Campaign background
A city break often starts with a moment of inspiration. But that inspiration does not automatically lead to serious travel consideration. Eurostar therefore wanted to build more positive and relevant brand associations and show that travelling by train is an attractive alternative for an international city break.
The key benefits of Eurostar were central to the campaign: relaxed travel without airport stress, flexible planning thanks to frequent connections, and direct arrival in the city centre. The challenge was to translate these functional benefits into recognisable and inspiring stories that matched different interests and travel needs.
Objective
The campaign aimed to increase consideration for Eurostar and position the brand as an attractive choice for travelling to Paris or London.
By highlighting the themes of comfort, flexibility, frequency and convenience in a relevant way, Eurostar wanted to give travellers a broader view of the benefits of international train travel. At the same time, the campaign aimed to turn passive travel inspiration into active engagement and inspire the target audience to plan their next trip with Eurostar.
The Concept
Under the international campaign concept ‘Together we go further’, Mediahuis and StudioM developed a co-creation between the editorial teams of three Mediahuis titles and relevant influencers:
- J/M Ouders and De Huismuts focused on family travel.
- Culy, editor Melvin and Mooncake set out on a culinary journey of discovery.
- NSMBL, editor Emma and India Beks showed how to make the most of 24 hours in London.
Ahead of the trips, the communities were invited to share their own tips, hidden gems and favourite locations. This not only inspired the audience, but also made them an active part of the journey.
The submitted tips provided input for the content created during and after the trips. This resulted in an ongoing story that brought together influencer, editorial team, platform and community.
Approach
The broad target audience was divided into three specific interest groups: families with children, foodies, and fashion and lifestyle enthusiasts.
A dedicated travel story was developed for each group, tailored to the interests of the relevant community. The combination of a trusted Mediahuis title, a relevant editor and a well-matched influencer created credibility and recognition.
The content not only showcased the destinations of Paris and London, but above all made the benefits of the journey itself tangible. From relaxed travel with children and culinary experiences in Paris to an efficient 24-hour getaway in London.
Media deployment
The content created by the editors and influencers was deployed across multiple channels: online articles, social posts on the influencers’ channels and our own titles, and outstream video.
We activated the campaign through:
- Co-creation: influencer x brand editor
- De Huismuts x J/M Ouders
- Mooncake x Culy
- India x NSMBL
- Reposting content across the Lifestyle brands, supported by a social push
- Native articles
- Outstream Video
Results
37 %
♡
2,26 %
24 %
The branded content was recognised by 37% of the target audience and added a net 4 percentage points to the overall campaign.
The content was rated significantly more positively across all metrics than the branded content benchmark.
Average engagement was above the benchmark, with peaks of up to 2.26%.
Campaign performance scored up to 24% above benchmark across all participating brands for branding, message delivery, brand fit and sponsor fit.
