The bottom line

Trainline partnered with Citymapper and Wavemaker to proactively maintain its position as the UK’s leading train ticketing platform. The campaign exceeded its target by 3x, growing brand awareness and consideration, especially amongst riders between the ages of 18 and 34 and frequent train commuters.

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The Citymapper set out to reach Trainline’s core audience where they are: as users planned routes to and from London’s most popular train stations, they saw relevant messaging reminding them that “Great journeys start with Trainline” each step of the way. 

The campaign employed three core ad units to deliver the right message at the right time. A Native ad sprinkled amongst Citymapper’s routing options reminded users that the most affordable same-day tickets are with Trainline. Once a user selected a route, MREC ads below the journey preview reinforced this price-centric benefit. Finally, Banner ads below the train leg of the journey urged travellers to download the Trainline app.

Citymapper’s strategic targeting paid off, keeping Trainline top-of-mind and tip-of-tongue amongst London’s travellers in an increasingly competitive landscape. Analysis by On Device Research, a Brand Lift Measurement partner, reveals strong results that beat benchmarks across metrics: Top-of-Mind Spontaneous Awareness (+7pp, 133% above  benchmark), Prompted Brand Awareness (+8pp, 129% above benchmark), Consideration (+2pp). Impact was especially high in frequent travellers, with a 22pp increase in ad recall by those who use public trains at least once a week. Not only that, but the campaign also drove remarkable lower-funnel impact with 64% of users reporting that they took, or were planning to take, action. 

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