"Misjudged value"
Hans Peter Mueller, 58, Director of APG Traffic, on the advantages of advertising in and on public transport and the acceptance of the medium among travelers.
Hans Peter Mueller, 58, Director of APG Traffic, on the advantages of advertising in and on public transport and the acceptance of the medium among travelers.WW: What are the advantages of advertising in and on public transport? Hans Peter Mueller: Every bus and every streetcar enables a great deal of contact as it circulates through the city or the conurbation from early in the morning until late in the evening, 365 days a year. You don't have to switch on a device or buy a newspaper to see this advertising.
Who are the contact partners of APG Traffic?
90 percent of all transportation companies in Switzerland have entrusted the marketing of their advertising space to APG Traffic, because we can show our potential customers what this type of advertising can achieve with well-founded figures.
How is the cooperation with the transport companies?
The cooperation is individually tailored to the companies. We work out separate advertising plans for each individual transport company. Zurich's VBZ, for example, generally market the mobile advertising spaces themselves, but we have a long-standing good working relationship with these companies and are responsible for special offers such as the backlit Traffic Light posters in the streetcars. We have an exclusive cooperation agreement with Luzerner Verkehrsbetriebe, for example, where we are responsible for the entire marketing package.
How important is the local connection?
With our dense branch network, we are always close to the market. A bakery in Frenkendorf BL that wants to advertise on public transport vehicles receives documentation from us about Autobus AG Liestal. We promote the advertising on public transport and sell it using our extensive local knowledge and contacts.
How do you work together with the other departments at APG?
In cross-selling, APG consultants who are responsible for outdoor advertising on billboards also sell APG Traffic services. Thanks to networking, we can exploit major synergies within the company.
Isn't advertising on public transport also annoying for certain people?
From time to time, we receive complaints about the window films that impair individual windows when large-scale advertising is displayed on the outside of buses. However, such objections are not addressed to us, but to the transport companies. However, of the entire fleet of a transport company, only a few vehicles are fitted with large-format advertising. Most bus companies take care of their image and are therefore restrictive when it comes to renting out entire buses as advertising space. For certain transport companies, demand is greater than the supply available.
Are there any new trends?
Backlit Traffic Light Posters are gaining in importance. Even larger advertising spaces in the bus driver area are possible. We are also testing electronic advertising media with moving images; a trial in Montreux has not yet been satisfactory.
Is vehicle advertising the poor relation of advertising?
Its value is still underestimated and it often does not exist in advertising plans. However, the medium is extremely powerful and offers a cost-benefit ratio like no other advertising medium.
How do you see the future prospects for vehicle advertising?
In recent years, advertising in and on public transportation has stagnated. We are now splitting the markets locally, regionally and nationally and repositioning transport advertising to complement the other advertising media. Thanks to these measures, our sales grew by several percentage points last year. We expect growth rates again this year.
APG Traffic on the Internet: www.traffic.ch
Interview: Werner Catrina
Who are the contact partners of APG Traffic?
90 percent of all transportation companies in Switzerland have entrusted the marketing of their advertising space to APG Traffic, because we can show our potential customers what this type of advertising can achieve with well-founded figures.
How is the cooperation with the transport companies?
The cooperation is individually tailored to the companies. We work out separate advertising plans for each individual transport company. Zurich's VBZ, for example, generally market the mobile advertising spaces themselves, but we have a long-standing good working relationship with these companies and are responsible for special offers such as the backlit Traffic Light posters in the streetcars. We have an exclusive cooperation agreement with Luzerner Verkehrsbetriebe, for example, where we are responsible for the entire marketing package.
How important is the local connection?
With our dense branch network, we are always close to the market. A bakery in Frenkendorf BL that wants to advertise on public transport vehicles receives documentation from us about Autobus AG Liestal. We promote the advertising on public transport and sell it using our extensive local knowledge and contacts.
How do you work together with the other departments at APG?
In cross-selling, APG consultants who are responsible for outdoor advertising on billboards also sell APG Traffic services. Thanks to networking, we can exploit major synergies within the company.
Isn't advertising on public transport also annoying for certain people?
From time to time, we receive complaints about the window films that impair individual windows when large-scale advertising is displayed on the outside of buses. However, such objections are not addressed to us, but to the transport companies. However, of the entire fleet of a transport company, only a few vehicles are fitted with large-format advertising. Most bus companies take care of their image and are therefore restrictive when it comes to renting out entire buses as advertising space. For certain transport companies, demand is greater than the supply available.
Are there any new trends?
Backlit Traffic Light Posters are gaining in importance. Even larger advertising spaces in the bus driver area are possible. We are also testing electronic advertising media with moving images; a trial in Montreux has not yet been satisfactory.
Is vehicle advertising the poor relation of advertising?
Its value is still underestimated and it often does not exist in advertising plans. However, the medium is extremely powerful and offers a cost-benefit ratio like no other advertising medium.
How do you see the future prospects for vehicle advertising?
In recent years, advertising in and on public transportation has stagnated. We are now splitting the markets locally, regionally and nationally and repositioning transport advertising to complement the other advertising media. Thanks to these measures, our sales grew by several percentage points last year. We expect growth rates again this year.
APG Traffic on the Internet: www.traffic.ch
Interview: Werner Catrina
