• by Erik Sass , October 21, 2008

Two of the world's leading out-of-home advertisers announced major expansions of their transit advertising portfolios over the last several weeks. The addition of the new transit advertising real estate is telling. Even in an economic downturn, out-of-home executives and clients seem confident about the medium's future.

Most recently, Clear Channel Outdoor said it had won the bid for a five-year contract to place advertising on the public transit system serving Sacramento, Calif., as well as a one-year contract for the bus system serving San Antonio, Texas.

Altogether, the Sacramento transit platform includes more than 1,000 ad displays on trains and buses, and almost 750 bus shelters. The San Antonio contract counts 700 bus shelter displays and over 800 buses. With the addition of these transportation systems, CCO's transit division now reaches about 500 million riders per year, according to the company.

Two weeks ago, Titan Worldwide said it would be introducing digital signage networks on a variety of transit options, including buses, commuter rail and subways in London and Chicago.

Among the more spectacular options, the Titan digital initiative will bring 12-foot digital displays to the exterior of buses and over 1,000 digital displays to rail platforms and the inside of cars.

The bus displays can deliver geographically targeted advertising based on GPS tracking data. Like other digital displays, they can also deliver advertising based on dayparts, including heavy commuter traffic periods.