About KBH On-Train Media
KBH On-Train Media is a small outdoor advertising contractor which promotes in-train advertising across London and the South East. In 2009, the company had 22 employees and annual revenues approaching £3m.
Case Study
| Client: | KBH Transport Media |
| Sector: | Media |
| Discipline: | Planning, Research, Comms, Digital |
| Period: | Aug 2005 - May 2008 |
Situation
KBH's in-train advertising proposition (better known as ‘traincards’) was launched in 2001 on South West Trains. By the end of 2004, the traincard network comprised some 24,000 advertising facings as KBH successfully secured exclusive, long term contracts with 7 train operating companies throughout London and the South East.
However in 2005 sales began to deteriorate.
To make matters worse, KBH’s management team weren’t really sure why. They identified issues that could have been having a negative impact on sentiment towards traincards, but they couldn't rank the importance they should attach to each problem, so were unable to prioritise those that needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Task
GSP Consulting were briefed to help KBH’s management team isolate the key problems in the traincard advertising product, and to make strategic recommendations to return the division to growth and deliver a path to profit for the first time in it's short history.
Action
Primary research among media buyers identified a significant number of weaknesses in buyer perceptions around traincard advertising, each placing a constraint on demand for a media still very much in its infancy.
The problems with buyer perceptions were further exacerbated by things going on elsewhere, namely:
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fierce competition among large, well-resourced outdoor advertising contractors
the introduction of Freesheet newspaper’s to London's advertising market, specifically targeting commuters
the digitisation of London Underground's advertising estate, also targeting commuters
So when we bought the primary and secondary research findings together,
we found a hyper-competitive media environment driven by innovation and
quality. And a traincard proposition that lacked both !
But a £6 billion investment programme initiated five years earlier meant KBH's fortunes were about to take a turn for the better. All the train companies operating commuter services into London were now beginning to replace their old carriages. And new carriages would completely transform the display environment for advertising inside trains – quality was back on the agenda !
To capitalise on this change, and guided by the findings from our research, we reformulated the traincard advertising proposition to new specifications, with:
larger packages designed to reach a commuter audience more frequently
higher quality display frames in 3 standard sizes
audience research to assist the media buying community selling into clients
campaign research to prove the effectiveness of the medium
a quality-based company image for KBH i.e. a new website, brochure and promotional materials
Results
The results of our turnaround plan were immediate. Sales tripled in the month following the relaunch and continued on a growth trajectory for the remainder of the trading year. At year end, the train advertising division returned a modest profit for the first time in its short history, despite a calamitous first quarter.
Three years further down the line and KBH Transport Media now have all 12 contracts for in-train advertising with Train Operating Companies providing rail services throughout London & the South East. And at the end of 2009, KBH reported sales up by 17% on the previous year, in an outdoor market that declined by 24% year-on-year. A stellar performance !
Traincard advertising is now firmly established as a quality outdoor advertising proposition, chosen for inclusion on media schedules on its own merits by some of the world's biggest advertisers. Hundreds of new advertisers have been tempted to trial in-train advertising, with a significant majority returning to the medium time and again.
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