Objective
Repurpose an association pitch to win a railroad brand
Approach
The transportation industry was booming, and competition was increasing both among competitors and against public scrutiny. The major train brands typically did significant corporate branding work that was very predictable and formulaic. The agency did not have any transportation experience, but we got the opportunity to pitch the Association of American Railroads, including all the top railroad marketers. The agency did not win the association campaign, so we decided to develop a focused strategy for BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX, and Union Pacific with the goal of winning one.
Results
In 2 years, we were invited to pitch and won AOR for Norfolk Southern. During that time, the agency changed ownership and name and downsized from 80 people to 15. Despite internal changes, we beat the 40-year incumbent and two other big network agencies from an initial field of 30 invited to participate.