Virgin Trains in OOH ‘First’ With Ads That Use Traffic and Geo Data to Compare Journey Times

Virgin Trains is combining traffic and location data to accurately tell drivers stuck in traffic how much longer their journey will take them by car compared with how long it would take by train.

The out-of-home campaign goes live today 11 September, targeting car-driving commuters in London, Birmingham and Leeds on large format roadside screen along major arterial roads. It will run until 1 October.

Executions will for instance tell commuters travelling from Birmingham: “Current journey times to London”, “by car” and “by train”.

During particularly heavy periods of traffic, additional, 48-sheet sites at service stations along the routes will be activated.

Created by Anomaly, and produced by Grand Visual, the campaign is managed and distributed through OpenLoop, which analyses Transport API’s data and automates the information according to each poster site’s location. Manning Gottlieb OMD is handling the media and Grand Visual said the campaign is a media first.

The digital out-of-home work, which supports a broader TV, digital, OOH, print and radio campaign, is part of a new marketing direction for Virgin Trains, which is innovating in its use of technology and data.

Anomaly’s first ad for the brand since winning the account earlier this year launched in June.

Katie Knowles, Virgin Trains’ marketing director, said:

“Integrating real-time data feeds into this roadside campaign produces a clear and hard-hitting message for drivers: that Virgin Trains is a quick, easy and viable alternative. During peak travel times when congestion is heavy, the live stats deliver our message in a compelling and impactful way.”

Dan Dawson, Chief Creative Technology Officer at Grand Visual said:

“Clever use of data provides a powerful call to action for using Virgin Trains. The campaign is constantly updated throughout the day providing useful, relevant, real-time information. You can’t argue with stats like that.”