THE LONGER JOURNEY: CROSSCOUNTRY RELEASES BEAUTIFULLY PERSONAL FILM AS PART OF BRAND LAUNCH CrossCountry is pulling at heartstrings with a new emotive ad as part of a full brand roll-out. The new brand platform, Take Us On Your Journey, highlights CrossCountry’s role in building connections with people, not just places. CrossCountry worked with McCann Birmingham throughout the development of the new platform and integrated campaign. Born out of the industry’s drive to put the customer back at the heart of rail, the through the line rebrand centres around enabling real human connection via CrossCountry’s trains and people. Going beyond simply getting people from A to B, the platform recognises the truth that CrossCountry is a small, but important part in the bigger journeys of its customers. This understanding of stories comes to life in an emotional new ad, The Longer Journey, which follows the heart-warming story of a mother and daughter as they take travel to watch their beloved football team. They meet with friends during the match and celebrate a win before travelling home. On the journey, the mother stops train manager Steve to update him on the score before it’s revealed that it wasn’t just a football game, it’s a way for the pair to remember their late husband and dad. David Mullins, Head of Brand, Communications & Digital Strategy, at CrossCountry said “For a long time, train companies have focused on getting their customers from A to B, but the unique stories of the people making these journeys, the role of rail in their lives, and the interactions they have across our services are just as important. We’re here to help people connect, so we invite CrossCountry travellers to take us on their journey. “McCann Birmingham have been an invaluable partner on our own journey to building meaningful human connections. From the outset, the team have provided us with energy, enthusiasm, and professionalism from research, creative and strategy right through to final production, PR and media. We look forward to launching our exciting new brand with them over the coming months.” The new brand launches on 26th June. The integrated roll-out includes TV, digital, social, PR and internal communication as well as on board changes such as a train refresh and updated catering. All research, strategy, creative, production, PR and media is handled by McCann Birmingham and UM Birmingham, McCann’s media division. Amy Kiernan, Head of Agency Development and Integration at McCann Birmingham, said: “We’ve been on a three-year journey with CrossCountry and this an incredibly exciting moment for everyone who has played a role in creating the new brand platform and the stories that it has enabled us to start telling.” Vince McSweeney, Chief Creative Officer at McCann Central, said: “Meaningful interaction is at the heart of CrossCountry, and we needed to bring the brand to life in an authentic, human way. This isn’t a typical train company ad. It doesn’t shy away from the sometimes emotional, but important journeys we all take in life.”