How Pokémon raised its game with a London cable car takeover
Pokemon/Transport for London won at The Drum Awards for Out of Home 2022 in the transport category for its How did TfL get Pikachu on the London Cable Car? They ‘Poké-d’ him on. Here, we find out more about what makes a successful pun-based ride...
How Pokemon raised its game in London with a Cable Car takeover
The arrival of The Pokemon World Championships in London presented a unique opportunity for some outdoor crossover activity with Transport for London, by transforming the UK's only urban cable car into a playground experience.
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Marking the first excursion of the event beyond North America the gamer gathering went big on experiences to celebrate our collective emergence from lockdown to take passengers and Pokémoners on a journey of discovery.
The brief
Tasked with creating a 'wow' moment that would get people talking about the event both brands alighted on the Cable Car, providing direct access to the ExCel venue, as the perfect opportunity to reach a captive audience.
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Hear what the winners had to say about their award-winning work above.
The idea
The elevated Thames crossing, previously sponsored by Emirates, was turned into a high-altitude canvas with each cabin transformed into one of 18 different Pokemon types.
Attention to detail extended to outsize Pikachu's welcoming passengers to their car as well as themed ticket gates, altered names for boarding stations and mock billboards advertising products and services from the Pokemon universe.
Updated signage at North Greenwich Station extended this theme to the underground, ensuring all attendees were in good company for the event.
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The results
As a result, some 209 press articles were generated across the UK, delivering 703,000 impressions across My London, Nintendo Life and BBC London News.
Furthermore, the terms Pokemon and Cable Car hit an organic reach of 12m, with almost 1,500 mentions.
Throughout the week-long event, the Cable Car completed 61,000 passenger journeys, a 26% increase from the same period in 2019.
This campaign was a winner at The Drum Awards for Out of Home 2022. You can see all the winners here. The Drum Awards for Marketing are currently open for entry. Find out how you can enter now.