NEWS RELEASE

SEPTEMBER 2016

This autumn Metrolink welcomed passengers back to the city centre following engineering works to the newly regenerated St Peter’s Square stop and the second city centre crossing.

Creative Communications agency, Dinosaur, helped Transport for Greater Manchester to encourage commuters who had been inconvenienced by the suspension in services to return to Metrolink, and remind them of the myriad benefits of using the tram.

To do this, Dinosaur created an integrated multi-channel advertising campaign telling the story of a ‘breakup’ through a warm and humorous first person narrative. It is revealed that Adam, the hero, is leaving Lauren – his car – to rekindle his love for the tram.

The campaign was developed by Dinosaur in collaboration with TfGM and Lion Eyes and kicked off with an OOH teaser campaign and video.

Phase 2 of the multi-channel advertising campaign which is launched today, features a website with additional videos illustrating some of the benefits of tram travel and digital ads.

Mark Beaumont, Dinosaur Chief Creative Officer commented, “There are solid, sensible reasons for using the tram more and your car less, but people aren’t terribly excited about receiving sensible messages from transport organisations. Further to that, we’re creatures of habit and getting anyone to break a habit doesn’t come easy.

We knew we could draw attention to why you should ‘leave your car’ and ‘catch the tram’ in a fun and engaging way and, the time-honoured tradition of breaking up with a partner via a roadside sign offered the ideal opportunity to do just that.

This approach has sparked conversations all over Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Mike Mellor, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Metrolink said: “This multi-channel advertising campaign is unlike anything we’ve done before and we’re very pleased with the positive public reaction. The teaser campaign clearly intrigued audiences and it’s great to see the big reveal today as we promote all the reasons why someone like Adam would choose to commute by Metrolink.”

In the space of a few days, the unbranded teaser campaign has received over 10,000 views on YouTube, was featured in regional press and has sparked hundreds of discussions across social media.

The second phase of the campaign is live today. Watch the videos for yourself. at www.leavinglauren.co.uk.

See more of the results and campaign here: Leaving Lauren, by Dinosaur – creative communications agency

To see more of our work in the FMCG, food, retail, health and wellness sectors, click here for case studies on how we’ve helped The Co-op, Atkins, Midcounties Co-op, Wagamama and many more.

Alternatively, if you’d like to learn more, give us a call on 0161 831 0831 and ask for Nicola or get in touch at hello@dinosaur.co.uk.

Also published on Medium.