2015 winner: First Great Western, Effective Communications - case study

2015 winner: FGW, Communications

The winter of 2013/14 saw the worst ever weather in the South West of England. First Great Western had to suspend or cancel 80% of its services, resulting in a loss of millions of pounds worth of revenue and a detrimental impact on positive customer engagement with the brand.

To reverse the losses, we needed to motivate people to travel, to create a feeling of inspiration, liberation and transformation that taking the train to the South West can give you.

We briefed two local photographers to capture the beauty of the region after the storms. The resultant images were breath-taking. To them, we added the simple but direct message: ‘BE A GREAT WESTERNER’.

The combination of stunning imagery and inspiring call-to-action led to impactful and single-minded adverts which blended seamlessly across a diverse range of media. This ranged from TV, large scale outdoor, PR, and experiential, to digital, direct communications and partnerships.

The campaign generated £13.06million of revenue, which abetted the losses caused by storms, and gave FGW an ROI of 3.6 to 1. It also significantly increased positive brand engagement, with spontaneous advertising awareness rising by 24%, and £2 million generated in one week, FGW’s highest ever online transaction results.


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(Please note: parts of this case study may have been redacted for confidentiality purposes.)


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