The magic weapon for subway advertisements to flood the screen!

As the leader in outdoor advertising, subway advertising has a high exposure rate and covers a large population , and has excellent effects in both brand promotion and marketing.

The "2021-2025 China Subway Advertising Market Analysis and Development Prospects Research Report" shows that as a subcategory of outdoor advertising, the market development of subway advertising continues to improve, and the market size accounts for nearly 30% of the entire outdoor advertising market . Therefore, it is very popular among advertisers of small and medium-sized enterprises.

So how do you create an impressive subway advertisement?

Only one of the two is required: either the design has a strong visual impact, or the copy has a deep memorable point.

1. The design has a strong impact

Subway advertising is a visual medium with a long exposure time. The impactful image cannot be ignored by passers-by. In addition, the relatively closed, compulsory and continuous unique communication environment constructed by the subway space not only provides sufficient scene thickness for the dissemination of brand information, but also provides the audience with a strong enough sense of immersion.

The visual impact of subway advertisements comes from three dimensions.

The first is the tone of the advertisement, the second is the technological feel of the advertisement, and the third is the interactive experience the advertisement gives to the audience.

Color is an indispensable factor in outdoor advertising design. It has the function of influencing people's moods and arousing their emotions and resonating with them. The offline advertising of Beishan Bag Factory brand is mainly in the form of outdoor advertising, which focuses on color matching and is placed on the double doors of carriages on many lines of Beijing Metro. The main display style is the low-key and light luxury image with Morandi color matching .

(Photo source: Weibo @北山包厂)

The characteristic of the Morandi color system is that it presents a very high-grade gray. The colors in the picture are not bright, as if covered with a layer of gray. Although the colors are not ostentatious, they restrain and offset each other in the picture, giving the vision a perfect sense of balance. They are calm and self-contained, soothing and elegant, and have a cool feeling, so they are also jokingly called "gentle and frigid".

(Photo source: Weibo @北山包厂)

The high-end color matching sets off the light luxury atmosphere of Beishan Bag Factory, and the advertising concepts such as "girlish" and "romantic" are reflected in the color matching. In subway stations, the brand’s target consumer groups are among the passengers coming and going, and they can have a certain degree of emotional resonance with them, thereby increasing their impression of the brand.

In addition, in addition to focusing on color matching, subway advertisements are also gradually adding technological elements.

Last March, Shanghai Wuzhong Road Metro Station designed a 70-meter-long painting on both sides of the station hall arcade. Against the backdrop of LED lights, the station hall looks like a magical time tunnel, showing off the combination of technology and outdoor advertising.

(Source: Rail Transit Network)

The two sides of the station hall are a collection of the essence of Shanghai's urban landscape. Under the effects of lighting and ground reflection, the floor becomes a blockbuster movie with its own scenery.

(Source: Rail Transit Network)

When passengers walk into the subway station, the flowing light and shadow effects seem to illustrate the constant pace of Shanghai people.

(Source: Rail Transit Network)

I’ve seen dual-curved screens on mobile phones, but I’ve never seen the door to dual-curved LED light cables. It is understood that the designers designed up to five sizes of perforations for the city models on these curved LED screens, creating a cyberpunk-like visual effect. Use technology to awaken the rigidity of the plane and present an immersive viewing experience that travels through time and space.

Interactive experience is also one of the ways for subway advertisements to stand out. Interactive and experiential subway advertising can create visual appeal and increase user engagement.

From March 23rd to 24th, Babycare and China Women's News held an offline event at the Hangzhou Civic Center Metro Station. Accompany the new generation of parents to enjoy freedom in their personalities and parenting in various ways.

(Photo source: Weibo @Babycare official blog)

Babycare has prepared a label wall on the site. Written on the wall are stereotypes about the new generation of parents, such as "Stay-at-home moms have no self", "Why don't you behave like a mother at all", and "Dads are always clumsy when taking care of kids".

Next to these words, there is a row of labels that can be torn off like a calendar. The front of the label is printed with the same glaring stereotyped words as the ones on the wall, while the content on the back fully reflects the "refusal to be labeled".

(Photo source: Weibo @Babycare official blog)

The audience can directly tear off these labels with stereotypes. The action of tearing off labels also corresponds to the current trend of young people "refusing to be labeled", achieving effective emotional interaction and helping to improve the efficiency of advertising dissemination.

Beishan Bag Manufacturing uses Morandi colors to present its advertisements, Shanghai subway stations use technological elements to create time and space tunnels, and Babycare’s interactive experience “refuses to be labeled.”

The visual impact of these subway ads is strong enough to place the audience in a specific scene, allowing the brand's information to penetrate everywhere and achieve a comprehensive marketing effect.

2. The copy has a deep memorable point

In addition to having a strong enough visual impact, a good subway advertisement can also impress people with copy that resonates with people.

In the era of information explosion, attention has gradually become a scarce resource. Content marketing must shift from a brand-oriented approach to a user-oriented approach, starting from user needs and pain points. Copywriting must be considered from an angle that is more in line with user needs in order to arouse emotional resonance among users.

I saw Boss Direct’s subway advertisement on the Internet a few days ago and was immediately attracted to it. As expected, copywriting with a high spread rate must be able to win people’s hearts.

(Photo source: Weibo @BOSS直招聘)

In the current epidemic situation, as we rush to make a living, how many people really put caring for themselves in the subject position?

Therefore, Boss Zhipin speaks for everyone, "I have always been the subject of work, and when talking about work, I have to talk directly."

This also reflects the core of boss's brand promotion. Boss Direct Hire has placed a group of eye-catching poster copywriting in subway stations in Beijing, Changsha and other places, expressing the true voice of the majority of job seekers.

(Photo source: Weibo @BOSS直招聘)

I can't, but I can learn. A blank sheet of paper should be discussed directly.

College graduates who have just graduated are inevitably full of unknowns and have no experience in work. The copy well reflects the troubles and concerns of this group of people when looking for jobs.

(Photo source: Weibo @BOSS直招聘)

I am thirty-five years old and have two children. Those who support their families should talk directly.

Be frank and don't be ashamed to talk about money when looking for a job. Age and family status are not difficult issues to talk about when looking for a job. It is precisely because of these realistic issues that you need to express yourself.

(Photo source: Weibo @BOSS直招聘)

A company once invited me to be a director and offered me a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan.

Those who have experienced nothingness should talk directly.

For such an insignificant thing as a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan, more attention should be paid to communication. When the actual salary is very different from the salary announced during recruitment, you should talk directly!

(Photo source: Weibo @BOSS直招聘)

I like riding a motorcycle and skiing, I like long-distance running and winter swimming, I like music and growing flowers...

People whose hearts are beating hard should be talked to directly!

What kind of people are those who like skiing, motorcycles, and growing flowers? Must be someone who loves life.

This set of posters vividly interprets the attitudes towards job hunting from the perspectives of recent graduates, mothers, senior professionals, and post-00s.

It breaks the traditional prejudice that recruiters hold a dominant position, and allows "direct talks" to be implemented for every job seeker, whether ordinary or special, which is in line with the mainstream employment trend that recruitment is a two-way choice.

The copywriting is straightforward and cool, and each one directly hits the target audience.

Among the numerous subway advertisements, the copywriting style of each brand is different. For example , the advertisement in Kowloon subway station in Hong Kong is very touching at a time when a new round of epidemic is raging.

(Photo source: Xiaohongshu@Kowloon)

(Photo source: Xiaohongshu@Kowloon)

We sold 20 million boxes in the first half of the year. This year we hope to sell fewer and fewer boxes. We hope that the virus will go away in 2022.

Based on humanitarian ideas, the INDICAID brand of the COVID-19 self-test kit conveys their wishes for the early disappearance of the new coronavirus through copywriting.

The positive copy downplays the straightforward brand marketing, but it also makes the majority of netizens remember this new crown self-test kit.

I believe that netizens’ favorable impression of the brand is continuing to rise.

The two subway advertisements have very different styles, but they both illustrate that subway advertising requires deep memories, and only with memories can there be action.

Without such a strong visual impact, we need to show the unique highlights of the text.

Subway advertising copywriters can go the [talent] direction and dazzle everyone with their brilliant writing skills and techniques.

You can also go for the warmer approach and give people a gentle hug with the words “what is easily transmitted from person to person is hope”.

Of course, you can also go for a personalized approach with weird, dark, and eccentric humor.

As long as the point buried in the text is prominent enough, vivid and impactful like the visual, the advertisement can penetrate deeply into the hearts of the audience in the subway with constant flow of people.

3. Conclusion

In subway outdoor advertising, with the integration of creativity and technology, the gameplay is constantly upgrading.

Impactful visual images and memorable copywriting are the winning formula for subway advertising to stand out.

In the future, with the development of outdoor media digitalization, subway advertising will gradually develop towards more precise marketing and more segmented populations.