DMRC Resetting the Advertising Game With Auction Of Station Names

At a function to mark the 22nd Foundation Day of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on May 3, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagaria was all praise for the Metro network's performance. “It is absolutely astonishing how within a span of 15 years or so, the Delhi Metro has come from zero to over 200 kilometres. The Metro is clean, bright and the trains run on time. It is an island of excellence,” Panagaria noted; many others also elaborated on the groundbreaking achievements of the network.

DMRC is one of the government-run entities that have achieved remarkable success; and its profit figures reflect that. Not only are the network's planning, infrastructure and design excellence matchless, but its marketing strategies are interesting, too. In what could prove another masterstroke, the corporation has decided to enhance its revenue by auctioning the names of Metro stations.

PropGuide looks at the auction plan and assesses how it may prove as a revenue stream for DMRC:

'Corporate' stations

Contracts have already been awarded to partially rename six of the Metro stations in the National Capital Region. MG Road, Huda City Centre and Guru Dronacharya Metro stations in Gurgaon, for instance, are now known by the names of Syska LED-MG Road, Shalimar Huda City Centre and IndiGo Guru Dronacharya, respectively. Similarly, two stations in Noida – City Centre and Sector 18 – now bear the prefix 'Wave' before their names. The Vaishali Station in Ghaziabad is called Dainik Jagran-Vaishali; and Shivaji Stadium in central Delhi has been renamed ONGC Shivaji Stadium.

The other station names that set to get new names with corporate prefixes are Sarai, NHPC Chowk, Badkal Mor, Neelam Chowk Ajronda, and Mewla Maharajpur on the violet line; Botanical Garden Golf Course, Noida Sector 15, and Noida Sector 16 on the blue line; and Iffco Chowk on the yellow line.

Among other Metro stations whose names will be up for auctions in subsequent rounds are Pitampura, Azadpur, Vishwavidyalaya, Dwarka Sector 14, Pragati Maidan and Dwarka Sector 10.

While winners will have the rights over these stations' names for 10 years, there will not be any official change in the stations' day-to-day functions. The announcements will still have their old names.

Who can apply?

Any company that is registered under the Companies Act can apply to get its name prefixed to the name of a Metro station. The highest bidder has the semi-renaming rights for 10 years.

Who does it benefit and how?

This revenue model, already tried and used by the Rapid Metro Network in Gurgaon, can generate additional funds for the Delhi Metro network. Of the six Rapid Metro stations, three bear the names of corporate entities – Vodafone Belvedere Towers, IndusInd Bank Cyber City and Micromax Moulsari Avenue.

An innovative model, this could help DMRC earn more revenue without having to invest anything on the one hand, and could give companies more scope for advertising on the other.