Mainland engineer David Chan Wing-hei finds it almost impossible to escape advertisements. He sees them on the television at home, on the train on the way to work and in the lifts in many of Shanghai's office buildings.
'When I stay at home, there are commercials on the television,' said the 26-year-old, whose high income makes him an ideal target for advertisers. 'Once I leave home, I encounter more ads, no matter whether I'm going to work or going out on the weekends.'
Competition for Mr Chan's attention is growing fierce.
In first-tier mainland cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, advertising companies are quickly rolling out 'captive audience networks', the new lingo for chains of inexpensive LCD televisions installed in places where consumers cannot escape their message.
Companies such as Target Media and Focus Media are staking a claim to the lifts inside office buildings. Digital Media Group is targeting the trains and subway platforms of metro systems. Captivated Advertising TV is focusing on the interiors of taxis. Beijing Visual Satellite Technologies delivers ads at ATM machines and 150 Sinopec petrol stations in Beijing.
The firms, most of them backed by venture capital from Hong Kong, hope to tap an outdoor advertising market worth an estimated US$1 billion last year.
