Transport company Vy was looking for a way to encourage people to travel with train or bus, rather than by car. We worked with them to create a campaign that showed Vy as an attractive alternative for the route from Oslo to Gothenburg. 

In itself, this route is not really a mind-blowing nature experience, and there are not many sights to see. Our focus had to be the final destination: Gothenburg.

Through content marketing, we told five stories to the Norwegian and Swedish market, retargeted to the most relevant audience within a certain distance to the train and bus route Oslo to Gothenburg.

Here are five things we learned from this campaign:

1. Use ordinary people.

In all the articles we created for this campaign, it was essential to have normal, ordinary people as case stories. We do not want influencers or celebrities — just a normal family, couple, or a group of friends. This way, our stories sound more genuine, realistic, and give our readers something they can relate to.

The results were clear: Great average active reading time, and Vy also noticed a significant increase in travelers on the route during and after the campaign.

2. Low-effort travel can inspire.

Inspirational travel content showing off palm beaches, expensive hotels, and crystal clear water is always tempting. But for most people, this type of travel is something they rarely do. On the other hand, it’s very easy to take a train for a few hours and get to another city with different vibes and influences.

Travel inspiration can be that easy.

3. Provide different target groups with tailored content.

The key to success for this campaign, among other things, was differentiated content. We made traveling content customised for families, couples, friends, and business travelers. 

Each of these groups have their own preferences. For example, a 23-year-old woman isn't interested in what a family with children does in Gothenburg. But she might be very interested in what two friends her own age would do. This mindset was really important to make this a successful campaign.

Similarly, the content distribution should match the target groups we are looking for. Therefore, we have used both social media and all of Schibsted’s outlets in our distribution.

4. Focus on environmental friendliness.

One important argument for taking the train from Oslo to Gothenburg is that it’s environmentally friendly. With so much green focus these days, this is a good way to show how you can travel without leaving behind a large CO2 footprint. Young people in particular seemed to be drawn to this angle on our stories.

5. Gothenburg is an “OK” city.

When creating travel inspiration, it’s a big advantage to choose a destination that seems “OK.” A destination that tourists can leave thinking: “Well, that was not too bad ...”

What you communicate has to be genuine and truthful. Gothenburg was a perfect destination for this kind of campaign. (And we do recommend visiting this cozy and small — but still big — city. By train, of course ...) 

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