Transport for London Puts Price Front and Centre in New ‘Champion Value’ Campaign

Transport for London (TfL), in partnership with Wavemaker UK and VCCP London, is today launching a brand-new integrated campaign that aims to highlight both the value and the extraordinary modes of travel available to Londoners across the public transport network.

‘Champion Value’ highlights the value and benefit that TfL customers get when they use the many travel modes, whether it be the Tube, Buses, Tram, London Overground, or the DLR, that TfL has to offer. Drawing on the strongest benefits of the TfL network: speed, convenience, frequency, and all-day travel the creative is accompanied by a consistent campaign message personalised to the mode of transport. For example, “For Fast, Think Underground”. The campaign also highlights features including daily capping, off-peak times and the bus and tram Hopper fare, that continue to make public transport a great value option for Londoners and international visitors.

To achieve this, the creative developed by VCCP London, celebrates the moment people tap into the network and are transported to their destination via a colourful visual vortex of direction and speed. Using TfL’s iconic brand assets, the high impact campaign brings together the colours of the network, card reader and roundel alongside authentic sounds and the people of London to create the visual feast.

A proudly all-London campaign, VCCP worked with London-based director, Christian Bevilacqua and photographer, Hanina Pinnick alongside a cast of Londoners who all use the TfL network themselves.

The campaign will span multiple channels including online film, digital content, posters and radio which will highlight the value of TfL’s transport network, reminding the public how great the network they use every day is. The film and radio executions use iconic sounds from across the network, such as bus and tram bells, card readers, acceleration of the tube, and of course, “Mind The Gap”. The radio SFX soundscape will punctuate the messaging with the sounds Londoners associate with travel and hear daily and were recorded on the network for authenticity.

The campaign will use digital out of home channels to target specific price messages to the exact zones, times of day and days of the week making sure that the campaign is relevant to a wide range of Londoners for both price and mode of transport. The media approach was planned and executed by Wavemaker UK with support from DOOH.com. It ensures that each customer knows the fare they are paying and the value they are getting at every step of their journey. All channels, selected to guarantee the campaign reaches all Londoners and visitors to the capital, will run until at least the end of 2023.

‘Champion Value’ marks a new phase for TfL, moving from recovery post-pandemic to growing market share by showcasing the abundance of benefits of public transport over driving. This sits alongside the Mayor’ of London’s strategy to get 80% of Londoners' trips made on foot, by cycle or using public transport by 2041. As such, TfL also announced improvements to the network communicated through its campaign, ‘Brighter’, early last month.

Miranda Leedham, head of customer marketing & behaviour change, TfL, said, “Public transport continues to be a vital part of London’s economic recovery and we’re immensely proud of our new campaign that celebrates the great value our public transport services offer our customers. The campaign emphasising the different benefits of each mode of transport, whether it’s speed, cost or convenience, underpinned by our best value fares.”

Simon Learman, creative director, VCCP London, added, “By leaning into the iconic and much-loved graphic world of TfL, we remind Londoners how they are served by the best public transport system in the world. It’s fast, well-priced and will energise their lives. Wherever and whenever you want to go, TfL is the answer.”

David Graham, managing partner, Wavemaker UK, said, “This is a very timely campaign that comes as customer’s wallets are stretched. Londoners are still suffering from the repercussions of the pandemic, inflation is high, and the ongoing cost of living crisis is making matters worse. We’re particularly proud of our addressable approach, which not only makes it immediately apparent how much a journey is set to cost but also impactfully demonstrates how much more cost-effective it is to use public transport overall.”