1. European logo: on the move North East of England
Thank you for inviting us here today.
Our presentation aims to show one of the innovative ways the North east of England were able to meet the publicity requirements of one of our major projects. The example shows how the European logo was showcased to over a million passengers each year through the branding of a light rail metro train carriage.

2. The Tyne & Wear Metro System Phase 1 – developed 1982
Backbone of the area’s public transport system
Carries millions of passengers every year
Total of 40 million journeys a year
The Tyne & Wear Metro system was developed in 1982 as the backbone of the area’s public transport system. Developed as the UK’s first light rapid transit system, the system originally covered 46 stations in and around the Tyneside area of North East England connecting central Newcastle to the Airport, coast and Gateshead area.

3. The Tyne & Wear Metro system Phase 2 extension – completed April 2002
Phase 2 extension – completed April 2002
Twelve new stations
90,000 new passengers
Funded by € 24 million ERDF
In April 2002, after eight years of planning by Nexus – owners of the Metro system – the metro system extended into Sunderland – a City 15 miles to the south of Newcastle. Twelve stations were added to the system opening the metro to an additional 90,000 people.
The total project cost was £100 million ((€ 145 million) of which £14.7 million (€ 24 million)
was funded through ERDF through the last Objective 2 Programme.

4. Steven Keppie, 25, Seaburn:
“The Metro is really handy, and even though I've got a car it's just not worth using it. There's no parking hassles and it’s so much cheaper.”
David Hewitt, 22, Newcastle:
“The metro makes my life so much easier with the new station right next to the University campus.
I now make it in time for my lectures!”
Sunderland was in the midst of a major City Centre regeneration scheme and the extension of the metro system provided an opportunity for both residents and visitors to visit some of the many tourism attractions which the City now offered. The system also linked Tyne & Wear to some major sites of employment and Sunderland University as well as providing an environmentally friendly and affordable mode of transport to residents. As you can see from the quotes on screen the metro was a huge hit with residents.

5. Metro - valuable marketing tool Used by North East companies
European Branding   
Metro - valuable marketing tool
Used by North East companies
Ideal opportunity to profile European funding
Normal costs € 16,000 – given to the European Partnership for free
Six months before the Metro system opened, it was suggested that in order to fulfil the publicity requirements behind the grant, Nexus could provide the European team with their own branded metro carriage.
Since it’s opening in 1982, the metro has grown a reputation as a valuable marketing and advertising vehicle. The system provides opportunities to advertise both at stations and on metro trains themselves and gives advertisers a captive audience of millions of commuters.
Sponsoring a metro carriage is often used by North East companies and with the extension of the rail system, it seemed an ideal way to promote the European funding that had made the extension possible.
The branded metro train was offered to the Objective 2 programme for free, the normal costs are £11,000 (€ 16,000) per year.

6. European logo supplied to Nexus Adverts inside trains
Logistics
Branded train
European logo supplied to Nexus
Adverts inside trains
Advertising agency given brief
There were two strands to the advertising deal, the first was the branded train.
The Partnership were therefore given a metro carriage which was to be covered in the European logo.
In order to do this, we supplied Nexus with an electronic version of our logo and the artwork was left to them. The result was a train painted in the European blue and yellow with the words’ This project was part financed by the European Regional Development Fund’ for all to see.
The second part of the deal was to provide us with advertising space within the train carriage. In order to produce a number of adverts, the Government Office consulted a design agency who came up with a campaign which used a series of projects to illustrate the impact of European funding to the North East.

7. As you can see on screen a number of different adverts were used during the campaign, covering a diverse range of projects. The idea behind this was to draw people’s attention to the enormous impact European funding was having on the North East.
The key message was:
-         European Structural Funds are benefiting the North East
European Structural Funds are benefiting you
The adverts within the train were changed every few months to maintain interest for the passengers. This allowed us to focus on different elements of the programme and showcase some best practice examples from around the region.

8. Launch of train April 19th 2002 Neil Kinnock unveiled the train
Launch of train April 19th 2002
Neil Kinnock unveiled the train
Received coverage from the local media – press, TV and radio.
On April 19th 2002, the train was ready and launched by Neil Kinnock at one of the new Sunderland metro stations. The launch gained publicity from the local press with eight separate articles appearing in newspapers and coverage on two local news channels and radio stations.

9. An average of 25% recall rate for branded trains
Evaluation
An average of 25% recall rate for branded trains
786,000 journeys made per week
Train still running on track for second year running
The Market research department at Nexus regularly undertake market research into whether customers are aware of Metro branded trains. On average, 25% of all passengers surveyed said that they had been aware of individual branded trains – this figure rose to 50% when prompted with a photograph.
With an average of 786,000 journeys made on the Tyne and Wear metro system each week – this equates to a large audience base for the European logo, travelling right across the Tyne & Wear area every day.

10. To conclude, the Tyne and Wear metro branding was a unique way to raise awareness of the contribution EU funds have made to the North East. The grant given to the Tyne & Wear metro system was the largest North East grant ever given at that time and in response to the support shown to the project, Nexus worked in partnership with us to meet their publicity requirements in the best possible way.