The number of riders who obey the hands-on-the-handrail rule might rise after the black rubber on escalators is pasted with ads as a new medium is launched across Canada by Montreal-based OOH mediaco, Time2Ad. The first execution on AdRail will debut tomorrow in downtown Toronto in the Sheraton Centre, running until July 14th, advertising Turkish Airlines. The execution (media and creative done in-house) coincides with the airline’s conference at the Sheraton, where execs will meet to discuss Turkish Airline’s direct-flight launch in Canada next week.
‘We feel this can be complimentary to their press release,’ says Matthew Alzubi, president of Time2Ad. ‘There are a lot of executives coming from airports, so it will be an amazing showcase,’ he tells MiC. Time2Ad acquired the patent for the medium, which has been used overseas in countries like Japan and Germany, late last year. This March it became available to advertisers in Canada, and the agency has since acquired suppliers including shopping centres in the Montreal area such as Le Complexe Desjardins. Alzubi also says they are close to securing a contract with the Vancouver airport.
Cost for AdRail is CPM-based and therefore depends on location, says Alzubi, and can range from $7,000 to $15,000 per month, plus the cost of installation, which can be about $1,100 to $1,500 – depending on the length of the escalator. A study conducted in 2002 in a food court in Oshawa used two ads to determine the effectiveness of the medium – one for a local farmers’ market and another for mall gift certificates. One third of those who recalled the gift certificate ad and half of those who recalled the farmers’ market ad said the ad increased their interest in the service.
Alzubi says riders were also more inclined to touch the rail, which increases both safety and ad recall. ‘They touch it and of course see it, so it’s something for them to remember, something very unique [that leaves] an impression on the viewer more than a poster would do,’ Alzubi says.
