12306 is a mobile ticketing purchase APP launched by China Railway, which stores user and booking information. 12306 does not only provide railway information but offers a variety of new media channels. The annual passenger volume of China's railways exceeds 3.5 billion. Currently, the registered users of 12306 is estimated at 800 million and the volume increases by over 400,000 each month.
The app does not only provide news release, public service, and other functions but has other advantages such as communication tool, content provider and segmentation of audience groups. One of the most unique advertising methods is "Trip SMS". It is a trip reminder service (including booking confirmation information) sent out via the app to passengers with confirmed bookings. This provides marketing opportunities for brands.
12306 - Stats
800 Million registered users
35,000 KM - high-speed rail
3.5 Billion Annual Passenger volume
2.5 Billion Annual High-speed volume
88.7% - Online sales
15 Million - Daily ticket sales
3.1 Billion - Annual ticket sales
“Trip SMS” is pushed in the form of MMS, containing pictures, texts, videos, and links. It enriches display advertising content and provides audience targeting capability. There are seven available advertising options: departure station, arrival station, gender, age group, seat allocation, route number and delivery date. “Trip SMS” function has over 350 million passenger traffic and ticket purchase data each year, making it the third most valuable traffic portal in China after Taobao and WeChat. The data is led by the China government providing credibility, trust, high conversion rate and ROI.