Insight. Strategy. Implementation.

CASE STUDY

Putting Train Advertising Media Back on Track Low quality perceptions and declining sales meant on-train advertising was

struggling to mature as an out-of-home media format.

Lucidity London Inspiring Growth

Lucidity London | Case Study | KBH On-Train Media Page 2 of 6

TURNAROUND DELIVERS 300% RISE IN MEDIA REVENUES

Executive Summary

In early 2005, KBH’s on-train advertising proposition was facing growing pains. A survey of customers showed

that product and service quality were low. To return the division to growth the company needed to deliver a

proposition that was more closely aligned to the needs and preferences of customers. Lucidity London helped

management engineer a turnaround in performance which produced a staggering 300% increase in revenue in

the first month, and continued to grow so dramatically that the division was earning 10 times more revenue

than before the turnaround began just 3 years later.

About KBH On-Train Media

KBH On-Train Media is an independent media contractor

which sells advertising space inside trains to Britain’s

biggest advertisers. The company employs 26 staff and

operates a network of over 50,000 poster sites on trains

serving the London and the South East population.

KBH's media proposition (commonly referred to as

‘traincards’) was launched in 2001 on South West Trains.

Three years later, the traincard network comprised some

24,000 advertising sites as KBH secured exclusive

contracts with 7 train operating companies.

Situation

In early 2005 KBH’s traincard revenues had begun to dip,

and KBH’s management team weren’t sure why. They

articulated numerous internal and external factors that

might have been detrimentally affecting sentiment

towards traincards. But they weren’t clear which issues

were the most urgent and important and, as a result

they were unable to prioritise the problems that needed

to be addressed immediately to boost consideration of

their proposition, and start generating higher levels of

sales.

Lucidity London | Case Study | KBH On-Train Media Page 3 of 6

Task

Lucidity London was briefed to help the management

team at KBH isolate the key problems in the traincard

advertising product, and to make a series of strategic

recommendations to return the division to growth and

deliver a path to profit for the first time in its 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 important external factors:

1. fierce competition among large, well-resourced

outdoor advertising contractors

2. the introduction of freesheet newspaper’s to

London's advertising market targeting commuters

3. the digitisation of London Underground's advertising

estate, also targeting commuters

When we bought our 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 here KBH’s fortunes were looking a lot brighter. A £6

billion investment programme initiated five years earlier

by the government of the day meant that all 12 train

companies operating services into London from the

South East were about to start replacing their old

carriages. The new carriages would completely

transform the display environment for advertising inside

trains – quality was back on the agenda.

To capitalise on this structural change, and guided by

the findings from our own research, we reformulated

the traincard advertising proposition to new

specifications, with:

larger packages of facings designed to reach a mass

commuter audience more frequently

higher quality display frames in just 3 standard sizes

(previously there were 7)

audience research to assist the media buying

community when selling into clients (we used TGI)

campaign research to prove the effectiveness of the

traincard medium

a quality-based company image for KBH; new

website, brochures and other promotional materials

Lucidity London | Case Study | KBH On-Train Media Page 4 of 6

Communication Strategy

Lucidity London | Case Study | KBH On-Train Media Page 5 of 6

1.2 1.2 1.1

2.6

2004 2005 2006 2007

Annual Traincard Revenues (£m) 2004 - 2007

Results

The results of our turnaround plan were immediate.

Sales tripled in the month following the re-launch and

continued on a growth trajectory for the remainder of

the calendar 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 have been

weathering the storm that has been battering the

outdoor advertising market profitably. The company

now has exclusive contracts for in-train advertising with

all 12 of the Train Operating Companies providing rail

services into London from the South East. And, at the

end of 2009, KBH reported sales up by 17% on the

previous year, in an outdoor market that has declined by

24% year-on-year. A stellar performance !

Traincards are now firmly established as a quality

outdoor advertising proposition, chosen for inclusion

on media schedules on its own merits by some of

Britain'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.

Source: KBH On-Train Media, Jan 2007

£0

£50,000

£100,000

£150,000

£200,000

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Traincard: Gross Media Revenues Jan - Dec 2006

Relaunch 16 April

Lucidity London | Case Study | KBH On-Train Media Page 6 of 6

About Lucidity London Lucidity London is a marketing consultancy which provides research, strategy and programme implementation services to local, national and international clients.

We combine in-depth customer insights with practical expertise in marketing and operations to help our clients evolve and grow. Our home page is www.luciditylondon.com.

Copyright © 2014 Lucidity London All rights reserved. Lucidity London and its logo are trademarks of Lucidity London.