Time for advertisers to wake up to Night Tube opportunities

Sadiq Khans vision of making London a vibrant 24-hour city is now a step closer to reality, thanks to further expansion of the Night Tube and Overground Services by Transport for London (TfL).

Unsurprisingly, passengers have been quick to embrace it. In a recent survey we conducted of nearly 2,000 urbanites, the Night Tube ranked ahead of Uber or black cabs as the preferred method of transport at night. In fact, 72 per cent feel that it makes getting home at night safer, and 62 per cent are now feeling more positive towards London Underground because of the service.

Around 100,000 journeys a night are now being made using the Night Tube and Night Overground at weekends. This number is growing – as are the opportunities it presents for brands.

Take the audience for example: the insight available through the data-rich London Underground environment shows the diversity of people using the Night Tube. We also know that women are more likely to use the service for nightlife activities, such as pubs, bars, and clubs (75 per cent of women and 66 per cent of men).

Nightlife, understandably, is the main reason for using the service. Mornington Crescent has as many as 3,600 people passing through its doors after midnight at the weekend, and Clapham Common and Clapham North rank as high as Leicester Square in terms of efficient places to reach young affluent professionals after 8pm on a Saturday night.

Aside from revellers, a host of new journeys are now occurring across London Underground, including from shift workers and people travelling to and from airports.

Our research also showed its appeal to late-night shoppers. With the second phase of Westfield London due to increase annual footfall at the mall by 10m shoppers a year, we expect passenger numbers at key stations to rise throughout the day and night.

Bond Street, another key London shopping destination, has always been popular with commuters in the morning and late afternoon, and affluent shoppers in the day.

Its important to note that all customer information TfL collects is anonymised and grouped at a station level so that no individual customer can be identified, and no data is shared directly with brands or advertisers.

Using aggregated and anonymised data, TfL is helping brands and agencies engage these audiences with flexible and contextual ads displayed at the right stations and time of day. Imagine mattress brands advertising to people after a long shift, or drinks companies showcasing their newest coffee blend to sleepy commuters.

Back in January, BT used digital screens to deliver round-the-clock updates from The Ashes (played in Australia) to travellers on the Underground.

Out-of-home is a unique channel for advertisers, and the Night Tube offers a platform for creativity with a more targeted approach. Campaigns that adapt throughout the day can deliver value for brands and an improved passenger experience.

Weve seized the day, now its time for advertisers to “carpe noctem”.

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CityAM

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