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Advertising Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains coaxes drivers out of their cars with roadside ambushes

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By John Glenday, Reporter

September 11, 2017 | 3 min read

Virgin Trains has attempted to coax drivers from their cars with a roadside advertising campaign employing real-time traffic data to illustrate how much time could be saved by jumping on board a train instead of hitting the road.

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains coaxes drivers out of their cars with roadside ambushes

The digital OOH campaign will directly compare journey times to London, Birmingham and Leeds by road and rail on giant roadside displays from today until 1 October.

Conjured up by Manning Gottlieb OMD and Anomaly and produced by Grand Visual, the real-time campaign is managed and distributed through OpenLoop by combining raw API transport data to deliver geo-targeted information which accurately reflects local congestion.

Virgin Trains marketing director Katie Knowles said: “Integrating real-time data feeds into this roadside campaign produces a clear and hard-hitting message for drivers - that Virgin Trains’ is a quick, easy and viable alternative. During peak travel times when congestion is heavy, the live stats deliver our message in a compelling and impactful way.”

Dan Dawson, chief creative technology officer at Grand Visual added: “Clever use of data provides a powerful call to action for using Virgin Trains. The campaign is constantly updated throughout the day providing useful, relevant, real-time information. You can’t argue with stats like that.”

The responsive campaign will step up a gear during periods of heavy congestion when additional media will be activated across digital 48 sheets outside service stations and will be supported by a broader TV, digital, OOH, print and radio push.

This is the latest push by Virgin Trains to target road users after previously highlighting the comfort and convenience of rail as opposed to road.

Advertising Virgin Trains

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