Behind the Media 100 Rankings: A simple message underpinned by complex data helped Via Rail to woo Canadian motorists

Via Rail’s campaign, ranked second in the Media 100 rankings, used real-time data to persuade motorists to ditch their vehicles in favour of trains.

Based on a non-statistical analysis of what is said at the bar post-gala, the technological prowess is what seems to impress most about “Data vs Car”. Funny, because it was the last thing we crafted when working on the campaign.

The campaign was first born with a colossal business challenge: to get people to switch from cars to trains.

Interestingly enough, in a world marked by consumer globalisation, this case was based around an insight unique to North Americans: their unconditional love for cars, which brings them to underestimate their commute time. (Award geeks, like ourselves, will notice that...

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