The Paris Metro: public transport ... and a sanctuary for advertising!

Every Thursday, we share an article from COMinside, the ESP webzine, a writing training ground for ESP students. This week we are sharing one written by Alfred Le Rolland, a student in 2nd year Bachelor. Advertising in the metro, how can you miss it? This is the topic he chose to address.

4 minutes de lecture

The Paris metro: one of the most efficient in the world! Since 1900, the year of its creation by Fulgence Bienvenue, it has been transporting us, expanding the lines, going further into the suburbs. 16 routes in total, 303 stations, a perpetual transit space, where people pass through. 4.5 million travelers per day! So many potential consumers trapped underground, and while waiting for their train, they look at ... ads.

Dozens, hundreds of ads displayed along the platforms, in the corridors. Seen and forgotten immediately ... well, that's what we think. Because in the end, in this confined space, they stick in our minds, impacting our memory. Visual pleasure? Mental bombardment? Especially miles of linear space where you, young ESP student, will one day certainly buy advertising space for one of your clients. Unless you orchestrate a more innovative operation there? We'll see! Come on, let me explain ...

METRO/AD: SAME FIGHT?

But by the way: "why are all these ads displayed in the metro?" Young ESP student, stay focused, I gave you the answer above, are you not following??? We are therefore millions taking the metro every day ... Millions ... but it's a dream for all brands! The metro is the advertiser's Eldorado! And even if very often, our gaze lingers only half a second on these magnificent prints spread before us, we memorize them unconsciously before moving on.

Our attention is 'floating', as Mr. Romain Cally, a doctor in management sciences-consumer psychology, aptly explains. In other words, while our attention for ads in the fluctuating RATP environment is greatly reduced, our brain, the little rascal, retains certain carefully highlighted information, such as this very attractive flash promo written in red at the bottom of the poster, or the name of this new show, unless it's the shape of a cookie? The promise of a fast, quality, and economical service?

According to Média Transports, 50% of travelers have already gone online after seeing an ad in public transport. Watching ads in the metro is even one of the favorite pastimes of travelers after reading and music. And Media Transports knows what it's talking about, as it is the agency specialized in advertising communication in the metro, inaugurated at the same time as the RATP in 1949, right after the Liberation, with the goal of exploiting this new place full of communication promises. Let's just say that since then, Media Transports has managed a lot of communication operations and continues to do so, according to its regularly updated Facebook page.

École Supérieure de Publicité

L'auteur(e)

Une école reconnue et engagée. Première école de communication en France depuis 1927, l’ESP a été fondée par des professionnels du secteur avec une ambition forte : allier excellence académique et exigence professionnelle. Près de 100 ans plus tard, cette ambition reste intacte.

METRO/AD: SAME FIGHT?

LONG LIVE DIVERSITY!!!

So, what does it look like today? Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaam ... Drum roll ... 120,000 advertising faces including 700 digital screens, 10 possible display formats, found all over the traveler's route, on doors, on steps, on walls, and of course on the platforms! Please! And there's no shortage of formats to carry out a campaign worthy of the name! There are classic displays, a basic of the discipline with variable formats (4×3, 80×120, 40×60, etc.) all benefiting from increased visibility. We pass by and wait in front of these posters for an average of 90 seconds ... that's huge ... and it facilitates the memorization of the message and the image.

Even more so when it moves and lights up! In the digital age, digital displays are invading the corridors of the stations. While they are criticized for the energy they consume (between 6,800 and 12,600 Kwh/year, which is far from eco-responsible, I willingly admit, and the anti-ad leagues even more), the visual pollution they generate, and the available brain time they capture, digital screens are a pure dream for communicators as they add movement to the image, show several products from the same brand, or even adapt the message according to the time of day ... and collect our data in the process.

And what about events? Event marketing and PR thrive well in the metro; there are even spaces that lend themselves to it, such as the famous Salle des Piliers de Saint-Lazare where just recently Gucci launched its new perfume with a lot of advertising and sample distribution. The more spectacular they are, the more the events orchestrated in the metro allow for memorable impressions, enlivening the traveler's journey by playing with the surrounding space, thus breaking their monotony. This tactic is often used for major marketing operations like the release of a blockbuster (ah Shazam and its electric terminal at Lyon station) or the new product from a big brand (the Granola'nd animation stand, yum yum).

TIME FOR ACCOUNTS

In short, we understand that in the metro, brands have free rein to convey their message. But how much does a campaign in the metro cost? Well, the price of advertising in the Paris metro varies depending on several factors, some of which are quite unexpected:

The location and size of the advertisement: an ad displayed in a metro corridor costs less than an advertisement displayed on the platform, for example.

The number of spaces: like all advertising spaces, the price is negotiable depending on the frequency of display for an advertiser, the length of their campaign, and the number of spaces chosen.

The chosen metro station: and here, it's quite particular because some are more frequented than others, so the price goes up, naturally ...

The date: it's always more advantageous and therefore more expensive to display around festive periods, like Valentine's Day, Christmas of course, or at the start of the school year to remind us that it is crucial to have your four-color pen that writes pink (vital, the pink).

It is therefore quite difficult to give an exact figure, but we can attempt an approximation. According to the sites Outjo and Cotraitance.com, the price of a campaign of 200 posters for 1 week in the metro would be around €40,000. Obviously, this figure can vary because, as I said earlier, but I repeat to make sure you understand, there are many variables. What is certain is that an advertising campaign in the Paris metro turns out to be very expensive to carry out; therefore, it is essential to ensure that the campaign is not poor ... but that's another story.

Let's recap: metro and advertising, it's a duo that works quite well. There are nuances to be added, of course, legislation, authorizations ... but at least, little ESP student, by the end of this article, you have the basics to launch your operation in the Parisian stations. So it's on this platform that we part ways, where, who knows, maybe one day we will see one of your posters!