Launch the UK’s high-speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link and revitalise Eurostar’s brand and business. Communicate the benefits of the new line, regain lost market share, particularly amongst business travellers, and make Eurostar feel special again. Amplify the campaign idea that positioned Eurostar head-on against the airline industry… ‘Fly Eurostar’.

23% more considered Eurostar to be ‘really special’; 25% more people ‘insisted’ on travelling by Eurostar; Q4 volume was up 16.3% and revenue was up over 10%; Year on year share figures increased from 58.1% to 65.96% on the London-Paris route and 41.76% to 47.56% on the London-Brussels route. (Source: NFO tracking, Eurostar Sales and Civil Aviation Authority)

The integration between message and media was huge yet intricate: Celebration (Appendix 1) - 65 flagship poster panels including…Tilted 96-sheet ‘take-off’ sites; Illuminated 3D Eiffel Towers (with windsock); Landing lights hand-cut from the ‘runway’ 96-sheets to intensify the backlit illumination; ‘Runway’ sites facing T-junctions to amplify the impression of landing; An 80m runway at Waterloo leading to the Eurostar terminal.Challenge (Appendix 2) - Every site at Heathrow Underground Station; Handpicked panels on route to City Airport and Heathrow; Every panel at Canary Wharf DLR station & a platform at Canary Wharf tube station; A bespoke pack of City gym 6 sheets (‘For a real work-out take the plane’); 75 ‘Go Faster’ liveried taxis targeting the ‘Square Mile’ (poster sites are scarce) and airport taxi ranks; 700 48-sheets in ‘switching’ boroughs;‘Free for a day’ taxis targeted institutions with airline travel accounts and had a Eurostar stewardess to collect passenger data. With the Daily Telegraph (the most hard-nosed readers) we created a unprecedented series of cartoons featuring their ‘Alex’ character that lampooned air travel; And we ‘stole’ the front pages of Sunday Business sections where airlines (BA in particular) normally communicate.

The integration between message and media was huge yet intricate: Celebration (Appendix 1) - 65 flagship poster panels including…Tilted 96-sheet ‘take-off’ sites; Illuminated 3D Eiffel Towers (with windsock); Landing lights hand-cut from the ‘runway’ 96-sheets to intensify the backlit illumination; ‘Runway’ sites facing T-junctions to amplify the impression of landing; An 80m runway at Waterloo leading to the Eurostar terminal.Challenge (Appendix 2) - Every site at Heathrow Underground Station; Handpicked panels on route to City Airport and Heathrow; Every panel at Canary Wharf DLR station & a platform at Canary Wharf tube station; A bespoke pack of City gym 6 sheets (‘For a real work-out take the plane’); 75 ‘Go Faster’ liveried taxis targeting the ‘Square Mile’ (poster sites are scarce) and airport taxi ranks; 700 48-sheets in ‘switching’ boroughs;‘Free for a day’ taxis targeted institutions with airline travel accounts and had a Eurostar stewardess to collect passenger data. With the Daily Telegraph (the most hard-nosed readers) we created a unprecedented series of cartoons featuring their ‘Alex’ character that lampooned air travel; And we ‘stole’ the front pages of Sunday Business sections where airlines (BA in particular) normally communicate.

The campaign was built around two phases: 1. Celebration: Launch of ‘Fly Eurostar’ to the wider public - Posters in press to achieve immediate coverage; Flagship outdoor formats and innovative techniques that leverage the message; Ownership of Waterloo. 2. Challenge: Aggressive, disruptive targeting of hard-nosed business flyers - Target routes to (and infiltrate) London’s airports; Dominate London business centres; Target ‘switching zones’ where the reduced journey time (20 minutes) could convert flyers to Eurostar; Soften the hearts of hard-nosed flyers through a unique partnership with the iconic Alex cartoon; Use Business and vertical press to cement recognition and attribution of Poster messages.