wyliepoon
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Marketing critics hop on TTC swag bus
Other cities can and do milk their transit brand for big bucks. Is it time we did the same?
May 04, 2007 04:30 AM
nicolaas van Rijn
staff reporter
There's Transit Stuff and, well, there's transit stuff.
And to listen to the Toronto Transit Commission's critics – or boosters, depending on how you look at it – the transit souvenirs sold at the TTC's official Union Station outlet, Transit Stuff, just don't cut it.
So now the TTC is looking for a better way to promote its brand name by stamping its logo and images on everything from T-shirts to buttons and tote bags.
And at least one expert says the TTC has a good shot at the kind of recognition generated by transit authorities in New York and London where subway logos, maps and slogans have become synonymous with their cities.
Ashwin Joshi, associate professor of marketing at the Schulich School of Business, thinks it's time the TTC got moving, so to speak. "I think the TTC has brand equity it hasn't capitalized on," Joshi said, calling the system's quiet cachet "an under-utilized asset."
It's time the transit system got away from marketing its function and developed an image of itself that's more about bringing people together, with an underlying theme of its democratic value, Joshi said.
"Any subway car is a good snapshot of the city."
In fact, the artists have – unofficially, at least – already been at work.
Toronto blog torontoist has more than two dozen T-shirt designs posted on its website torontoist.com, heralding everything from Litter Pig to Metropass to kiss-and-ride logos. Spacing magazine's innovative buttons and new products like showers curtains emblazoned with a map of the subway system have also been mentioned.
The TTC, which makes only about $6,000 a year from its current merchandising program, can use all the help it can get.
Consider New York City, where transit-themed tchotckes earn about $60,000 for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Its website advertises memorabilia such as horns and air gauges from retired subway cars and watches with subway routes and tokens on their faces.
Similarly, tourists in London can't seem to get enough of "Mind the Gap" and "I'm Going Underground" underwear, ashtrays and key fobs.
The TTC would welcome a little more cash, but no one expects to buy new buses with T-shirt sales, according to TTC vice-chair Joe Mihevc, who says the proposed merchandising plan is more about image than money.
"It's all about branding and associating a positive experience with a name," he said. "The TTC has a great product. It's a way to sex it up."
The TTC has experimented with selling merchandise at the Davisville and Bloor stations. But its small selection didn't sell and the outlets were closed.
It now has a deal with Legacy Sportswear, which puts the TTC logo on products ranging from baby sleepers and T-shirts to coffee cups and pens, selling them mostly through the TTC's website and a leased space at Union Station.
But the arrangement isn't exclusive and TTC staff will recommend to the commission on Tuesday that it consider an arrangement similar to that of the New York MTA.
It has an external licensing co-ordinator who manages MTA merchandising through several licensees, said TTC acting chief marketing officer Alice Smith.
If the commission approves, the TTC will have to do market research on what products might appeal to Torontonians, riders and tourists, she said.
"I think we want to start repackaging public transit as a place that is attractive, that is fun to be, where you meet friends.
"I think this is part of that vision," said Mihevc, who is councillor for Ward 21, St. Paul's West.
Marketing critics hop on TTC swag bus
Other cities can and do milk their transit brand for big bucks. Is it time we did the same?
May 04, 2007 04:30 AM
nicolaas van Rijn
staff reporter
There's Transit Stuff and, well, there's transit stuff.
And to listen to the Toronto Transit Commission's critics – or boosters, depending on how you look at it – the transit souvenirs sold at the TTC's official Union Station outlet, Transit Stuff, just don't cut it.
So now the TTC is looking for a better way to promote its brand name by stamping its logo and images on everything from T-shirts to buttons and tote bags.
And at least one expert says the TTC has a good shot at the kind of recognition generated by transit authorities in New York and London where subway logos, maps and slogans have become synonymous with their cities.
Ashwin Joshi, associate professor of marketing at the Schulich School of Business, thinks it's time the TTC got moving, so to speak. "I think the TTC has brand equity it hasn't capitalized on," Joshi said, calling the system's quiet cachet "an under-utilized asset."
It's time the transit system got away from marketing its function and developed an image of itself that's more about bringing people together, with an underlying theme of its democratic value, Joshi said.
"Any subway car is a good snapshot of the city."
In fact, the artists have – unofficially, at least – already been at work.
Toronto blog torontoist has more than two dozen T-shirt designs posted on its website torontoist.com, heralding everything from Litter Pig to Metropass to kiss-and-ride logos. Spacing magazine's innovative buttons and new products like showers curtains emblazoned with a map of the subway system have also been mentioned.
The TTC, which makes only about $6,000 a year from its current merchandising program, can use all the help it can get.
Consider New York City, where transit-themed tchotckes earn about $60,000 for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Its website advertises memorabilia such as horns and air gauges from retired subway cars and watches with subway routes and tokens on their faces.
Similarly, tourists in London can't seem to get enough of "Mind the Gap" and "I'm Going Underground" underwear, ashtrays and key fobs.
The TTC would welcome a little more cash, but no one expects to buy new buses with T-shirt sales, according to TTC vice-chair Joe Mihevc, who says the proposed merchandising plan is more about image than money.
"It's all about branding and associating a positive experience with a name," he said. "The TTC has a great product. It's a way to sex it up."
The TTC has experimented with selling merchandise at the Davisville and Bloor stations. But its small selection didn't sell and the outlets were closed.
It now has a deal with Legacy Sportswear, which puts the TTC logo on products ranging from baby sleepers and T-shirts to coffee cups and pens, selling them mostly through the TTC's website and a leased space at Union Station.
But the arrangement isn't exclusive and TTC staff will recommend to the commission on Tuesday that it consider an arrangement similar to that of the New York MTA.
It has an external licensing co-ordinator who manages MTA merchandising through several licensees, said TTC acting chief marketing officer Alice Smith.
If the commission approves, the TTC will have to do market research on what products might appeal to Torontonians, riders and tourists, she said.
"I think we want to start repackaging public transit as a place that is attractive, that is fun to be, where you meet friends.
"I think this is part of that vision," said Mihevc, who is councillor for Ward 21, St. Paul's West.
