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Anchor 1
agenda setting idea
Spread Your Wings
South Western Railway is one of the largest train operators in the UK, connecting the South Coast with the heart of London.
But during lockdown, commuters found themselves working from home and travel restrictions made people seek out leisure activities closer to home. People’s lives got smaller and so did the role for South Western Railway within them.
Our research found that while, on the surface, there are many benefits of working from home: zooms in your jim-jams, never missing a parcel delivery and getting up an hour later, people were in fact “languishing”; sleepwalking through life without reaching their full potential.
Our job was to nudge them back into train travel by showing them all the ways in which getting back out there, be it for work or pleasure, will help their world feel bigger and richer.
So, we created two brand characters: Wesley Peck, our cheeky-chappie pigeon from Peckham, representing all the best bits of London, and Sandy C. Gull, representing the very best of the south coast. And through this unlikely avian friendship, sparked on a South Western Railway commuter train, we invited consumers to Spread their Wings and live life to the full once more.
The campaign covers both the commuter and leisure audiences, and runs across all channels (TV, Radio, digital, social, owned and earned media).
It’s too soon to report effectiveness figures yet but the campaign has certainly got people talking, with recognition across the industry, including from Creative Salon, The Drum, Best Ads on TV, Shots, Little Black Book, PR Week, David Reviews and receiving Ad of the Day in Campaign.
Early campaign metrics are promising with a 10% ad recall lift rate (against a benchmark of 4%). Even more impressively, those aware of the campaign estimate they will travel the equivalent of an extra day per month compared to those unaware of the campaign, which will result in significant additional revenue for the brand.
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