With fewer people taking the train post-pandemic, and price hikes, rail strikes and “delays to your service” hitting the headlines, we were challenged with getting the public to change their tune on rail travel. To do that, we wanted to remind commuters of one of the best parts of getting to work by train.

Research showed that, for a lot us, getting uninterrupted time to listen to music on our commute is often a highlight of our day. It also revealed that we’re stuck in a groove. With a quarter of Brits never listening to new tunes on their commute, was it time to hit shuffle?

We partnered with global music community Sofar Sounds, hosting a series of surprise gigs at stations around the country. Hot new artists, playing great new music, bringing unexpected joy to commuters – and fresh inspiration to their playlists.

To get people talking about what music gets us moving in the morning, we released the nation’s top commuting playlist, alongside insight from top music psychologist Dr Michael Bonshor, revealing how skipping old favourites in favour of fresh tunes can boost our mental health and wellbeing.

With a wealth of organic and paid social from the gigs, and national and regional coverage across broadcast, online and print media, the campaign hit the right note with commuters – and made a big noise for National Rail.

66 pieces of coverage
Broad national and regional coverage, with 29 broadcast segments including Heart Radio, BBC 5 Live, and Channel 5
+197% rise in organic social link clicks
A significant increase in organic social engagement against previous activity
+109% increase in visits to campaign webpage
Increased web traffic to campaign page, greater than three previous PR campaigns