Hype wins contract for train handles
13 Mar 2009
Out of home media company Hype Integracomm has won a five-year contract to put up advertising on handles in the trains run on Mumbai's western route (WR). While exploring a very innovative advertising medium, this will also bring in hefty revenues for the railways.
To start with, Hype has installed the handles in three trains and it say the the response has been so good that now all trains will have these handles.
Each compartment of the trains will have about 125 handles, which is 40 handles more than the current number of metal and wood handles. About 67 trains will have these handles installed over the next couple of months.
Hype says it is investing nearly Rs10 crore for the entire project.
Hype has also won contracts to install similar handles in trains of central route, Mumbai's BEST buses and in local buses in Bengaluru.
The railways are expected to earn substantial revenue and also be able to offer a comfort feature to commuters who often have to travel standing. The new handles are made of polycarbonate, which is as tough as iron or steel, and have specially designed finger grooves for a better grip.
The handles have a smart design and give a cheerful, vibrant look to the compartment when they display uniform images of the advertisement on top of these grooves. Commuters have welcomed these sleek, comfortable handles in the place of the hard iron handles.
One of the first advertisers on board for these handles was Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) -with its brands, Red Label tea and Knorr Soups, in the first two trains. Other brands such as Century Ply and Max New York Life Insurance have followed suit.
