FILENE’S DRESSES MBTA CARS

Filene’s is targeting the hordes of college students returning to Boston in the next few weeks with an unconventional outdoor ad campaign and corresponding in-store promotion.
The Boston-based department store chain has covered a two-car Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority train with fashion photos designed to show “a day in the life” of a college student. The tagline: “Study. Work. Sleep. Shop. Filene’s.”
The illustrated train will run for eight weeks along the Green Line route that travels above and below ground through several college neighborhoods. The effort is costing Filene’s between $8,000 and $10,000 per month, according to officials at Park Transit Displays, the Weymouth, Mass., company that sells and maintains MBTA advertising.
“With this technology, we have another way to target hard-to-reach college students,” said Paul Cavalli, Filene’s senior vice president of sales promotion.
Filene’s “Token of Thanks” in-store promotion lets college students win a free round-trip on the MBTA when they make purchases in select Boston-area stores.
–David Gianatasio