National Express launches new marketing campaign

National Express is working with creative company Lucky Generals on a new marketing campaign.

Under the banner ‘if you know, you go National Express’, the campaign is designed to encourage a modal shift and drive people to make the smarter, greener and greater value choice of choosing National Express over other means of transport.

The new platform has informed much more than the advertising campaign and runs across the entire business at multiple touchpoints. The line will appear on the sides of coaches but also in activations across the company, from headrest copy that says ‘Someone in the know has reserved this seat’ to drivers sharing their top insider tips at the end destination and revamps of the customer email programme and coach station media.

The platform will launch with two 30-second films showcasing the brand’s key features, both ending with a more humorous take at the expense of those poor travellers who didn’t take a National Express coach. The work will also include cinema advertising for the first time for the company.

“We love Lucky Generals’ brand platform because it is grounded in a strong and simple strategic thought that can translate across our entire business” – Catherine Woolfe, Customer and Marketing Director at National Express

Catherine Woolfe, Customer and Marketing Director at National Express, said: “There are already millions of savvy travellers who know how great coach travel is with National Express, but there are many, many more who are realising that other modes of public transport are not what they are cracked up to be and are looking for a reliable, economical, sustainable and relaxing way to travel – and we want them to know that National Express is the smart way to go.

“We love Lucky Generals’ brand platform because it is grounded in a strong and simple strategic thought that can translate across our entire business, from rethinking our web journey to changing the tone of voice used in our contact centre and how our drivers interact with our customers. The team at Lucky Generals really get what’s important about our Brand and as such, they are brilliant people to work with, trusted partners who have quickly developed an innate understanding of our business.”

“As trains continue to strike and charge through the roof, and prices at the petrol pump never seem to come down, what better time to show people a savvier way to travel with National Express” – Lucky Generals’ Creative Directors, Nick Bird and Lee Smith

Lucky Generals’ Creative Directors, Nick Bird and Lee Smith, said: “As trains continue to strike and charge through the roof, and prices at the petrol pump never seem to come down, what better time to show people a savvier way to travel with National Express – a national icon that’s been quietly doing its thing for years, and now it’s time for us to help them make a bit of well-deserved noise.”