When VIA Rail began planning its new customer-focused marketing strategy with Cossette, the partners decided to use trains as set pieces and riders as spokespeople.
The result is the “Who’s on Board” campaign, which marks the end of a year-long rethink, said VIA Rail president and CEO Yves Desjardins-Siciliano.
“Our passengers are the reason we exist and are our best advocates, so we turned to them to help us create a buzz about why the train is the best way to travel,” he said.
Included in the campaign are a series of brisk YouTube spots that last less than 20 seconds and show real riders, picked at random, sharing their experiences onboard VIA trains.
Desjardins-Siciliano said the intention is to “take the mystery out” of the VIA experience.
“We hope to entice a new generation of travellers onboard—people for whom the train would become a sensible and logical alternative to taking their car,” he said.
Indeed, several of the new spots—which were captured during four continuous days of train travel—focus on younger riders and their reasons for choosing the train.
“Travelling by train allows me to enjoy the journey instead of being fixated on the destination. It’s an awesome way to travel,” said Wes, a 20-something rider.
Antoine Bécotte, chief creative officer at Cossette, said shooting riders on the train gave the campaign its authentic, punchy flavour.
“This method led to genuine moments that we were able to capture on-the-fly. As the saying goes, you can’t make this stuff up,” he said.
When asked if the new campaign represented a big marketing shift, Sylvie Charette, director, marketing and communications at VIA Rail said: “It’s not so much a major shift, but a focus on a strategic vision that puts … the customer first.”
Likewise, VIA said it is working to improve the customer experience throughout the journey, from boarding the train to exiting it.
The campaign comes as VIA mulls a business plan that would see the federally subsidized company seek private investment to build its own tracks.
Currently, VIA shares congested tracks with freight trains, which has led to a drop in performance and many delays. In the first months of this year, on-time performance dipped to 62%.
Meanwhile, the fully-integrated campaign is also rolling out across radio, indoor and outdoor signage and through public relations channels. Another wave of “on-site happenings” is also in the works, according to VIA.
Cossette is also working to map out a strategy to keep travellers abreast of updates and promotions through email and social media.
Cossette won the national VIA brand account last year after a pitch, but this is the first time the agency has worked to roll out a “fully integrated platform,” said Julie Tardif, group account director at Cossette.
Palm was the previous AOR, but Cossette has a long history with VIA and began working with the transport brand in 2008 on its loyalty program.
