Go-Ahead Rail seeks agency for new London Midland franchise brand

Go-Ahead Rail, train division of the public transport operator, is seeking an agency to handle a new brand for its London Midland franchise. It comes after the company won the newly formed West Midlands contract last November.

The division has issued a tender seeking an agency to develop an advertising and media strategy to build the brand in regional and local markets. It will also devise customer relationship management initiatives to drive direct marketing work. PHD Rocket handles the media planning and buying for the operator.

The group already operates 620 routes across the South East of the country under Southern, which includes the Gatwick Express, and Southeastern franchises. The latter will include high speed trains on the domestic Channel Tunnel Rail Link in St Pancras by 2009.

In June, Go-Ahead reported that the rail division had seen strong growth over the previous two months and that it would be ahead of the £66.1m operating profit that it reported in the previous year.