Oyster iTunes

Background

Auto top-up (ATU) is a service that allows pay-as-you-go Oyster card balances to be topped up automatically whenever they drop below £5. The set up process is complicated – so the agency needed to help people to understand it and get them to sign up. The goal was to increase the number of Oyster ATU customers by 5%.

Idea

iPods on public transport are now commonplace. An iPod makes the commute more enjoyable and less stressful. So what better partnership than Transport for London (TfL) with Apple iTunes: offering customers who set up an Oyster card Auto Top-Up (ATU) online a one off opportunity to download up to five free Apple iTunes from the Apple library.

The creative played on the partnership between travel and music by combining the names of rock and pop stars with famous London stations, such as Eric Clapham, and Lily Balham. The campaign included posters in Tube and bus stations and a series of press ads in Metro. Online rich media ads allowed users to develop and print their own posters, creating an engaging interactive theme.

Results

A 71% increase in ATU sign-ups has been achieved so far. At £202 average annual ATU value, acquisition cost equates to 3% (£6.50) over one year, or 1% over three years. The email achieved a 27% open rate, well above the industry standard of 15%.

Target Audience

All Oyster high value pay as you go customers

Our Thoughts

One of the team looked at this campaign and groaned. ‘Urgh, puns.’ Yes. So? Puns have become outlawed from a lot of creative departments as if they are somehow symptoms of intellectual osteoporosis. Lighten up! A good pun is always a bad pun, if you follow me, and there are some shockers contributed by Londoners to the website. Gene Putney, Kanye Westminster and my favourite, Frankie Goes To Collier’s Wood.

Behind the jokes, though, a great bit of ‘left-of-line’ thinking, offering music as an incentive to top up your Oyster card online but in a genuinely branded way.