Innovations in personal subway advertising create opportunities for both market and consumers

Several cities in China have opened their subway stations to personal advertising, exploring new business models and opportunities to increase revenue. This kind of innovation is expected to be a positive trend, meeting the public's personalized consumption needs and injecting vitality into the consumer market, experts said.

Subway advertising companies in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, Chengdu,Southwest China's Sichuan Province, and Zhengzhou,Central China's Henan Province, have pioneered personal advertisements in subway stations. These personal advertisements included resume displays, matchmaking and calls for supporting.

Currently, subway stations offering personal advertisements are generally spread across China's busiest cities, aiming to explore public demand and seize opportunities to boost revenue.

This innovative measure encourages service-oriented consumption and offers a new revenue stream for subway advertisement companies, and likely to be expanded to other cities if public demand shows positive trends, Li Changan, a professor from the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"We typically operate fan-supporting advertisements, with a particular focus on those related to sports events," Wei Bin, from, a Chengdu-based subway advertisement operator, told the Global Times on Sunday. "This product is relatively new, and currently, most people still view advertising primarily as a corporate activity," Wei said.

Since January, the Guangzhou Metro has introduced light boxes and electronic screens for personal advertisement, the advertisements published included birthday wishes, dating messages and job resumes, earning the nickname "large-scale creative showcase" from citizens,reported a China-based news platform XKB.com.

"The implementation of personal advertisement services in Guangzhou is a small-scale experiment this year, aimed at understanding consumer market demands and making informed decisions," a representative from a Guangzhou-based subway advertisement company, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Experts said that the future promotion of personal advertisements depends on public awareness of self-promotion. The large passenger volume has offered new and unique opportunities for advertisers.

A job seeker's advertisement at the bustling Zhujiang New Town Station in Guangzhou attracted more than 400 scans of his QR code within five days, including 50 companies across various industries, reported the Singaporean-based newspaper Lianhe Zaobao on Sunday.

Personal advertisements in the subway can also effectively promote personal entrepreneurial achievements, and personal entrepreneurs can use personal ads to promote their achievements, thereby boosting their income, Li said.

Currently, personal advertisements are still in their experimental stage in China, as the process is more complex than the public might expect.

"The relevant operators carry potential legal risks as well, mainly related to copyright and authorization issues such as font copyrights, image permissions, and graphic element copyrights. We are actively seeking solutions to these challenges, better supporting the consumer market," an insider surnamed Liu from the Zhengzhou Metro told the Global Times on Sunday.

Liu said that this initiative is being promoted across major cities in a bid to boost consumption and provide passengers with an interactive experience.

"We also aim to create a more relaxed and youthful subway atmosphere, highlighting the city's vibrancy and inclusivity, and enhancing its cultural appeal," Liu said.