Getting to know the LRT-1 ridership

With over 20 stations, LRT-1 is one of the most used metro systems in the country. Teeming crowds queue almost every day to get to and from their destination.

A recent study conducted by marketing agencies PHAR Philippines Inc (PHAR) and TNS (part of Kantar Media) puts a human face to these passengers. Their study entitled, “Unlocking LRT-1 Riders: Research and Data on Consumers," gives insight on riders' profiles, behaviors, and preferences. 

About 5,500 LRT-1 passengers were interviewed between 2015 and 2017.

This is the second installment of the research conducted by PHAR and TNS in 2016. 

In their latest study, about 65 percent of the riders are aged 18 to 29 years old. The gender ratio is 50 percent male and 50 percent female. The average passengers spend about 62 minutes per day in LRT-1 trains and stations.

There has been a 16 percent increase in daily riders and a 37.5 percent increase in passengers from socio economic classes A, B, and C1.  

The passengers use different applications to get them through the day. About 36,000 riders use Grab and Uber services to get to and from home to the station every day. About 95 percent of LRT-1 passengers use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The increase in ridership can be linked to the developments in the LRT-1 stations. In the study, there was improved cleanliness factor by 177 percent. The stations Abad Santos and Gil Puyat have garnered the biggest cleanliness scores.

Riders have also cited that the ticket buying experience has also become more efficient. According to the study, LRT-1 was rated with 260 percent improvement in terms of ticket queues. The Vito Cruz station was singled out as the most improved in terms of convenience in train ticket purchasing.

The study also delved on the brands that are used most often by LRT-1 riders. For telecommunications, about 50 percent prefer Globe Prepaid sim cards.When it comes to gadgets, 10 percent own Cherry Mobile phones, while there is a 200 percent increase in use of brands Oppo, Vivo, and Huawei mobile phones. The switch has decreased the Nokia phone ownership by 75 percent.

In beverage, Kopiko is a leading brand for coffee while Coca-Cola is the softdrink of choice. For shampoo, Clear and Dove are preferred by the LRT-1 riders.

The study also released that the LRT-1 commercials have made a difference in ad recall for brands such as Cherry Mobile, Coca-Cola, Smart, Dazz and Happee.

The research methodologies were a combination of LRT-1 fieldwork intercept, call back, and NCR (national capital region) representative sample.

The results were revealed by Phar Philippines, Light Rail Manila Corporation, and Kantar TNS executives in an event held at the Discovery Primea.

For more information, call 7292218 or visit PHAR Website: www.pharpartnership.com

Philippine Airlines appoints PHAR as Ancillary Revenue Partner across media assets

Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) sealed an agreement appointing PHAR—one of Southeast Asia’s leading providers of ancillary revenue services to transport and infrastructure industry—as a strategic partner to develop and bring to market its owned travel media assets. PHAR will manage advertising and marketing partnerships across multiple platforms, including in-flight entertainment, on-board activations, digital advertising on desktop and mobile, and airport lounge advertising among others.

The contract sees PHAR expand PAL’s traveler reach across international destinations, including Southeast Asia, and further enhances PAL’s passenger reach throughout the full ‘Connected Journey’.

“We are thrilled with the appointment. Our extensive work with airports, airlines and mass transit systems in SE Asia will allow us to create long term revenue streams across an integrated media offering for PAL. We are optimistic about making a significant revenue contribution to the PAL bottom line, while helping brands connect with travel audiences.” said Prem Bhatia, Managing Director – Asia of PHAR.

PAL Ancillary Business Unit Vice President Kevin Y. Hartigan-Go said, “It is an exciting time to work with PHAR, and we are confident they are best placed to develop our media platforms and create more value to every PAL traveler’s journey.” He also noted, “As we embark on our journey to become a 5-star airline, PAL partners with brands that share the same philosophy in service innovation and excellence. PAL remains focused on multi-channel advertising and co-branding strategies that provide passengers with world-class service and comprehensive modern experience.”

Celebrating its 76th anniversary, Philippine Airlines is Asia’s first airline and the Philippines flag carrier. As PAL centers in fleet modernization and route network expansion, passengers can travel across over 43 international and 30 domestic destinations.

Founded in 2011, PHAR is the leading specialist in transport and infrastructure media in Southeast Asia, managing assets across airports, airlines, mass transit systems and smart cities developments. PHAR has offices in Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Bangalore and London.

Image: From left to right: PAL Chief Commercial Group Adviser Francis Bernard, PAL Ancillary Business Unit Vice President Kevin Y. Hartigan-Go, PHAR Managing Director for Asia Prem Bhatia, and PAL Ancillary Business Programs Management Assistant Vice President Alfred Joseph J. Montemayor

Prem Bhatia speaks at MSAP's Media Congress

In the country’s biggest and largest gathering of media experts and practitioners – Media Congress 2017, PHAR’s Prem Bhatia spoke about the the growing adex domination of digital media, how the other various media are being affected, and how mediums are future-proofing itself.

Prem was defending Transit Media and specifically how airlines, airports and mass transit systems (MRT / LRT) have evolved from plain vanilla OOH to a sophisticated media play across desktop, mobile and digital screens, with measurement and attribution playing an increasingly larger role in the years to come.

Examples he cited included the work being done by Transport for London, Seoul Metro, how airlines were using traveler profiles to effectively segment and bring in advertising dollars, how Jakarta’s new airport terminal was the first 100% digital airport environment ever, and how Light Rail Manila was using DOOH , Wi-Fi and their retail environment to complete the path to purchase.

The Media Congress took place in Baguio City Philippines, from September 6 to 9, 2017.

Coca-Cola's "LRT-1 Central Station Domination", created by PHAR, bags Bronze at ICE Awards

At the recently concluded Media Congress ICE Awards 2017 in Baguio, Starcom Mediavest Philippines won the Bronze for Coca-Cola’s Station Domination campaign.

The campaign focuses on the LRT-1 Central Station, dominated by the beverage giant’s iconic bottle, and red and white color scheme. Launched in June 2017,

Coca-Cola has dominated the landscape of the LRT-1 station, including stairwells, floor, benches, digital screens and trains (see pictures below). This

campaign goes hand-in-hand with the upgrades that Light Rail Manila Corp (LRMC) has implemented as part of their station improvement program, including the installation of new security systems, lighting, repaired ceilings and roofs, as well as painting works. 

All ICE Award campaign entries went through strict screening processes, and the judging was based on three parameters: ICE – Insights, Creativity, and Effectiveness. In the end, Coca-Cola’s Station Domination campaign, joined the ranks of equally outstanding campaigns for Oreo, Colgate, McDonald’s and Huawei.

“Starcom is thankful for its partnership with PHAR for helping realize one of the most ambitious and spectacular outdoor displays in the country, Coca-Cola LRT-1 Central Station Domination. Being awarded a Bronze ICE Award for this undertaking is worth all the challenges that we went through in turning this vision into a reality. Thanks PHAR for all your support!” said Starcom Mediavest Group Philippines, Inc. Media Director, Cris D. Cepeda. 

“The ICE award is an amazing bonus for all the hard work the teams involved put in over a six month period. What brings us fulfillment is the fun and energy we get to bring to our commuters every single day.” said PHAR Philippines, General Manager,

Patricia Sison.

Media Specialists Association of the Philippines’ (MSAP) ICE Awards recognizes

media agencies, networks, and publishers for exemplary works in media thinking and communication.

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PHAR SECURES LANDMARK PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ACCENTURE AND BRITISH TRIATHLON

Accenture has signed a four-year sponsorship agreement to become a lead partner of British Triathlon, in a deal brokered by PHAR.

The unique partnership will see the leading global professional services company work hand-in-hand with the sport’s world-class athletes and coaches. The two organisations will also promote inclusion and diversity through the expansion of a new mixed relay format of triathlon.

Accenture is now an Official Partner of British Triathlon’s Elite Teams. The organisations will work closely to improve elite triathlete performance in the run-up to Tokyo 2020 by applying new technologies across the sport’s world-class Olympic and Paralympic programmes.

Accenture will also be the Official Innovation Partner and Official Mixed Relay Partner, a format that British Triathlon has big plans for following the recent announcement that it will debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Commenting on the announcement, Marcus Wight, CEO of PHAR said, “We are really excited to be involved in such a significant partnership which we believe will become a ground breaking example of sponsorship at its very best. We have been working exclusively with British Triathlon on creating their strategy for approaching brands and to now have introduced Accenture and to be part of the relationship moving forward is very rewarding.“ 

Jack Buckner, CEO British Triathlon said “PHAR have played an integral role in securing our partnership with Accenture. We have been working exclusively with PHAR on creating our strategy for approaching brands and through their introduction we have now together created one of the most exciting and potentially impactful partnerships for an Olympic sport post 2012. We look forward to their continuing role in maximising this partnership and helping us to secure additional sponsors.”

Julian Skan, Senior Managing Director at Accenture, said: “We are extremely proud to partner with British Triathlon. Triathlon is a sport that fits perfectly with our focus on gender equality and disability inclusion, as well as promoting health and wellbeing. And nothing beats working together when you are striving for success, so we’ll support British Triathlon’s elite triathletes by applying new technologies with the aim of improving performance.”

The deal represents one of the biggest investments in British Olympic sport since the London 2012 Olympic Games. It’s a unique opportunity to build upon the sport’s success and create a platform to encourage active and healthy lifestyles through triathlon.

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