Initiating a large-scale exercise to identify and leverage pan-India advertising opportunities at stations and trains, Railways has appointed Ernst & Young (EY) as consultant to undertake the task.
The multinational professional service firm headquartered in London has been awarded the contract for exploring the advertising potential and suggesting roadmap for realising the target, said a senior Railway Ministry official.
Initial estimates have indicated an advertising potential on railways in excess of Rs 5,000 crore over the next few years.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has always been emphasising on increasing revenues through non-fare box route especially through advertising.
EY has been assigned the job for tapping the advertising potential of Indian Railways assets including fleet of trains spread in a wide network of about 7000 railway stations across the country.
The firm with its specialized offering Marketing and Advertising Risk Services (MARS), will help the Railways to identify assets across its stations for the purpose of advertising and will also develop a pricing strategy to evaluate them for advertisers. The firm has commenced its exercise.
In preliminary discussions held between railway officials and EY, it was emphasised that the exercise is to be completed in a time bound frame.
Chairman, Railway Board, AK Mital pointed out, "This current move by the Railways will allow for revenue enhancement for the enterprise without putting any burden on its passengers. EY and Indian Railways will engage with leading advertisers through the course of this project for effective optimization of railway assets."
In the past, railways has used its assets to earn revenues through advertising but limited to train wraps and display spaces in stations. This is the first time in the country that a large-scale project to identify and leverage pan-India advertising opportunities has been initiated, he said.
EY India Director Bharat Rajamani said, "Through this mandate, we will be creating a new medium for advertisers to leverage in order to reach their target audience. With a large expanse of assets and high measurability of its reach, the Indian Railways' assets will be beneficial to local and national clients alike."
EY India Partner Farokh Balsara said, "There has never been a nation-wide assessment of advertising potential of assets at such a large scale. We are excited and proud to be associated with Railways on a project that will generate advertising revenues and in turn help to expand and improve services for commuters. This aligns with EY's purpose of building a better working world.
