Catch the Gautrain bus campaign

It was required to develop a campaign within two weeks and to keep costs to a minimum. "The need arose due to negative feedback received from consumers and the number of empty buses seen along Gautrain routes," says Mall Active's Travis Brown. "The mall activation gave the campaign instant exposure. To avoid excessive costs we selected a standard exhibition stand, as opposed to a customised one to create impact inside the shopping malls."

Roving exhibition stand

The roving double-sided stand went public in July and runs until the end of September, alternating at the Bryanston Shopping Centre, Fourways Mall, Rosebank Mall, Sandton City, Rivonia Square, Morningside Shopping Centre and Festival Mall. The stand clearly communicates the bus fares and how to use the service on one side and details of the routes on the other.

"No matter which direction the consumer walks inside the mall, they will be able to clearly see the relevant communication; the video on a plasma screen, which highlights the bus service and the full train service; and a touch screen, with dedicated bus information for the consumers to engage with at their leisure," adds Brown.

A vending machine enables consumers to purchase a pre-paid R30 Gautrain ticket directly from the stand. They can then catch a bus to the nearest station, where they can load additional funds onto their card to use at the train service.

"The entire activation focuses purely on the bus service, as consumers and users of the Gautrain have no knowledge of how the bus service operates. The activation will highlight the bus routes, fares, operating hours, where the bus stops are, and how the buses operate," he concludes.