Study says 73% of Metro Manilans take the MRT and LRT

Advertisers of products and services, advocacies, and even candidacies in Metro Manila should look into the potential of transit ads, particularly those placed on train cars, to reach more people.

A study on the travel habits of Metro Manilans, conducted recently by media research firm Nielsen, showed that 73 percent of residents of the national capital region have travelled using the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) systems in the past months.

The “MRT LRT Travel Habits” study also showed that more than half (52 percent) of Metro Manila residents above 15 years old or 4.2 million Filipinos are mobile or are out of their homes for most of the time.

This made advertising specialists suggest that companies, advocacy groups, and maybe potential candidates in the 2010 elections, consider outdoor media over traditional media.

Non-Traditional Channels

“If you have a message to send, you won’t reach them (market) through traditional media channels because they are outside their home,” Nielsen executive director Jay Bautista said Wednesday during the presentation of the study’s results in Makati City.

The survey interviewed 1,000 train riders—500 from the MRT, 250 from LRT-1, and 250 from LRT-2—in February 2009. It has a margin of error of 5 percent. Respondents were chosen using random sampling.

Bing Kimpo, vice president for communications and special projects of Trackworks, the marketing arm of MRT, said the phenomenon that more Filipinos are spending most of their time outside their home paved the way for the development of out-of-home advertisements.

Kimpo said advertisements seen on train stations, ticket windows, inside trains and train wraps are noticeable by commuter. “These are places where advertisers and buyers meet.”

He said the culture brought by the boom in business process outsourcing also made more Filipinos mobile. “We have a more mobile lifestyle right now.”

Increasing Exposure

The study noted the respondents’ exposure to out-of-home media grew from 62 percent 2004 to 68 percent in 2009.

Exposure to the Internet grew from 18 to 32 percent during the same period, while exposure to television increased from 93 to 96 percent.

Exposure to cinema declined from 36 to 25 percent while exposure to newspaper fell from 47 percent to 25 percent.

Despite the increased mobility of Filipinos, advertisers’ spending on out-of-home media or outdoor ads remained low compared to traditional forms of media.

According to the 2008 Philippine Media Spend Landscape, out-of-home ads account for a meager 2 percent of advertising expenditures. TV accounts for 73 percent, while radio and print account for 18 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

For Politicians, Too

When asked whether out-of-home advertisements can be used by politicians to reach voters, Kimpo said so far this is no legal impediment to using this media to advertise or promote their advocacies.

“There is no law that prohibits politicians from using out-of-home advertisements,” Kimpo said. “When the campaign season starts, we will follow the guidelines set by the Commission on Elections.”

However, he said, “there are no attempts at this point” by politicians to approach them for possible ad placements on the MRT.

Nielsen’s Bautista said that politicians will soon use outdoor advertisements in their campaigns. “They will explore that because they will be reaching the voting population.”

Riders’ Profile

The study revealed that the MRT—which plies EDSA from Taft Avenue in Pasay City to North Avenue in Quezon City—caters more to the 25-49-year-old riders.

“It’s a cross section of Metro Manila consumers,” Bautista said, referring to white collar and blue collar workers.

The two LRT lines, the study showed, are skewed toward the younger age group. Around 30 percent of the commuters using LRT-1—which plies from Baclaran in Parañaque City to Monumento in Caloocan City—are students.

Students comprise 42 percent of the riders of LRT-2, which plies from Santolan in Pasig City to Claro M. Recto Avenue in Manila. The study noted that almost 1 in 10 LRT-2 riders (9 percent) is a small-scale entrepreneur.

“These are entrepreneurs who travel from Marikina and Quezon City all the way to Recto,” Bautista explained. Recto is the drop-off point for small-scale businessmen who go to Manila’s bargain center, Divisoria.

The study revealed that trains influenced the lifestyle of riders. Since some of these trains’ stations are connected to shopping malls, riders are more likely to go to these malls, with most of them visiting twice a month. (Newsbreak)

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