So yesterday I got stuck by a train for 20 minutes which left me plenty of time to think as I sat there. A huge line of cars, with lots of people all looking at the same thing! The train cars!
Most with a great deal of graffiti on the bottoms of the car, but pretty "blank" from about mid car up besides the train companies logo’s.
As I sat there, I was like Wow! Look at all these massive billboards passing me. One after another and they just kept coming. All I was seeing was advertising potential passing by…
So I wonder today… Are railroad cars a "missed" advertising spot for companies to advertise on?
I think more people see the sides of these trains then a lot of people may think. When you are sitting waiting for the train to pass, what else do you look at other then the railcars passing by.
Many tracks sit along side of major highways and other major roads, again acting as a billboard.
Only ONE of the railroad companies was smart enough to include it’s domain name on the side of some it’s railcars that passed me and that was the Canadian company called Canadian National.
They displayed the domain name in all caps WWW.CN.CA which I was not a fan of but I also thought… it was needed to have the www. displayed with this domain due to it’s TLD.
I think with a "not as popular" TLD, many people might not know it’s a Domain Name (Web Address) without the www. added in.
.ca which is the country code for Canada, is likely not known by the masses and many other alike ccTLD’s. So I see it as a must to include www. when displaying a not as popular TLD if used in advertising or any place this style of domain is used. I would of rather seen the domain displayed as www.CN.ca btw, but that’s just me.
Back to the advertising.. I wonder if companies contact these train companies and offer to advertise on the railcars. It appears in Wisconsin, it either doesn’t happen or the train companies are not interested. Do companies advertise on railcars in your area?
Ross
There could be many many reasons they are not displayed here. Part of the reason i think is that they go across the entire country and most companies do not need this. Plus because of that reason it could be EXTREMELY expensive to get that on the side because of all the exposure.
Another i can think of is that these rail cars are traded out like old socks at many different stops across the country. The amount of labor to put up and take down the advertisements would probably end up costing a lot of money hence little no income from the ads/high prices.
IMO its a good idea but a bad decision on part of a railroad company.
Kevin
@Ross
Firstly, “most companies” is a fallacious assumption, so let’s just toss that out. Secondly, why should it also be assumed that it would be expensive due to exposure? The cars are currently generating no advertising revenue (from non-railroad related companies) so it should jump from $0 to $10k per car per side?
I think it’s a great idea that needs a twist and creative mind to sell it. The graffiti needs addressing so kill two birds. Use a vehicle wrap product, address the graffiti and the advertisement in one move.
Sell it as keeping the railcars clean for a net gain instead of loss.
Advertisers pay for the wrap, the labor, and advertising fees, middle company pays the rail company for the opportunity to keep the cars looking good for them, and the rail company goes from spending to earning with nary a hiccup in between.
This is an idea that has potential if thought of creatively. It’s just not something I would care to deal with personally.
@Jamie
Keeping your brain engaged at every opportunity and making mental connections is an incredibly productive exercise. It’s not about the ideas, it’s the connections, and sooner or later something with strike you in a way that will be eminently beneficial.
p.s. I dig what ya got going here, read it every day. And no, my agreeing with you is not confirmation bias =)
Jamie Zoch
@ Kevin
Thank you for the in depth explanation. I was thinking the same thing, digital wraps (I use to be in the sign biz, so I know what it would take). Even wrapping half or even the full car sides wouldn’t be hard to do. It’s just like a billboard really.
viqi
I commute to work (1 hour one way) everyday through rush hour and I see a lot of 18 wheelers. Most of the trailors have noadvertisingon them. A few that have, advertise their transportation company. I always usedto think the same thing… what a waste.