Headline fares give GNER a safe berth

I am writing in response to your article entitled “The new age of the train is a fare deal” (MW April 6).

At GNER, we’re aware of the power of deal-led advertising to stimulate off-peak travel and improve general perceptions of value for money. We also understand the importance of improving the hard product, which is why we’ve invested &£30m in our new Mallard trains and are about to embark on a &£42m refurbishment programme of our diesel fleet.

Driving the customer experience is key. As a result, GNER will soon be the only train fleet in the UK with wi-fi access on board and in every first-class lounge along the route.

Last autumn, GNER conducted its largest advertising campaign to date to promote the passenger benefits of the Mallard fleet, including the wi-fi offer. Headline fare advertising played its part in the mix of messaging to ensure that GNER’s return fares helped to convince the public that both the price and product were right.

We then satisfied the demand that the campaign created through the management of quotas to ensure that the headline prices were plentiful, ensuring that the maximum number of passengers were able to enjoy GNER’s new product at the best price.

This crucial cocktail of messaging has proved to be successful, stimulating passenger journeys significantly after the summer slump resulting from the London bombings.

Moray Shutt

Marketing controller

GNER

Moray.Shutt@gner.co.uk