Adshel’s message to advertisers: Connecting with your audience is not just about the destination

• New research shows the commute is valuable time to prime, engage and influence

New research launched at Adshel’s industry events last week in Sydney and Melbourne has identified significant and surprising changes in the way Australians commute to work.

The research report titled “Own the Journey, Not Just the Destination”, commissioned by Adshel, investigated the behaviour of Australian commuters in our major cities to get a better understanding of how commuter audiences are feeling, what they’re doing, and how they’re interacting with advertising during their commute.

Adshel’s CEO Mike Tyquin said, “Australia’s population reached 25 million last month, more than 30 years ahead of schedule. With our population booming and the urban footprint of our cities swiftly spreading, we wanted to find out how the average Australian’s commute is changing, to identify how advertisers can optimise their exposure on the journey.”

Key findings of Own the Journey, Not Just the Destination report:

• Australians now spend 60-72 minutes each day commuting, which equates to 288 hours, or 36 working days each year
• Metro commuters take an average of two different modes of transport to work/study each day
• Commuters travelling 30-45 minutes each way are most likely to enjoy their commute and be more open and receptive to messaging
• Time spent commuting has increased 33% in the five years from 2013 to 2018
• 75% of commuters see their commute as either “doing time” or “down time”, with the majority of commuters in a positive mindset
• Commuters see out-of-home advertising as less intrusive and annoying, and more trustworthy than other advertising.

Adshel’s study shows that while Australians are travelling for longer periods to get to and from work or study, they are reframing their commute as a positive “transition time” between home and their destination.

With time the greatest commodity, Adshel says the daily commute has become valuable me time, a chance to catch up on emails and social media, research holidays, listen to music or just relax.

“Often a person’s daily commute is the only time where they are stuck in one place for a fixed amount of time,” Tyquin explained. “For brands, the daily commute is the ideal time to reach, prime and influence their target audience, and to own the journey, not just the destination.”

Adshel’s research report “Own the Journey: Not just the destination” can be downloaded here.

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