Eurostar Group has appointed two DDB agencies to lead its advertising and marketing account, following a competitive pitch handled by Altimis Consulting.
The appointment of Adam & Eve DDB and DDB Paris to the rail operator’s account follows the last year’s merger of Eurostar and Thalys to form the Eurostar Group.
The two companies had been working side by side for over two decades, with Thalys sharing the track with Eurostar form trains that go from Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys also served Amsterdam and German cities in the Rhein-Ruhr.
Under the Eurostar brand, the group aims to carry 30 million passengers a year by 2030, and claims to offer a “unique and sustainable international travel experience across an extended network of five countries, with seamless connections between business and leisure destinations”.
The two DDB agencies will lead work across the five core markets of the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium, with the first work due to go live later this year.
Chief commercial officer at Eurostar Group Francois le Doze said: “We are excited to appoint [the agencies] to help us create our first ad campaign as Eurostar Group. This is an important next step as we launch our new brand, and we look forward to sharing our new creative with our customers later this year.”
Eurostar previously worked with House 337 (then Engine) since 2019, Thalys has worked with DDB Paris since 2018.
Headquartered in Brussels, Eurostar Group has a 100% stake in Eurostar International and Thalys, based in London and Brussels, respectively. SNCF owns a 55.75% stake in the new entity, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) holds a 19.31% interest while Belgium national railway company SNCB owns an 18.5% interest. Funds managed by Federated Hermes Infrastructure have a 6.44% holding in the entity.
The company’s Club Eurostar programme, which was relaunched in 2017, is open to both business and consumer passengers. It rewards members with one point for every £1 spent, and there are three tiers, Classique, Avantage and Carte Blanche.
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