Brandpool scoops 7m brand brief for Southeastern Railways

Train operator Southeastern Railways has handed its £7m brand, advertising and marketing business to Brandpool.

The marketing communications agency has a brief to “refresh” the Southeastern brand as well an advertising campaign to support the launch of a high-speed train service next year. The new trains will run from St Pancras to Kent, using the Channel Tunnel rail link and will provide services for the 2012 Olympics.

The fleet of high-speed trains, made by Hitachi, are due to come into service next year and will form the “Javelin” shuttle service to the 2012 Olympics centre in east London.

The company, part of the Go-Ahead Group, took over responsibility for the Kent rail franchise in 2006 and provides commuter and leisure rail services in south east London, Kent and parts of East Sussex.

Marketing consultancy Brandpool, founded by former Arc Advertising director John McWilliams, initiates brand strategies it can develop itself or contract out to other agencies or freelancers.

The agency has also worked with other train companies and oversaw the launch of Southern Trains.

Southeastern had previously worked on cam-paigns with Rapier and Communiqué 360 and has run promotions offering two-for-one entries to tourist attractions in London.

Earlier this month, Southeastern was forced to withdraw a radio ad by Rapier, which referred to its rolling stock as “state-of-the-art” following an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruling.

The watchdog said that as many of the trains used by Southeastern were 15 years or more old it was misleading to claim they were modern.