Trains are one of the most common and popular forms of transport in the UK. They connect a wide range of people nationally, and even internationally with the Eurostar! The UK’s top 10 busiest train stations received over 100 million passengers in 2021- and that’s despite national lockdown’s limiting travel. The promotional possibilities in train stations are therefore endless! There is such potential to raise brand awareness near-exponentially.

Promoting your business at a train station attracts the attention of various users. As well as passengers waiting for a train, there are station staff, family/friends dropping passengers off, and non-travellers that use the station’s other facilities (e.g. coffee shops and toilets). There is therefore a huge volume of people who can be exposed to your product or service.

Trains stations are a great promotional space that can accommodate both active and passive promotional campaigns. Active campaigns require staff to actively promote your product and interact with the public. For example, leafleting and product sampling staff are great at train stations because passengers have to wait for their trains, this increased dwell time increases the chance of public engagement. On the other hand, passive campaigns involve static longer-term advertising like billboards or posters.

What To Consider When Planning A Train Station Promotional Campaign:

• Target Audience: When promoting your brand, it is important to focus on who your target market is. If your product or service is specifically targeted at university students, then a train station near a university would be ideal, for example, ‘University train station’ which serves the University of Birmingham.
• Dates and Times: Think about the day and time that you are promoting your business. Train stations are busy with commuters in the morning and evening, with football fans on football match days, with teenagers and families during the school holidays, etc. You get the idea- plan your promotional campaign according to when your target audience will be in the train station. Pick your days and times wisely!
• Budget: You need to consider the permit fee for promoting at a train station, agency fees for promotional staff, wages for the staff themselves, and any equipment required. For example, if you’re giving out leaflets, consider how many leaflets your staff can realistically distribute- there is no point paying for 10,000 leaflets if you are only going to be able to give our 5000. If you are distributing food and drink samples, you will need suitable equipment to store the samples safely and appropriately.
• Don’t Forget: Check with National Rail when and which stations are undergoing repairs or offering a reduced rail service. This will effect the number of people travelling through the stations, and potentially the amount of space you will have to promote in.

Examples Of Push’s Train Station Promotional Staff

Push Promotions regularly supplies our friendly, enthusiastic and effective promotional staff to train stations around the entire UK. Train stations we have worked at previously include Birmingham Grand Central Station and London’s King Cross.

We have over a decade of experience supplying various types of promotional staff. We provided staff such as brand ambassadors, character costume staff, leafleting staff, sampling staff, product demonstrators, and data capture staff. Moreover, we also provide event managers to oversee larger teams of staff.

Keep reading to read about specific events we have worked on:

Mentos

We supplied extensively trained brand ambassadors for the ‘Who Says No To Mentos?’ campaign at Grand Central Station, Birmingham. The campaign was experiential! 3 photo stations were located around the station where the public recorded GIFs of themselves which were displayed on the Media Eyes at the station entrances.

We also supplied sampling staff to give out free samples of Mentos to passers-by and collect feedback on the product. This campaign reached thousands of people directly over 3 days, as well as more through the Media Eyes and social media.

South Western Railway

Push Promotions worked with South Western Railway, providing leafleting staff and event managers to distribute discount coupons at several Southern train stations.

This was a great location for this campaign as it targeted existing railway customers. This increased the likelihood of people actually using the discount coupons and therefore becoming South Western Railway users. It was both beneficial for the company and the consumers.

Netflix

We provided a team of train station promotional staff to work for a week at London’s King’s Cross station. Our staff were there promoting the Netflix film, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery!

It was an interactive and engaging promotional campaign on a large platform outside of Kings Cross station. The public was encouraged to have a go at completing a puzzle box, which if solved within 3 minutes, would see them rewarded with a token redeemable at a themed Glass Onion bar for a bespoke murder mystery cracker game! Moreover, staff were supplied with quotes and facts from the film to use when engaging with the public, making it an immersive experience.

Our Kings Cross station promotional staff were responsible for completing various duties throughout the week.

West Midlands Railway

Back in 2018, we supplied several teams of promotional staff to work at West Midlands Railway free coffee giveaway event. Our experienced brand ambassadors were assigned to various stations around the West Midlands including Wolverhampton Train Station, Walsall, Coventry, Sutton Coldfield, Stourbridge Junction, Longbridge, Bournville, and more!

Small teams of staff were present at each train station to giveaway empty cups and vouchers which could be redeemed at either Leon in Birmingham New Street or Centenary Lounge in Birmingham Snow Hill for a free cup of coffee. The price of the coffee was the equivalent of an ‘Evening Day Return’ ticket with West Midlands Railway- highlighting their value for money.

Push’s Train Station Promotional Staff

So there you have it! Some examples of train station promotional campaigns and things to consider when planning one! Push has lots of experience working in train stations, and has a 3000+ staff database ready to go! 

Get in touch with us today via email or phone for more information about our train station promotional staff.