Craig Young - **HAS LEFT**

Said the following about Ricardo Rail Marketing Team:

“Ricardo's We Know Rail campaign ran for six months between November 2021 and April 2022.

The campaign utilised digital search advertising, paid social media, email and event displays with the primary objective of raising the brand’s profile in markets beyond their core territories.

Background

Headquartered in Shoreham, West Sussex, Ricardo has long been an established engineering partner in the automotive and industrial sector, with a history in the design and manufacture of engines, drivelines and transmissions extending back to the 1920s Since 2010, the Ricardo group has sought to diversify into other sectors and, while it had periodically worked in rail engine design during the 20th century, it formally entered the rail supply market with the acquisition of Lloyd's Register's rail business in 2015, bringing over 500 dedicated rail specialists to the business and a client portfolio focused on northern Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Following a period of consolidation, the We Know Rail campaign was developed in 2021 to co-ordinate a push into regional markets beyond those where the rail business was already established, with a focus on North America, South East Asia and Southern Europe.

Creatives

The campaign narrative was to encapsulate the businesses' wide range of capabilities - ranging across railway operations and maintenance support, system assurance, rolling stock and train control consultancy, consultancy – and also reflect the organisation's deep engineering heritage, a factor highlighted as both a key differentiator and source of credibility in the new territories.

The 'We Know Rail' creative meet the brief perfectly: a short, bold statement, translatable for markets where English is a second language, that could be prominently displayed on a range of media, from large exhibit stands to smartphone screens. It was coupled with a series of crisp background designs and templates that was distinctive in rail consultancy advertising.

Tactical

The campaign used a series of display banners on trade media news sites, such as Railway Gazette International, as well as heavily targeted use of the LinkedIn platform to share digital postcards and video. Simultaneously, Google banner display and Adwords campaigns were programmed.

Creatives ranged from general branding to lead generation forms and designs promoting web content such as case studies, webinars, expert interviews and technical papers. Lead forms invited contacts to opt-in to receive 'We Know Rail' e-newsletters, with content optimised based on region and/or subject areas of interest.

As the campaigns progressed, the team regularly reviewed the performance of each creative and adjusted the programme accordingly. Poor performing banners were withdrawn, for example, whilst different messages were tested and engagements tracked. Local language variations were introduced, and video usage increased in line with it improving engagement rates.

In China, the campaign was adapted for WeChat.

On LinkedIn, where targeting of sponsored content can be defined to a granular detail, the team reviewed the underlying data for 15 different market territories on a fortnightly basis, adjusting the targeting toward specific organisations and excluding others, helping to maximise spend on a core audience. Local language posts had notable impact, with click-throughs in Japan and Korea, for example, increasing by 400% and halving Cost per Lead.

In Canada, where a new Ricardo rail team and office had now been established, the 'We Know Rail' messaging was continued at a series of trade shows and conferences, with the exhibits displaying a matching 'We Know Rail' identity

Results/Outcomes

Over the course of the targeted six month campaign 'We Know Rail' content accrued more than 6.5m digital impressions, plus 2.9m video views, across a tightly defined technical Rail audience. This represented a substantial uplift in regular digital metrics. The period also saw website traffic increase by 30%, on average, throughout the duration of the campaign.

Optimisation of both the creatives and targeting over the campaign saw click-through rates increase from 0.32% to 2% and the conversion rate leap from 0.63% to 5.5%. The campaign saw 20% increase in the rail teams LinkedIn follower base (to 22,000), exceeding expectations.

Over 600 qualified lead forms were generated, with contacts from new territories expressing interest in receiving further information or specific contact which continues to be fulfilled via email communications.“