Travel ‘pain points’ targeted by OOH P&O Ferries ads

The Media Plan

P&O Ferries is placing out-of-home posters at “pain points” for fed up aeroplane and train travellers to entice them overseas by ferries instead.

The “There is Another Way” campaign, planned and bought by Publicis Groupe media agency Starcom and created by sister ad agency Publicis.Poke, uses tongue-in-cheek messaging in posters that are strategically placed en route the Eurostar and Gatwick Express lines.

One ad at St Pancras Station reads: “On trains and planes you book a seat but on P&O you choose a ship.”

The campaign is meant to position P&O Ferries as a challenger brand and a travel alternative in a category full of frustrations.

The posters display attention-grabbing headlines which spell out key messages in black and white, with a liberal use of white space in a nod to the roomy nature of the ships, while a handmade “There Is Another Way” stamp and nostalgic photography is designed to deliver a “holiday feeling”.

The campaign launches today and will run until July, targeting consumers with intent to travel across key regions. Ads will also run across digital, print, and audio.

The activity will also feature a partnership with Amazon, which includes a “content hub” to highlight the benefits of travelling via ferry.

Sian Campling, planning director at Starcom UK, said: “Strategically positioning the P&O Ferries message on outdoor posters around travel hubs as well as in travel sections within print and online titles, as well as when our customers are considering travel product purchases, is a great way to get our audiences’ attention and make them rethink their travel choices.”