March 2010 Newsletter

Feature Story

Trip Chaining: A Way of Targeting

Article by: Kim Ramser, DOmedia Business Development & Industry Relations Guru

The term "trip chaining"--a series of short trips linked together between destinations--has been around for a number of years. But have you ever considered it as a selling concept? When the Urban Mobility Study for 2009 was released in June by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), one of the findings to note was that smaller markets are now just as affected by traffic congestion as larger cities. Commuters are also trip chaining more frequently than in the past. As a media provider, the information revealed by this study can be used to your benefit by turning it into a sales tool.

Here are a few notable changes in the report:

• 63% of the peak period travel is congested compared to 29% in 1982.
• 48% of the major road system is congested compared to 29% in 1982.
• The number of hours of the day when congestion might be encountered has grown from about 4.2 hours to about 7.0 hours.

According to Nancy McGuckin, Travel Behaviorist, 58% of the workers in her study made a home to work tour, meaning they stopped somewhere on the way to work.

There are a few definitions used in describing this trip chaining process:

• Anchor: A primary or substantial trip destination.
•   Direct Trip: A trip that travels directly between two anchor destinations, such as a trip from home to work.
• Chain: A series of short trips linked together between anchor destinations, such as a trip that leaves home, stops to drop a passenger, stops for coffee, and continues to work.
• Intervening Stop: The stops associated with chained trips.
• Tour: Total travel between two anchor destinations, such as home and work, including both direct trips and chained trips with intervening stops.

People first started trip chaining because they were essentially multi-tasking. They were busy and needed to lump trips together to save time. Later, more of the population started trip chaining because it was cost effective. It was cheaper to drive somewhere on the way home from work rather than driving home and going back out later. Today, in addition to saving time and being cost effective, we trip chain to get off the major highways earlier and cut down on the 36 hours per year that we are spending in traffic (that's the additional time the average U.S. urban traveler spends on the road per year because of rush-hour congestion, according to the Texas Transportation Institute).

This latest Urban Mobility Report shows that congestion growth is now coming from the smaller communities and not mainly the big cities, as it was in the past.

Urban Area Travel Conditions:

Hours of Delay (annually)*
 
*Hours are defined as people-hours. For instance, if 5 people sat in traffic an additional 10 hours, that would be 50 hours.

How does this information affect you as a media company?

First, if you are a billboard company, your dwell time just increased. Secondly, if you are a company that does not have billboards, here is a great way to show how your products can reach commuters. Maybe you aren’t near an anchor, but you are near an intervening stop. Next, it is much easier to show frequency when you sell your products in different venues. How many times can you reach a commuter that day? Whether your media vehicles are inside or outside of that stop, you are still reaching them.

How can you use DOmedia to help you use trip chaining as a sales tool?

Log on to your account and make sure your inventory is properly classified in our venue choices. Do you have a bus shelter right outside of a school, health club or grocery store? Then make sure that you have those venues checked. Advertisers are looking to reach the population throughout the day while they make their stops. Of course, that’s nothing new, but now they can find you on DOmedia when they’re looking to reach those venues. If your Media Profiles aren’t designated in those venues, planners have no way of knowing to include you in a plan.

Here is a chart of typical trip chaining venues from McGuckin's report:

Which venues can you target? Look at the venue options on DOmedia.com to get more ideas. If you have any questions, please contact us. We're here to help!

866.939.3663 ext 6  |  theteam@domedia.com

Sources:
Trips, Chains, and Tours--Using an Operational Definition; Nancy McGuckin and Yukiko Nakamoto (Submitted for The NHTS Conference, Nov 1-2, 2004).

2009 Urban Mobility Report; David Schrank and Tim Lomax (Texas Transportation Institute, The Texas A&M University System) http://mobility.tamu.edu, July 2009.

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What's New

DSE to Back Industry's First Independent Trade Association

From February 23-25th, the Las Vegas Convention Center played host to the Digital Signage Expo (DSE), the largest tradeshow and conference dedicated to digital signage, interactive technology and out-of-home networks.

The digital out-of-home industry has never had an independent trade association—that is, until now. During this year's expo, DSE announced it will provide initial funding for the Digital Signage Federation (DSF), the new non-profit organization dedicated to improving and promoting the digital signage industry. The Interim Board of Directors, also announced during the DSE last month, is made up of consulting, end-user, network and vendor segments of the industry.

Creative Corner

2010 FIFA World Cup Advertisers Turn to OOH in South Africa

For the 30th year in a row, Adidas has signed on with FIFA as the official sponsor of the World Cup soccer tournament, set to take place in South Africa this year. As part of the sponsorship, Adidas supplies the game ball every year, each version different than the last. The 2010 game ball, named “Jabulani”, became the center of this year’s big campaign. To generate buzz around the new design, Adidas created a giant display of model soccer balls used the past 30 years, including Jabulani which remained under a black cover until its launch just hours before the group draw. The same concept was used for point-of-sale at a nearby shop where the Jabulani balls were to be sold.

Adidas isn’t the only brand utilizing out-of-home media to build hype around the tournament. Instead of focusing on the game, Visa’s “Go Fans” campaign places the actual fans at the center of its advertising efforts by wrapping 23 buses, including interior branding strips in each of them.

Coca-Cola has taken a different approach using brand domination in metropolitan areas and aiports. Using wallscapes, billboards, escalator wraps and more, Coca-Cola has taken over international and domestic arrival and departure areas at airports as well as surrounding areas, making it impossible to miss.

Also impossible to miss will be the efforts made by The ADreach Group, the OOH media company responsible for street beautification upgrades in 25 sites across Johannesburg. To pay for these upgrades, ADreach installed Supalites, its relatively new advertising medium, along streets on route to training venues, stadiums and tourist areas. By repeatedly placing them in key locations, ADreach created a highly visible and effective opportunity for World Cup advertisers.

These are just a few examples of great OOH campaigns surrounding the tournament. Keep your eyes peeled for more as we get closer to the June kickoff.

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