Dubai: The ‘brand wagon’ is set to roll out of Riyadh Metro. And it could well be the biggest set of brand sponsorships the Saudi metropolis is likely to see.

In play are the “naming rights” for 10 stations, by which brands can have their names associated with those locations. The winners are to be announced mid next year, with the submissions to be handed in by January 25. (It will be followed by opening up another 10 stations thereafter. The Riyadh Metro will eventually see 85 stations.)

The same strategy was followed successfully by Dubai at the time of commissioning its own metro.

The Riyadh Metro is due to go operational in 2019.

“What it offers brands is an innovative medium to create awareness, interact with the commuters — if activated properly — and offers a long term option at what is generally a predetermined price,” said Suneesh Menon, managing director of BPG Bates.

Businesses or brands of Saudi origin or international names that have operated in the kingdom for a minimum of three years are eligible for the auction. No base prices for the bids have been announced, but they are unlikely to be anything other than substantial.

For brands, the chance of an association with future city landmarks is too good to miss and so is having their brand announced each time a coach pulls into the station.

Beyond that, what sort of returns can brands expect? Or is it more about the prestige of association?

“Like some things in advertising I’m not sure that we can quantify the return that a brand can get on this in monetary terms,” said Menon. “However, if one were to compare the cost of a billboard on Shaikh Zayed Road versus the Metro naming, it does offer great awareness at a fairly competitive price.

“And given all the additional add-ons that you get with the Metro. The other way to look at it is how much would a brand be willing to pay to name a citywide ‘landmark’. The naming rights come with fixed tenures. In the UAE, the initial period is set for 10 years. However, the brands do have the option to extend beyond that,” said Menon.

Saudi authorities are not likely to take on a ‘first come, first served’ attitude. The selection of the eventual 10 names should go through some heavy vetting.

“The metro authorities look at brands that add prestige to the project and therefore tend to be pretty choosy about who they accept,” said Menon. “Similarly, these rights are not necessarily cheap and need the brand to commit for fairly long periods, which means that only brands that reach a certain threshold can even think about participating.

“On the other hand, young brands that are innovative and like to experiment with innovative mediums also would consider this for their media mix to take advantage of the ‘first-mover advantage’ effect.”

A fact check on the Riyadh Metro

* Stretched across 176km, work on the Metro started in 2014. The first trains are set to run by the end of 2019.

* In all, there will be six lines and 85 stations. The cost of development is a whopping $23 billion (Dh84.5 billion).