Appealing to the Senses: Sight, Sound and Scent in Metros

Advertising in metro environments provide golden opportunities for brands to speak to passengers on a daily basis, allowing for regular dialogues and story-telling, which are key elements to any brand-building strategy. Recent advertising campaigns in JCDecaux metros have been truly imaginative, offering delightful ways for brands to get close to passengers via their senses. SIGHT - Watch the Swatch, Shanghai Metro Swatch provided a colourful feast for the eyes with the launch of their new dive series “Scuba Libre” in Shanghai Metro. The advertiser’s usual light-hearted approach was expressed in each brightly coloured watch, which was paired with a sea animal and playful messages of “Go Deep”, “Go Dive” and “Go Splash”.   SOUND - Jam with the Crowd, Hong Kong Metro HMV transformed an entire walkway with a series of posters and re-defined ‘underground music’ in Hong Kong metro. People were invited to have jamming sessions with their fellow passengers by touching different egg-shapes on the posters. Aspiring musicians could choose between 5 different music instruments – the violin, guitar, saxophone, piano and turntable to play on.   SCENT - Smell the Wine, Metro MadridDestinia.com, an online travel agency brought the aroma of La Rioja, a famous red wine region to passengers in Madrid. Three of the most characteristic scents of its wine bouquet – grass, vanilla and berries were dispensed, allowing people to be momentarily transported to La Rioja. Those who shared their opinions on Twitter stood a chance to win tickets for a weekend trip to the region.   These campaigns not only enriched the journeys of metro commuters, their unique ways of interaction also go a long way in delivering brand value for the advertisers. For more of these innovative metro campaigns, do read on for more memorable metro moments.