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An uplifting campaign
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A Case Study
THE BRIEF
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Increase passenger journeys by changing perceptions of travelling by bus.
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Metrobus operates a fleet of buses in and around Crawley, Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill and Horsham. O&G were tasked with creating a campaign to encourage occasional bus users to travel by bus more often rather than taking the car.
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Research shows that the target audience have a positive perception of Metrobus for rational benefits (value, frequency, reliability, quality and routes) but these rational benefits are not converting into bus use. Habit is central to current behaviour so people often default to the car and just don’t think about taking the bus. Leisure travel is based around key passion points such as shopping, socialising and the cinema.
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Research and analysis
Creative concepts
Art direction
Photography & post-production
Copywriting
Media planning & buying
THE SOLUTION
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We developed a strategy to win both hearts and minds—emotional (hearts) messaging to change behaviour, backed up with rational (minds) reasons to believe.
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A key insight is that if people go shopping or socialising in town, they can let their hair down a bit more if they take the bus. Coupled with this, financial pressures mean that when people do go out, they want to make sure they have a great time. The campaign centred around the idea of bus travel enabling you to have a little bit more freedom — you feel a bit ‘lighter’ without the worry or responsibility of parking and driving holding you back — by taking the bus you can have an even better time than if you drive.
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The emotional benefit was creatively expressed as ‘Get A Lift With Us’. This was combined with arresting imagery to communicate that Metrobus helps people have a better, more uplifting time while also providing a more literal call to action. We collaborated with award winning photographer Joseph Ford to deliver our concept in an original and authentic way. An integrated media campaign was developed, based on the target market’s habits as well as proximity and relevance to bus use.
“The O&G team surpassed our expectations with their creativity as well as making it a really enjoyable experience along the way. We’ve already recommended them to our marketing colleagues around the group!”
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Marketing Manager — Metrobus
THE RESULTS
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Successfully improving perception and usage among those who saw the campaign
60%
said it made the bus a more appealing option
40%
said they were more likely to use the bus in future
8%
said it made them increase their bus usage
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?
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