Atmosphere

Background

To give travel agents another reason to recommend Virgin Trains to their customers in addition to great value fares, a simple yet striking letter was sent out, dramatising just how much better Virgin Trains is for the atmosphere than cars or domestic flights, since Virgin Trains emit up to 76% less CO2. Virgin Trains’ green credentials needed to be highlighted in a very unique way to grab the attention of travel agents – since their desks are all too often bombarded with mail..

Idea

The agency decided to write a letter with the very air Virgin Trains wishes to protect. By ‘printing’ each word ‘in air’, they quickly focused their target audience on the most important reason to recommend Virgin Trains - the atmosphere. As travel agents would have to look at the air in order to read each word (thanks to laser-cutting), they would easily recall the most important reason to recommend Virgin Trains to their customers in the future., in addition, of course, to great value fares.

Results

The world of the travel trade agent is frenetic, with a plethora of companies vying for their attention. The innovative approach of this campaign and the focus on Virgin Trains’ green credentials has enabled the team at Virgin Trains to have easier, more constructive conversations with their key trade contacts.

Target Audience

Travel agency managers in Scotland and England.

Size

1,000 mailings

Our Thoughts

I love this. It is abruptive (I've never seen a letter where the type has been cut out of the paper) and it is wholly relevant (the message is about Virgin Trains saving the very air that make up the words on the page.) SH