HSL's Face your fear of public transport took the Campaign of the Year 2014 award

HSL’s Face your fear of public transport campaign took the Campaign of the Year 2014 award in the AdProfit competition. The target group of the campaign was over 50’s residents in the HSL area who did not yet have a Travel Card. The campaign attracted people to try the Travel Card and increased sales. Many of those who received a Travel Card during the campaign continue to use their cards. HSL took the award for the second time running.

 “During the two weeks of the campaign we received 10,850 Travel Card orders. Following the free two week season ticket, the new customers have purchased tickets on their cards worth €585,400, i.e. about €54 per customer during eight months. About 40 per cent of those who tried the Travel Card are still using it,” says HSL’s Director of Marketing and Communications Mari Flink.

What campaign?

Voita pelkosiHSL ran the Travel Card campaign in March/April 2014. The target group was directed to a campaign website where they could order a Travel Card delivered to their home. Among the finalists in the same category with HSL were Berner, Vepsäläinen and Visit Finland. The jury consisting of advertising designers and experts representing media planning, research, teaching and the media emphasized in particular the profitability of the campaigns.

The campaigns that are successful in the AdProfit competition are characterized by close and successful cooperation between the advertiser and advertising agency. HSL’s partners were advertising agency 358 and Dagmar megia agency.

“We examined the obstacles to the use of public transport through interviews.  Surprisingly, the most significant obstacles were not outdated ideas of public transport but emotional issues. The target group was lacking a hands-on experience of public transport. They were afraid that they would mess up or embarrass themselves with ticket machines, readers and timetables. Consequently, we wanted to encourage the target group to get on public transport and tackle the issues causing unnecessary anxiety. We decided to center the campaign around the fears and dispel them with humor,” says the Art Director of 358 Ale Lauraéus.