Nice Ads wins ad rights for route map transfers in local trains

The media company has bagged rights to sell ad space on these maps in Central and Harbour Line trains

Mumbai-based outdoor media owner, Nice Ads has recently bagged the rights to the route map transfers placed above the entry and exit doors in Mumbai's local trains. The company has won the rights for trains on the Central and Harbour Lines for a three-year period. Prior to Nice Ads, an agency called MMS had these rights.

In all, the company will now do branding in 96 trains on these two lines, where the nine-car rakes (nine-coach trains) have 66 transfers each and the twelve-coach ones have 88 transfers in each train. These route map transfers assist commuters with directions, stations, distance and time taken to reach, and are often referred to by train travellers.

Brands and categories that advertise on these maps include banks, media and local players, such as coaching classes.

Nikesh Gupta, owner, Nice Ads, says, "Route map transfer is certainly a cost-effective medium and is ideal because of its strategic location, just above exit doors. Over 30 lakh commuters travel by train on the Central and Harbour lines; therefore, cost per thousand is extremely low."

Gupta shares that advertising on a single nine-coach train with all its 66 transfers would cost Rs 18,000; while it would cost Rs 22,000 for the twelve-coach train.

Nice Ads has been in the outdoor business for over a decade and offers clients hoardings across central suburbs, from Matunga to Dombivali and beyond. The company has worked with brands such as NIIT, Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Lifestyle and Ethnicity, among others. It now hopes to offer a wider mass touch point to clients with these route map transfers.