Metro - Media engagement

With the onslaught of afternoon competition, Metro wanted to remind media planners why the morning was so essential to the Metro proposition in delivering a highly responsive, quality Urbanite audience. Originally we planned simple trade ads, but media planners are cynical, jaded and media savvy. We needed a surprising, and seductive idea to cut through.

The solution was to explain all of this to the trade through the inimitable, irrepressible Johnny Ball. Johnny is a master of engaging audiences and this format allowed Metro to explain a complex proposition whilst creating talkability amongst an audience who have been overexposed to dull power-point presentations. The result was an all-encompassing, multimedia campaign consisting of pre-filmed email teasers, DM, merchandise, a microsite, emails and a 45 minute live show in front of 300 media planners at London Studios on 21st February. The live show was a faithful creation of Johnny’s 70's TV show, 'Think of a Number' and consisted of excitable science lectures involving fun visual props and audience participation that successfully communicated the four proven ingredients of Metro’s success in an engaging and enlightening way - a format perfectly suited to the task.

Metro Distribution Bins

The Metro bins are one of the most important branding tools the paper has. They are their “point-of-sale” which millions of Urbanites see every day.

We were asked to come up with some new designs for a complete re-brand of the bins at Queen’s Station in Glasgow. The designs needed to reflect the personality of Metro and highlight the fact that is a morning paper which understands consumers’ behaviour and mindset at this time of day.

The solution was striking breakfast imagery to emphasis how Metro is an integral part of Urbanites morning routine. Each morning two million Urbanites up and down the country pick up the Metro with clock-work regularity - and devour it with an engagement that no other media can claim. We then carried the same imagery across a number of other channels including bus panels.