TfL on launching the Elizabeth Line
Transport for London tasked Wavemaker, VCCP, Kinetic and DOOH.com with launching the newly opened Elizabeth line connecting Heathrow to Central London. They did it by making foreign travellers feel right at home. The smart take also won them the award for Use of Data at The Drum Awards for Out of Home. Here is the award-winning case study.
Objective
Raise awareness of the newly opened Elizabeth line connecting London Heathrow Airport to central London. Encourage overseas visitors and returning Londoners to use the modern, efficient, and sustainable mode of transport, thereby reducing emissions and congestion at the airport and into the city.
Strategy
The campaign leveraged data-led Out of Home (OOH) creativity and innovation to target international visitors arriving in London in a highly personalized and relevant way. The media strategy involved reaching the audience at multiple touchpoints during their journey:
In-flight Advertising: At-seat advertising targeting inbound London flights using pre-roll video placements during in-flight entertainment, guaranteeing a minimum of 50% of all available inventory for maximum exposure.
Arrivals Hall Advertising: Dynamic digital screens (D6) on baggage carousels across the Arrivals Hall at Heathrow Terminal 5. Terminal 5 was chosen for its prominence, being the largest terminal with the majority of British Airways flights.
Live Train Departure Data: Utilizing live train departure data from the National Rail API to provide real-time updates on journeys between Terminal 5 and central London on the Elizabeth line. This data demonstrated the frequency of the service through dynamic copy in the campaign creative.
Personalization based on Flight Origin: Content was personalized based on the flight's country of origin. Language in the creative was matched in real-time to the flight for each specific carousel in the Arrivals Hall, providing information in the passenger's first language. This involved 127,466 creative updates across two weeks.
Results
Over 4 million messages served in five different languages across the campaign period.
Successful personalization at scale demonstrated through messages in specific languages based on flight origin.
The campaign is planned to roll out across Terminals 2, 3, and 4 later in the year.
Positive impact on visitors using the Elizabeth line, showcasing London as open and welcoming to everyone.
Commended for combining real-time data and dynamic personalization in Out of Home advertising.
The campaign effectively utilized data-driven OOH creativity to provide timely and relevant information to international visitors, showcasing the benefits of the Elizabeth line and contributing to a positive first impression of London.