Public Perception and Attitude towards Transit Advertisement as Outdoor Media Platform: Investigating Age and Gender-based Associations

Abstract

The study was primarily designed to explore public perception and attitude towards transit advertisements in Pakistan. The population of this study comprised of passengers who travel outside of Multan city. The data was collected through a survey (questionnaire) which was designed after the observation of advertisements by the researchers. A total 400 of passengers, who were waiting for the departure in the passenger’s lounge of intercity bus terminals, filled the questionnaire including both males and females, ages ranging from 18 years to onwards. Perception of passengers was explored in association with the age group regarding various aspects of transit advertisements in terms of liking, reliability, beautification, economic value, society norms, joy, and entertainment source. The results demonstrated that people having different ages perceived transit advertisements differently in all dimensions. The second objective of the study was to explore appealing attitudinal factors and their association with gender regarding attention, understanding, buying, novelty, and recalling of advertisements, results revealed that both males and females had different attitudes towards all aspects. The study also found significant associations between ‘product buying and authenticity’ and ‘perceived novelty and recall of transit advertising.