Transport and travel marketing.
For over eight years we were the lead creative and marketing agency for the UK coach and bus brand, National Express. However, we’re now available and hungry to work with other transport and travel marketing brands. Could this be you?
In our time thinking of amazingly creative ideas for them we created multiple advertising campaigns. Named and designed several sub-brands. And launched a whole new holiday division for them. You learn a lot about transport and travel marketing in that time and working so closely with such a big brand in the space.
Thinking out of the box (with wheels)
Our work spanned many creative media platforms including TV, outdoor (posters), and radio. It also encompassed digital, social and eCRM (email). And let’s not forget creative stunts to gather PR traction. One of these, Drag, even led to a piece being written in the FT, which in turn led to what the Board attributed to a 2% increase in share price.
Target audiences.
We had to encompass a wide target audience and messaging. Ranging from children getting to school, through to students getting home from University. Families travelling the UK cities and coastal towns to pensioners who we needed to encourage to use their free bus pass. There was also holiday makers jetting off to the airport as well as festival goers needing to get to a muddy field somewhere.
This meant that the tone-of-voice required needed to be varied. As did the look and feel.
Find out how we can help, email heybears@oneblackbear.com
Award winning.
In our time working on the iconic brand we managed to pick up numerous industry awards. Often against much larger brands with much larger budgets. We were proud to be recognised year after year by the Travel Marketing Awards, winning on no less than 26 occasions. And that’s not to count the numerous creative accolades we picked up at Roses.
Lack of money no object.
Production budgets for the creation of the assets were always low in comparison to industry standards. However we quickly became adept at making it work. Low budgets often focus the creative mind and result in brilliant solutions to tough problems. We even managed to create a multi-city campaign with over 3,000 individual assets by utilising stock. Then achieving cut-through by transferring the budget to the vocal talents of Diane Morgan in her first advertising VO.
Have ideas, will travel
Over the years we’ve filmed in London, Birmingham, the Peak District and the Malverns as well as travelling the four corners of the UK with our National Wonders social films. Alongside this, we’ve also delved into the world of animation and illustration on many occasions when the thinking required. This approach has allowed us to collaborate and build relationships with many talented film production companies, directors, producers, animators, photographers and radio sound engineers over the years.
Call us in for a chat, email heybears@oneblackbear.com
Driven by results.
Working alongside various media partners, research agencies (as well as conducting our own research groups, both qual & quant) and tracking tools, we were always able to measure the success and impact of our creative. As a snapshot (you’re going to need to see us face to face to get the whole picture), our student campaign led to a purchase intent of +50% and 19,000 new customer journeys.
Express Yourself led to a campaign ROI of 6.6 with 19.8 million social impressions.
The Stansted Pigeons stunt in London showed a 20% improvement on social engagement.
And Christmas 2019 was their busiest trading period ever. Our strategy attracted 34% new customers… yet it was all created with stock footage for very little money.
As we said, it’s the size of the idea that counts.
Disruption
But then this little disrupter came along in terms of a global pandemic. While we helped them get back on their feet (or should that be wheels) in the subsequent years, there was the inevitable change in Marketing Director, which in turn led to the departure of most of the team and unfortunately a requirement to move the agency business to London.
You can view in more detail the breadth of what we produced here.
Public transport and public sector messaging.
Our experience within the sector spreads much wider than National Express’s coach and West Midlands bus divisions though into other public sector and transport clients.
Public and private sector, we have loads of experience. Ask to see our full credentials by emailing heybears@oneblackbear.com
We have produced posters and social videos warning of the dangers of reckless driving for Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), as well as promoting their bus on-demand service and a merry little campaign to highlight travel disruption over the festive period. This was on the back of a great campaign for the Commonwealth Games that took place in Birmingham and the need to warn about travel disruption.
Social beginnings
But it all started with a tiktok and social campaign aimed at getting 16-18 year olds to use the bus. A brief that again came into us but this time from Warwickshire Buses.
Ads with wheels on, we love ‘em.
Multiple media
M6toll, the UK’s only toll motorway also sits on our list of clients and we helped them roll out a new creative campaign across OOH, Radio, Direct Mail, Digital and Petrol Pumps (as well as designing and developing a new website). The marketing message was created to promote their new ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) technology, meaning that for the first time in their 20 year history, they could adapt what they charged based on distance used.
If you’d like to tap into this wealth of experience and talk to a leading UK transport and travel marketing agency, email heybears@oneblackbear.com
Our highly experienced team would relish the opportunity to come and show you how we can help you improve your strategy, advertising, design, branding and media requirements.
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