Ads installed on hanging handles inside Seoul Metro Lines 2 and 5 trains offer a differentiated advertising space
Three-dimensional, creative designs expected to boost ad visibility and generate new revenue
Seoul's subway trains are getting an unconventional new advertising format.
Seoul Metro said it will launch an advertising project using the hanging handles inside trains on some Line 2 and Line 5 services.
The initiative revives a handle-advertising format tried in 2018 but discontinued — its first return in eight years. The project is being carried out in partnership with Hana Securities.
The core idea is to install ads on the hanging handles that passengers grip daily, offering a new space that stands apart from conventional in-train advertising. The three-dimensional design tailored to the shape and spatial characteristics of the handles is expected to deliver higher visibility than flat ads mounted on carriage walls.
Because the handles sit close to passengers' eye level, commuters encounter the ads naturally. The format also allows for creative, three-dimensional designs that can convey advertising messages more effectively than traditional flat placements.
Seoul Metro said it hopes the handle-ad project will drive expansion of its overall advertising business. The agency plans to actively promote the format as a distinctive three-dimensional medium to attract a wide range of companies and brands, translating that interest into new advertising revenue.
Because brand identities and products can be expressed in ways tailored to the shape of the handle, the format is expected to offer advertisers an experience unlike anything available through conventional media.
"We expect to secure a new revenue stream by combining creative advertising with the familiar space of a train handle," said Jeong Won-gyu, head of Seoul Metro's strategic business division. "We will continue to identify diverse revenue-generating projects that do not inconvenience passengers, meet the varied needs of advertisers, and work to strengthen the agency's fiscal health."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
