national advertising..what happend to it?

[amtrakmichigan]

In the mid-80's I remember as a kid watching the NBC nightly news and seeing the "All aboard america...all aboard Amtrak (song)" ads on television where Amtrak made train travel look like the only way to go somewhere in style. Whatever happened to national advertising? Did it get cut due to budgets? I find very intresting telling people about the train in my area, and how many people really have no clue that you can travel by rail in a sleeping car or have full service dining on a train anymore. I think Amtrak would be supprised at the amount of increased business if they did some national advertising.

 

[Anthony]

I seem to remember some national TV ads as recently as 1996... hmm...

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

And I remember the days at the station in Atlanta when the Crescent would come in, they woudl announce "On time all weather Amtrak".

 

[AmtrakFan]

They just had some radio commericals recently.

 

[jccollins]

There were a few Amtrak print ads recently (1/4 page I think) with sample fares to cities on the local longhaul route. Those appeared quite effective since they actually gave readers an idea of where they could actually travel on Amtrak.

 

[Conrail]

I'd go with MI

 

[lepearso]

David Gunn said, sometime ago, that national advertising is ineffective. He said that Amtrak ads need to tell people where the trains go and how much it costs to ride. That's why they've switched to regional advertisements as opposed to national advertisements.

 

[haolerider]

National Advertising continues with print ads in major city newspapers and radio spots in major markets. It generally consists of a Spring and a Fall campaign.

Most of the grassroots advertising done across the country is not in the major newspapers, but in smaller town papers and on radio. It is much less expensive and more cost effective than print ads in the larger papers.

There are some very interesting stastics in the business that show fewer and fewer people using newspapers for their information gathering. The internet, radio and TV are gaining. You now see some newspapers in larger cities lowering the price of their papers or giving them away, since they don't make any money on subscriptions or daily charges, but only on the advertising. If they can't show a strong circulation (even though they are giving the papers away), they can't draw the necessary advertisers.

Television is too expensive and Amtrak cannot afford to run enough ads to gain recognition in the markets.

 

[frank]

I can't help but get jealous here with my neighbors to the north, meaning Canada. Oh Canada.

Here in the U.S., we are constantly talking about Amtrak's demise, and lack of funding, and inability to advertise, etc. We talk about the curtailing of services, the inability to order new sleepers/diners/coaches.....and on and on. The yearly argument over funding is getting so old and tiresome. And the there's track maintenance and insurance and states inability to....you get the picture.

And yet, to my north, Via Rail is celebrating their Blue and Silver service. I seem to read daily how the Canucks are in awe and love of their transcontinental rail service. Don't get me wrong here, they are extremely deserving here in their self esteem. I'm just a little lower 48 jealous.

In my country, trains are looked on as something that should have turned a profit in the last 30 years, ever since the private sector dumped them because they were money losers.

In my country, trains are expected to make money even when every other country on planet Earth subsidises their rail systems and accepts that losses are a part of mass transit, like the D.O.T.

In my country, heads of state, such as Mineta, can make claims, using false data about only 50 people per day traveling from town to town that no one wants to travel to or from on the Empire Builder, even though those figures are 4 times his figures.

In my country, the president can choose an energy policy that acknowledges our addiction to foreign fossil fuels, and at the same time, shows a complete disregard for the effeciency of a couple of deisel engines pulling hundreds of folks across America instead of each of them driving alone in their SUV's.

In my country, the railbeds and tressles and grade crossings that will be lost will not be able to be put back together again.....Humpty Dumpty style, if Mineta and his Boss get their way.

If I'm not mistaken, National Geographic lists the Canadian as one of the top 5 trips of a lifetime. I'll submit that many of the lower 48 are just behind if not ahead. We can't afford to lose any of them, IMHO.

Frank

 

[jccollins]

If I'm not mistaken, National Geographic lists the Canadian as one of the top 5 trips of a lifetime. I'll submit that many of the lower 48 are just behind if not ahead. We can't afford to lose any of them, IMHO.

It's not all about the actual route. The Canadians know how and consistently provide EXCELLENT, COURTEOUS service on their trains. This makes a huge difference.

Amtrak, even with all its problems, would do tremendously better if ALL Amtrak employees were friendly and courteous to every passenger, even when the passengers are upset. Unfortunately Amtrak employees meeting this description are few and far between. When I meet one (as I did on Thursday evening - a server on the California Zephyr dining car), I make sure to go out of my way to commend them for providing such good service and provide an extra nice tip.

I am not saying that the majority of Amtrak employees provide bad service, but rather minimal service and hardly ever go out of their way to do something special to accommodate a passenger or to make their passengers feel especially welcome in the stations and on the trains. With an organization such as Amtrak with so many aspects in the economy working against it, its only real chance is to have a strong, loyal workforce with employees that realize how important it is to go out of their way to provide excellent, top-notch service.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Between the complete refusal of the administration to consider stuff that would conserve energy, like requiring vehicle manufacturers to continue to improve the fuel economy of their vehicles, or to promote something like Amtrak that does have wonderful fuel economy on a per-pax basis, and as they cut taxes while ballooning the deficits beyond belief, and as they try to kill Amtrak when all polls clearly show the public WANTS Amtrak, I suggest the GOP needs to change their mascot from an elephant to an ostrich. And instead of it's head in the sand, maybe have the ostrich's head in a commode. Helps explain their outlook.

 

[lepearso]

I can't help but get jealous here with my neighbors to the north, meaning Canada. Oh Canada.

Frank, you make some excellent points, but keep in mind that Canada has had more than its own fair share of troubles when it comes to passenger rail.

VIA has endured massive cutbacks on more than one occassion. In fact, that's part of the reason today's Canadian is actually the Super Continental with a different name. I have heard many Canadians voice concern that today's Canadian is more of a tourist attraction and less of a public transportation service. It does not serve Calgary, for example, and only runs tri-weekly.

Thankfully, the Canadian government is seeing the light and is reinvesting in passenger rail, but it will be a long road to rebuild the system back to what it used to be. I will give them credit, however, for polishing their service.

You're right that Amtrak could take a few lessons in this area.

 

[Sam Damon]

What's the point in advertising when the Sunset Limited is never on time? Or pick any of the long distance trains. How many of them are within 15 minutes of being on time? What about some of the surlier train crews on the NEC (who can't be fired, I should add)?

Or what if you advertise, and end up turning away passengers because the extra cars needed are in the Beech Grove dead line awaiting the money to fix them?

The Japanese have a saying: "Wasabi cannot fix rotten fish."

No amount of advertising is really terribly worthwhile, until the freight railroads are held to timekeeping standards with real penalties, which isn't likely to happen anytime soon.

Fix the service first, then advertise.