Advertising to the captive audiences at Melbourne railway stations is big business, with multinational company JCDecaux having held the station advertising contract for Metro Trains Melbourne for the past few years.
Their staff paste up new posters when it is time to change over the advertiser.
As well as replacing the billboards inside motorised panels.
And troubleshooting digital panels that display the advertisements upside down.
But in December 2017 the deal came up for renewal and local firm Adshel (a division of media company Here, There & Everywhere) won the contract.
Adshel has won part of the Metro Trains Melbourne outdoor contract – which will run for seven years – and will see Adshel launch 150 digital screens across Melbourne’s CBD and inner city railway stations. Stations include Flinders Street, Melbourne Central, Parliament, South Yarra and Richmond.
By early 2018 JCDecaux billboards at stations started to empty out.
And posters were left in tatters.
‘Out of service’ tags began to appear on motorised advertising panels.
As contractors began to physically remove the advertising panels from stations.
Leaving just dirty marks on walls where they once hung.
Or witches hats where they once stood.
The exception seems to be the subways at Flinders Street Station – they were cleaner than they have ever been!
However the demise of visual noise wasn’t to be – ‘bumblebee boxes’ started to appear at stations, marking the site of digital billboards for incoming operator Adshel.
With new screen being installed in April 2018.
Conveying an excitement about outdoor advertising that nobody outside the marketing industry holds.
While simultaneously managing to cover up directional signage at stations.
Seeing a station without advertising just wasn’t to be.
A footnote on PTV
Over on Twitter someone pointed out the Public Transport Victoria posters at stations along the Frankston line, on panels once branded JCDecaux, but now with black tape covering the name.
The panels appear to have escaped the changeover to Adshel, the aging posters inside falling to pieces.
Possibly the panels were transferred from JCDecaux to PTV at some point in the past, and are not part of the new contract?
And at Flinders Street Station
At Flinders Street Station the JCDecaux advertising panels on each platform once housed the emergency assistance buttons.
These panels have since been removed.
Requiring the help points to be relocated to the pillars that support the platform veranda.
I wonder who is footing the the bill for that work?
And advertisements elsewhere
The new contract doesn’t affect all advertising on the Melbourne rail network – APN Outdoor holds a separate 10 year contract for the ‘shouting’ advertising screens at City Loop stations.
Along with large format billboards at railway stations.
And roadside billboards located on railway land.
And to make things even more complicated, Southern Cross Station is excluded from the advertising contract covering the rest of the rail network, thanks to it being separate entity subject to a 30 year long public-private partnership.
There JCDecaux still manages the advertisements, where they have just deployed a new range of digital advertising displays.
But what about trams?
Back in 2011 a similar changeover occurred on the Melbourne tram network – Adshel won an exclusive contract to manage the advertising at tram stops, a role previously shared with JCDecaux.
However this changeover was a lot less wasteful – instead of throwing tram stops in the bin, the old ‘JCDecaux’ names was removed, and the new ‘Adshel’ placed over the top.
The same logo switcharoo is currently underway for a second time, following the success of JCDecaux over Adshel in the most recent round of tram advertising contract renewals in 2018.
And a final note on Flagstaff station
The Adshel screens blocking the directional signage at Flagstaff station were eventually fixed – the proper sign was moved higher up the wall, allowing the temporary paper signs to be removed.
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