There is a longstanding belief in a rivalry between Glaswegians and Edinburghers – ‘the great divide’.
Following extensive research in both cities by Scotland’s rail provider, ScotRail decided to help residents get their relationship back on track and encourage locals to discover all that’s on offer in both cities, each just 50 minutes by train with ‘The Great City Swap’.
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Wire worked on four key strands of activity, devised to engage residents and encourage them to get city swapping in a variety of ways including an advertising first – swapping the front pages of The Glasgow Evening Times and The Edinburgh Evening News. Both papers ran a mock headline about the opposite city – Edinburgh / Glasgow actually quite good. Shock! – along with a selection of over 30 different recommendations from real residents of the best things to do, running in the opposite paper.
Wire also created interactive ticket machines – Flatterboxes – designed to beat the myth that people from Glasgow and Edinburgh don’t have a nice word to say about each other. The Flatterboxes were installed in both Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley stations, giving people the chance to win an amazing day out in the other city, all for the price of a compliment.
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Wire secured 25 pieces of coverage exceeding media coverage targets by 200% and including 2 TV hits with an OTS of over 14 million across Glasgow and Edinburgh,
Video footage of people’s reactions and interactions was captured during The Flatterbox activity which reached over 183k people, resulting in 37k video views and a 75% uplift in positive sentiment.
ScotRail also reported positive growth in ticket sales for its off-peak leisure travellers with Glasgow City Centre reporting 5% footfall increase year on year during the campaign.