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As an advertising major, I have had the opportunity to work on an advertising group project in my Principles of Advertising class. For this project, our "client" was the London Underground, the subway system of London, England. The following excerpts are part of this project.
Objectives
1. The first
objective of the London Underground's new campaign would be to increase usage
of all stations and tubes.
2. A second objective would be to increase recognition and brand loyalty.
3. Third, the Tube would attempt to attract people using other competing modes
of transportation, such as walking, or using taxis or personal cars.
4. The last objective of the London Underground would be to ensure "top of the
mind" recognition for transportation needs.
Quantitative Benchmarks
1. Increase
use from 18 million per year to 20 million.
2. Increase recognition among traveling workers and tourists.
3. Attract people using alternate modes of transportation other than the London
Transport.
4. Ensure that London Underground has a transportation monopoly.
Measurement Methods and Criteria for Success
1. The first
benchmark, the increase in the number of passengers using the Underground would
be easily measured using the number of ticket sales.
2. Recognition among tourists and traveling workers would be measured by focus
groups and surveys.
3. The amount of people switching from alternate forms of transportation could
be measured by the numbers of passengers on the Underground and whether there
is a lack of transportation using the other methods.
4. To find out if the London Underground does indeed have a monopoly in transportation
and whether it is "top of the mind," focus groups could be used in surveys and
tests.
Time Frame
The time frame for all of the objectives would be a period of six months. This would allot enough time for the campaign to effect the population and give the focus groups ample time to gather information and form results.
One especially popular method of advertising for the London Underground is posters. These posters are intended to advertise to passengers all the places that can be reached easily and efficiently via the Underground. Frank Pick, who was head of the office of commercial manager in 1912, originated the idea of advertising by posters. But first Pick needed a font for the posters that was easily recognized, yet timeless. The font that was created is sans serif, and always associated with the Underground. Often all caps are used, drawing attention to the copy of the advertisement.
The font was just the first step. The posters Frank commissioned did not have a theme and were really quite random in their style, but each effective on its own right. For example, one poster shows a beautiful drawing of Hampton Court in full bloom, in a somewhat impressionistic art style. The copy reads simply, "BY TRAM TO HAMPTON COURT." A completely opposite poster is a black and white picture of flowers and weeds blowing in the wind. Below the picture reads, "where tides of grass break into foam of flowers-Swinburne." Here the Underground broke away from its traditional font to use an italicized font. However, the logo was still present. A third ad with a completely different twist parodies the tube map. However, instead of a map, the background is a lawn, and the train is a lawnmower cutting the tube map into the grass. The copy reads in traditional font, "Cutting through the traffic." This ad uses humor and creativity, in addition to the benefits of Underground transport.
These posters have proved a very effective mode of advertising, and have maintained a creative and diverse style. They have helped to make the London Underground's style and font exclusive.
London Underground's Past Positioning
The
London Underground has experienced numerous difficulties, changes, improvements,
and publicity since its opening in 1863. These turning points have been marked
by the advertising positions changing analogously.
Since
1913 the Underground has used the "roundel" as its logo. This image of a circle
in red with a blue bar stretched across is recognized world-wide by London frequenters
(thetube.com). This famous logo is used throughout the transportation system
with various station titles, warnings, and directions written on the blue bar
(thetube.com). A merchandise line markets the logo, displaying it on products
with slogans such as "Mind the Gap" and "No Smoking (www.ukstuff.com)." Additionally,
the "tube map" is another symbol with global attention (thetube.com). This simple
map converts the confusing twists and turns of the multiple railways into a
series of colorful lines and dots (thetube.com). The popularity and effortless
design of the map has extended to underground networks worldwide (thetube.com).
Suggestions have been offered to use the map as an advertising medium, as there
are available spaces, and they are used by millions of people (Masterson, p.8).
The Underground
has unfortunately encountered many problems that have led to a decline in sales
and popularity. In 1987 a fire at King's Cross, a crowded station, resulted
in the death of 31 people and the loss of many passengers' trust (London's Underground,
p.1). Long lines, overcrowded trains, and filthy conditions have further disgusted
passengers (London's Underground, p.2). These issues have permanently tarnished
the reputation of the London Underground, and may have led to the decline of
ticket sales.
These unfortunate and
inevitable occurrences have led the Tube to enforce new plans to regain the
public's favor. For example, they have developed a new marketing strategy placing
emphasis on customer appreciation and satisfaction (Littlefield, p.10). To improve
their reputation, the London Underground releases an "annual report on people,"
which gives information on the companies' personnel strategy and quotes, "people
are our biggest asset (Littlefield, p.10)." The "Customer Charter" is another
tactic the Tube uses to publicly list its goals for efficiency (Fojt, p.44).
Another enormous promotion to appease consumers was the promise to refund tickets
for trains delayed for more than 20 minutes (Fojt, p.44). This campaign cost
the Underground L150,000 in refunds (Norris, p.1). The London Underground hopes
to improve its image in the publics' eyes through these ventures.
Furthermore, a new campaign
to promote the joys of traveling offers interesting solutions for Tube publicity.
One such suggestion is to make the journey more bearable by putting comedians
on actual trains to make passengers laugh (Opinion, p.2). Another suggestion
by London Mayor Candidate Susan Kramer, suggests switching the emphasis of the
advertising market away from those already using the Tube, and instead focusing
on those who are using alternate forms of transportation (Opinion, p.2). The
Underground also wants to promote leisure travel to balance the lost ticket
sales (Dale, p.12). Another method to ease the strain of traveling is the "mystery
shopper," or an employee of the Tube who rides the train routes and rates the
cleanliness of stations, politeness of staff, and promptness of travel (Wilson
and Gutmann). They chose this method because they felt simply surveying passengers
would not give as authentic of an estimate as would an actual experience (Wilson
and Gutmann).
The London Underground
has an in-house design branch which handles the signs, artwork, and campaign
paraphernalia for advertising the transportation network. According to David
Evans, who interviewed computer design executive, Adam Nice, the design team
is not limited specifically to the London Underground since it is considered
a "profit center in its own right (Evans, p. 11)." This means that even though
it is considered an "in-house" organization, the branch is allowed to take jobs
from other clients not affiliated with the Underground (Evans, p.11). Advertising
for the London Underground is a big industry with many millions of pounds invested
each year, so the agency stays busy.
Copy Objectives
1. Create
a widespread knowledge of the Underground and its use as a transportation system.
2. Make commuters aware of the extent to which the Underground can help them
reach any destination within London.
3. Familiarize customers with the map of the Tube trains, so that they become
comfortable with using the system.
4. Show the Tube symbol frequently enough for citizens, and tourists, within
London to recognize it for what it stands for without further explanation.
5. Convince commuters that using the Underground is the most convenient, cost-efficient
way to travel through the city.
Methods
1. Use the
roundel in all advertisements, as well as on its own, to further familiarize
passengers and people in London with it, so that they recognize it as a symbol
of the Underground without it having to be stated as such.
2. Show the Tube map in ads, as well as on trains and within stations, to show
the area covered by the Underground, thus making it useful for travel to any
destination in London Point out specific places that passengers can travel to,
so that they can see that it meets their specific needs.
This page was last updated on: June 13, 2001