The concept of ‘Metro wrap’ ads, where the entire Metro train is covered with ads, is becoming so popular that demand for them has surpassed the total number of trains available for the purpose.
Since its launch in October 2014, the Delhi Metro has had at least 30 companies that have opted for this form of advertising and a dozen others are in queue.
The demand and supply gap arises because the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) allows only 10 per cent of its coaches per corridor to be wrapped with ads. Hence, only 21 trains of the total 208 trains can be wrapped with ads.
But, the DMRC and the ad agency, Eg.Communications Private Limited, which has been given the responsibility for the ad wraps, aren’t complaining.
The ad agency earns about Rs. 25 lakh from advertisers to wrap coaches of the Metro for a month, it pays the DMRC Rs. 32 crore per annum for the space.
“This concept has been a success due to the sheer magnanimity of the space available for advertising and of course, the huge ridership of the Delhi Metro. Each six-coach Metro train body provides 7,000 square feet of space for ads. Moreover, these ad-wrapped trains grab five million eyeballs on a daily basis. So for an advertiser, his job is done in a matter of seconds when a commuter or a person travelling in car sees the Metro passing by,” said Manish Sethi, director of Eg.Communications Private Limited.
At present, 12 trains are ad wrapped and order for four others are pending, Mr. Sethi said.
These trains run on all lines of the Metro network except the Red Line (Rithala-Dilshad Garden).
The Delhi Metro has a daily ridership of 26 lakh and about 70 per cent of commuters spend at least 30 minutes in the Metro network daily.
The first ad wrapped train was from Morpheus Group. It was rolled out in October 2014. The second was by Indiamart. Amazon.in, Renault, Snapdeal, Mother Dairy, ONGC, Bank of Baroda, PNB Housing, Micromax, Oppo, Fortune, Myntra, Dhara, Gulf and Hike have advertised on train bodies.
“Wraps are put only on six-coach trains as the fabrication cost is very high. Around Rs. 8 lakh per train goes in making, pasting and removing these ads,” said Mr Sethi.
The agency maintains that increasing the number of trains under this ad category is not necessary as fewer trains help in building high brand recall among people.
