NEW YORK (June 5, 2006) – Scarborough Research, the leading market research firm for identifying the shopping, media and lifestyle patterns of adults, released an analysis of Mass Transit Users* - those consumers who use subways and railway systems in cities that have these transit options as measured by Scarborough - and Power Pedestrians**, or people who do a significant amount of walking in towns and cities. The analysis finds that this often overlooked consumer group has unique targeting value for marketers. Not only do Mass Transit Users and Power Pedestrians have desirable demographics, but they are also plugged-in and more likely to plan to purchase portable electronic devices such as MP3 players and PDAs, as well as to use wireless Internet. Also, these consumers have more opportunities to make purchases. They have the power to purchase in the palm of their hand with the personal electronic devices, and their on-the-go nature simply may place them in closer proximity to retail outlets. Mass Transit Users and Power Pedestrians account for about 22 percent of consumers in the 75 local markets measured by Scarborough.

Scarborough also announced that the out-of-home advertising company, Titan Outdoor, has signed on with Scarborough for out-of-home consumer research services. Under the agreement, Scarborough will provide Titan Outdoor with access to local market studies for Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Seattle. Titan Outdoor intends to use the data to express the value of transit advertising audiences – from Philadelphia’s SEPTA users to Boston’s MBTA riders.

“Titan’s Mass Transit audience is global, on-the-go and incredibly powerful,” said Eric Joseph, Vice President/Worldwide Marketing Director at Titan. “Scarborough’s ability to analyze the shopping patterns, media habits, lifestyles and demographics of mass transit users and Power Pedestrians provides insights that help demonstrate the significance of these consumer groups. It’s a powerful tool that builds credible value propositions in an extremely competitive industry.”

The Scarborough analysis examined “Mass Transit Users” – subway riders in cities that have subway systems (New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Boston) and rail riders in cities that have railway systems measured by Scarborough (Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Denver, CO; Fresno, CA; Harrisburg, PA; Hartford, CT; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Portland, OR; Providence, RI; Sacramento, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO; Washington D.C., West Palm Beach, FL; and Wilkes-Barre, PA). The study also examined “Power Pedestrians,” defined as consumers who walked three or more miles in a city or town during the past week.

According to the Scarborough analysis, today’s Mass Transit Users and Power Pedestrians own or plan to purchase a variety of portable technologies. Subway riders, for example are 93 percent more likely than the average consumer in subway cities to plan to purchase an MP3 player. Rail riders are 62 percent more likely than other consumers in Scarborough’s rail markets to plan this purchase, and Power Pedestrians are 44 percent more likely to plan to buy this portable player. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are also popular among the transit audience. Subway riders are 48 percent more likely than the average consumer in cities with subway systems to own a PDA. Rail riders are 65 percent more likely than other consumers in Scarborough’s rail markets to own a PDA, and Power Pedestrians are 16 percent more likely to have this item. The Mass Transit User or Power Pedestrian could access a variety of content through these personal portable devices, as, across the board, they are more likely to have wireless Internet access.

“Portable devices such as MP3 players and PDAs give the commuter the power to purchase in the palm of their hand,” said Carol Edwards, vice president of out-of-home media services, Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron is the Scarborough Research sales division for the out-of-home industry. “This, combined with the fact that these consumers are ‘out and about’ and perhaps close to retail outlets and other points of purchase, gives marketers a unique opportunity to entice a consumer group who may be physically closer to making a purchase,” Ms. Edwards continued.

Purchases via the Internet are extremely popular with the Mass Transit set. Subway riders, for example, are 27 percent more likely than other consumers in subway markets to have spent $2,500 or more on Internet purchases during the past year. Power Pedestrians are 26 percent more likely than all consumers to be in this spending group. They also buy in high-end retail categories online – such as jewelry, automotive, and travel.

Today’s Mass Transit User is young, affluent, and ethnically diverse. For example, subway riders are 39 percent more likely than all consumers in subway markets to be ages 18-34 and 15 percent more likely to have an annual household income of $150k or more. They are also 75 percent more likely to be African-American and 58 percent more likely to be Hispanic. Rail riders are 26 percent more likely than all consumers in rail markets to be ages 18-34 and 41 percent more likely to have an annual household income of $150k or more. They are 75 percent more likely to be African-American and 37 percent more likely to be Hispanic. Similarly, Power Pedestrians are 14 percent more likely than all consumers to be ages 18-34 and 21 percent more likely to have an annual household income of $150k+. They are 22 percent more likely to be Hispanic.

“Mass transit options vary from local market to local market, so it is important to understand how consumers use the transit available to them,” said Ms. Edwards. “In Tulsa, for example, people are more likely to be spending significant amounts of time commuting via cars1. Harnessing the power of out-of-home advertising is reliant on the ability to understand people in their local environments.”
There are several advertising categories that stand out among Mass Transit Users and Power Pedestrians. Subway riders are avid travelers, as they are 45 percent more likely than other consumers in subway markets to have taken three or more domestic air trips during the past year. Subway riders are 32 percent more likely to have eaten in a fast food restaurant six or more times during the past month. Similarly, rail riders are 56 percent more likely than other consumers in rail markets to have made three or more domestic air trips during the past year, and they are 17 percent more likely to have eaten at a fast food restaurant six or more times during the past month. This group is 14 percent more likely to be from households that spend $150 or more on groceries weekly.

SOURCE: Scarborough Research, 2005, Scarborough Multi-Market Study (Release 2 2005)

* Mass Transit Users are consumers in cities measured by Scarborough with subway systems (New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Boston) who use the subway as a mode of transportation; or rail riders in cities measured by Scarborough with railway systems, including Amtrak, Metro Link, Light Rail or Tri Rail. The cities measured by Scarborough with rail riders are Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Denver, CO; Fresno, CA; Harrisburg, PA; Hartford, CT; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Portland, OR; Providence, RI; Sacramento, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO; Washington D.C., West Palm Beach, FL; and Wilkes-Barre, PA.

** Power Pedestrians are consumers who walked three or more miles in a town or city during the past week.

1 Tulsa, OK consumers are 32 percent more likely than all consumers nationally to be in Quintile One for miles traveled in a car, van, truck or bus – meaning that they are in the top 20 percent of consumers when it comes to being on the road.

About Scarborough Research
Scarborough Research (www.scarborough.com, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) measures the lifestyle and shopping patterns, media behaviors, and demographics of American consumers. Products and services include local market consumer insight studies in 80 Top-Tier Markets (comprised of the Top Cities in the US) and 6 Mid-Tier Markets (comprised of smaller U.S. cities), Scarborough USA+ (a national database), Scarborough Multi-Market Database, Hispanic studies, customer relationship management and database integration solutions. With more than 30 years of experience, Scarborough measures more than 1,700 categories and serves a broad client base of more than 3,500 subscribers including marketers, advertising agencies, electronic and print media, broadcast and cable television, radio stations, sports teams and leagues, and out-of-home companies. Surveying more than 210,000 adults annually, Scarborough is a joint venture between Arbitron Inc. and VNU Media Measurement & Information.

About Titan Worldwide
Titan Worldwide is the world’s largest privately owned, full service Out of Home Advertising company providing sales, marketing and maintenance of transit, billboard, wallscape, telephone kiosk, street banner and construction bridge advertising. Founded in 2001 by William M. Apfelbaum and other industry veterans, Titan Worldwide's team of market specialists furnish global, national and local clients with creative media solutions in the world’s top markets, including New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Seattle, Tacoma, Boston, Orange County, Toronto, Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.