BRIEF

Drive more journeys across the West Midlands bus network. With cost-led messaging tapped out, we needed a new strategy to win over car-first audiences and grow patronage across operators.

INSIGHT

• Car-reliant residents saw buses as inconvenient, low-status, and irrelevant to their lives.

• But the truth? The extensive network was often faster, cheaper, and less stressful, especially for low-risk, everyday journeys.

APPROACH

From a budget fallback to a smart life hack.

NEW MESSAGING SHIFT

From “You’re proud to make a savvy choice” | To “You’re savvy enough to get more out of life”.

• Target “moments of change”: leisure trips, off-peak travel, when behaviour is most flexible. Using social proof and relatability to rebuild how people perceive bus travel.

RESULTS

2.5 million additional journeys, doubling the original KPI.