Train-ing It

Client: RDG

Train-ing It, with Joe Wilkinson transformed rail’s greatest functional benefit into compelling entertainment content, driving a significant shift in consideration among younger, light rail users.

While post-pandemic rail usage had largely recovered, younger and less frequent travellers were still not choosing rail as often as they could. Research revealed the issue was not awareness, but consideration. Rail remained visible and familiar, yet many consumers had fallen into alternative travel habits and were no longer actively thinking about rail when planning journeys. Together, RDG, and Spark identified a powerful insight: the real value of rail lies not just in getting somewhere, but in the quality of time the journey creates. Rather than tell audiences this through advertising, we brought the benefit to life through content. The result was Train-ing It, with Joe Wilkinson: a long-form entertainment series where Joe travelled by train with well-known personalities including Michael Sheen, Nick Mohammed and Adam Peaty. The train was more than a backdrop; it was the format itself. The uninterrupted journey enabled authentic, engaging conversations that demonstrated the unique value of rail travel. Designed for Channel4’s ecosystem, the series combined depth through full-length episodes with reach through social-first edits distributed across Channel 4 channels. Every part of the content experience reinforced the same strategic message: rail gives you valuable time back. The results delivered against key KPI benchmarks.