Request ID: FOI-2811-2324 Date published: 01 December 2023
You asked
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information from Transport for London. Please provide me with:
• The total amount of revenue generated by all companies advertising at Westminster underground station, broken down by the following periods:
o 1st January – 31st December 2021
o 1st January – 31st December 2022
o 1st January – 31st October 2023
• Confirmation of whether any of the following companies have advertised at Westminster underground station during the time periods listed above:
o ExxonMobil
o Shell
o BP
o Chevron
o TotalEnergies
o Saudi Aramco
o Equinor
• A breakdown of how many times much each of the companies listed above advertised at Westminster underground station during the time periods listed above, also indicating what form the advertising took on each occasion (e.g., escalator panels, billboards, ticket gateways).
• A breakdown of how much money each of the companies listed above spent on advertising at Westminster underground station during the time periods listed above.
Please provide the information in the form of an Excel file, with separate tabs for each of the time periods listed above.
We answered
TfL Ref: 2811-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 6 November 2023 asking for information about Westminster Underground Station Advertising Spend
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. Your questions and our replies are as follows:
Please note the following:
Oil and Gas isn’t a category that either of our media partners record data by, so a manual search has been carried out to extract this information, therefore there is a possibility that some companies may have been missed from the list provided below.
For the station specific questions, the information shown does not show any details for general distribution bookings, and only for companies who specifically asked for Westminster and St James’s Park. Campaigns that are booked as general distribution do not have their locations recorded so we cannot provide details of these.
The total amount of revenue generated by all companies advertising at Westminster underground station, broken down by the following periods:
1st January – 31st December 2021
1st January – 31st December 2022
1st January – 31st October 2023
Advertising on many of TfL’s advertising assets is sold in general distribution packages, which provides the advertiser with campaign coverage across TfL’s networks. A specific value is not necessarily attributed to an individual advertising site and an accurate breakdown of the gross revenue per station is therefore not held.
Confirmation of whether any of the following companies have advertised at Westminster underground station during the time periods listed above:
ExxonMobil This company have advertised on TfL assets in the past 3 years, but we cannot confirm if any of the advertising posters were shown at Westminster as the campaign was booked as general distribution
Shell Yes this company has advertised at Westminster in the last 3 years
BP Yes this company has advertised at Westminster in the last 3 years
Chevron This company has not advertised on TfL within the last 3 years
TotalEnergies This company has not advertised on TfL within the last 3 years
Saudi Aramco This company has not advertised on TfL within the last 3 years
Equinor This company has not advertised on TfL within the last 3 years
In February 2023, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) issued environmental guidance about ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘net zero’ claims in advertising to ensure advertisements are not misleading. TfL now requires all advertising copy relating to fossil fuel extraction, or copy submitted for brands associated with fossil fuel extraction, to be referred for consideration. In addition, TfL requires all advertising copy which includes an environmental claim to be referred for review. Advertisers must ensure that their advertising complies with the latest CAP Code and ASA guidance, and TfL asks its media partners to continue to verify compliance. CAP advice must be sought on all advertising related to fossil fuel extraction and environmental claims prior to coming to TfL for consideration.
A breakdown of how many times much each of the companies listed above advertised at Westminster underground station during the time periods listed above, also indicating what form the advertising took on each occasion (e.g., escalator panels, billboards, ticket gateways).
BP ran 6 campaigns at Westminster in 2022 and so far 4 campaigns in 2023, in all instances the booking was a station domination that consisted of 1 x 4 sheet, 10 x 12 sheet, 17 x 6 sheet, 32 x Ticket Gateways plus ad-hoc vinyl panels Shell ran 4 campaigns at Westminster in 2022, the booking was a station domination that consisted of 1 x 4 sheet, 10 x 12 sheet, 17 x 6 sheet, 32 x Ticket Gateways
A breakdown of how much money each of the companies listed above spent on advertising at Westminster underground station during the time periods listed above.
In accordance with the FOI Act we are not obliged to supply data on individual advertisers and their spend as this is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 43(2). The disclosure of the negotiated rates would prejudice our ability to maximise future revenue from advertising. These figures are subject to negotiation with each advertising partner, and the disclosure of any negotiated rate would prejudice our ability to maximise future revenue from advertising.
The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities but in this instance the public interest in ensuring that we are able to obtain the best value for public money outweighs the general public interest in increasing transparency of our processes. We also consider that in this case the public interest supports withholding this information in order to protect our advertising revenue as we reinvest every pound of income in the transport network, to the benefit of fare and tax payers. Through sustained investment we are improving the transport network for the millions of people who rely on it every day.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Sara Thomas FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
