Train Departure Indicators : advert issued by Benn & Cronin Ltd., London : in Advertising Display, August 1927 : Bradford Forster Square station, West Yorkshire
For many years such train departure indicator boards were a feature of many major UK railway stations and, as people had to look at them, they formed an important placement for advertising creating one of the prime 'spots' for poster display and, therefore, revenues. As this advert shows it was common practice for railway companies to effectively 'let' the space to an advertising agency such as Benn & Cronin of London. They would manufacture and supply the 'furniture' providing space for the timetable information and then let the advertising keeping the revenue. This seems to have been quite common practise amongst the pre-Grouping companies.
However I suspect that after the Grouping of 1923 the Big Four were possibily starting to feel that this was revenue they could control directly and certainly by the 1930s the Southern Railway, for example, was bringing all external advertising contracts back 'in-house' where revenue accrued directly to them.
This board is in the old and now demolisged Bradford Forster Square station, run by the LMS. The main advert on the indicator is for the Cunard Line but typical posters for clients such as Radiation, Corah's "St. Margaret" knitwear, Solprufe dyes and Remington's typewriters are shown.
Train Departure Indicators : advert issued by Benn & Cronin Ltd., London : in Advertising Display, August 1927 : Bradford Forster Square station, West Yorkshire
For many years such train departure indicator boards were a feature of many major UK railway stations and, as people had to look at them, they formed an important placement for advertising creating one of the prime 'spots' for poster display and, therefore, revenues. As this advert shows it was common practice for railway companies to effectively 'let' the space to an advertising agency such as Benn & Cronin of London. They would manufacture and supply the 'furniture' providing space for the timetable information and then let the advertising keeping the revenue. This seems to have been quite common practise amongst the pre-Grouping companies.
However I suspect that after the Grouping of 1923 the Big Four were possibily starting to feel that this was revenue they could control directly and certainly by the 1930s the Southern Railway, for example, was bringing all external advertising contracts back 'in-house' where revenue accrued directly to them.
This board is in the old and now demolisged Bradford Forster Square station, run by the LMS. The main advert on the indicator is for the Cunard Line but typical posters for clients such as Radiation, Corah's "St. Margaret" knitwear, Solprufe dyes and Remington's typewriters are shown.