The Problem:

Edinburgh’s tram network was built to ease traffic congestion, connect areas of the city and provide a more efficient and environmentally friendly public transport system. However, their recent £207m upgrade and extension project was beset with high-profile and costly planning, budget and construction issues, resulting in delays, negative press, public perception and prolonged disruption to day-to-day life in the city.

The MindField Thinking:

We needed to help the newly extended services get off to a flying start. New stops such as The Shore and Ocean Terminal are among the busiest on the network. And they had loads of other societal and environmental benefits to communicate. To do so, we used several rhetorical devices in our headline that would help the messages stick in people’s minds:

• Asyndeton: the omission of conjunctions (like and) between elements in a list.

• Parallelism: The repetition of the same grammatical form (comparative adjectives ending in -er).

• Tetralon: A series of 4 elements, building in impact or rhythm.

• Alliteration (partially): “Bigger,” and “brighter,” repeat the “b” and “r” sounds, adding to the phrase’s musicality and memorability.

The Answer:

CLEANER, BETTER, FASTER, LONGER

The opening of the new Edinburgh Trams line delivered a massive boost to the popularity of Edinburgh’s award-winning tram network, with customer numbers more than doubling since the first tram bound for Newhaven departed the city centre. More than 7 million tram trips were recorded by the operator in the second half of last year, compared to 3.4 million during the same period the previous year.

Our creative ran on OOH, Social, YouTube and even on the livery of the trams. It also featured as the lead artwork for the Edinburgh Trams promotional collaboration with Capital Scotland radio.

Our  Research team ran a successful rolling programme of mystery shopper activity throughout 2022, 2023 and 2024 to help identify aspects of the Edinburgh Tram journey that work well and where improvements are needed.  Underlining Edinburgh Trams’ commitment to continually improving their customer experience. 

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