Eurostar touts for brand sponsors

Eurostar, operator of the high-speed Channel Tunnel rail link, is seeking sponsors for its trains running from the UK to mainland Europe.

The company has appointed Sports & Outdoor Media as its official agency to manage the train sponsorship, which will include external and internal branding and additional promotions at the rail terminals.

Each train will carry an average of 1,300 passengers a day and will be seen in two or three countries (the UK, France and Belgium). The company is promoting the trains – which are a quarter of a mile long – as the longest billboards in Europe.

Eurostar says it has carried more than 13 million passengers since it began operations in November 1994, and expects numbers to be boosted by next year’s World Cup finals in France.

Hamish Taylor, managing director of Eurostar (UK), says: “We envisage high-profile, international organi-sations will be interested.”

Keith Impey, director at Sports & Outdoor Media, says: “We can tailor advertising and promotional opportunities with Eurostar to the individual needs of any organisation.”