Taking small steps to the West
However, traditional ads remain the most important advertising method for many railway operators in Eastern Europe. In Romania, for example, CFR Călători, the national rail passenger transport operator, has used ads in passenger trains to promote even latest offers, such as the Henri Coandă Express trains. Moreover, the company signed a barter contract to print the “Travelling guide” leaflets as method of informing passengers in intercity trains and to promote train transport services to the seaside and to mountain resorts. At the same time, the transport operator has participated, next to the other European railway companies, to the information campaign “Rights of Passengers” organised by the Council of Europe and addressed to all the European Union’s citizens travelling by train all over Europe. “As outcome of this experience, we have published on CFR Călători’s website materials circulated all over Europe – logos, links, banners, films and we have displayed ads, stickers for luggage developed with the support of the Council of Europe”, declared for Railway Pro the representatives of the transport operator. This might be the first step towards another phase of the dialogue with passengers, until now obstructed by the insufficient funds allocated to the Romanian railway infrastructure.
by Ionela Micu
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