TIN MAN REVEALS THE TRUE COST OF LONG-DISTANCE LOVE WITH MEGABUS

megabus, the low-cost intercity coach operator and part of the Stagecoach Group, has hired Tin Man for its first ever PR campaign, to help make it the obvious travel choice amongst students. 

Based on the insight that a nearly a third of student relationships fail due to the cost of maintaining their long distance love, Tin Man created the megabus ‘Sweetheart Saver’ a new ticket trial offering free travel for couples in long distance relationships between two of the 90 destinations on the network for a whole year. If the current trial is successful, the ticket will be rolled out nationwide.

Designed to encourage emotional engagement with the brand and drive relevance amongst students, Tin Man revealed that long-distance sweethearts spend £4,681.40 a year to keep their love alive.  The new megabus ‘Sweetheart Saver’ will help remove this barrier for selected couples and help deliver brand warmth on a wider scale.

To launch the initiative, Tin Man worked with real-life long-distance couple Jonny and Sofie, to produce a three-minute, cinematic film exploring the trials and tribulations of long-distance love. The film will be used on social and as an asset for the company’s first PR ever campaign. 

“megabus is a familiar sight on roads up and down the country but our challenge was to position the brand as the obvious travel choice amongst students. The cost saving message of travelling with megabus was strong, but value doesn’t change perception.  We needed to find the deeper, more emotionally-led benefits of how megabus can become part of student life, to truly engage audiences.  This came via the stories, moments, hopes and dreams that megabus can facilitate for Brits – and helping maintain long distance romances was top of the list.”

 Mandy Sharp, Tin Man founder

“At megabus, we help 4 million passengers a year travel across the UK and this of course helps reunite friends, family and loved ones. We offer low-cost budget-friendly travel and hope that the new 'Sweetheart Saver' ticket trial will enable more long-distance relationship flourish.”

Mark Venables, Managing Director from megabus

For more on the campaign, please see PR Week’s article here.