Freight belongs on rail

Worldwide CCO: Liz Taylor Creative Chairman: Dr. Stephan Vogel  Chief Creative Officer: Bjoern Bremer, Siyamak Jung  Creative Director: Peter Strauss  Senior Art Director: Sergej Chursyn  Copywriter: Peter Strauss, Tim Nockemann  Account Management: Roland Stauber, Natalie Schenk, Dr. Markus Joest  Strategy: Frank Tavidde  Agency Producer: Anna-Lina Ulm, Claudia Vaternahm  Production Print: Vallerie Baumann  UX/UI: Diana Panajotov  Film Production: Kanu Film  Director: Caspar Hogertzeil Client German Rail: Marlis von Schleyer, Dr. Martell Beck 

DB Cargo is a B2B brand on a B2C mission: Rail freight is a very real method to reduce carbon emissions. Every freight train replaces 52 trucks, cutting emissions by at least 80%. But the climate-saving shift from road to rail is happening too slowly. People know too little about how much is actually moved by rail – from car parts to soft drinks to aid supplies – and how much more would be possible. To change that, they need a boost in public attention. So we are going public with a bold integrated campaign. We are placing our appeal “Freight belongs on rail” wherever it will get maximum attention: We put it into the middle of major German cities on large containers. We stage it as a spectacular game show on TV right before the evening news, we turn it into the mantra of an initiative that is joined by tens of thousands of citizens – and dozens of prominent brands. In April 2021, 20 and 40 foot freight containers with the mantra “freight belongs on rail” were placed in major German cities (incl. Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne, Dresden). A full page ad in leading newspapers on the next day started the public debate with thought-provoking facts. At the same time, the content hub went live. In May, a series of four game-shows was aired on TV, right before Germany’s most watched evening news. PR events included a public debate with the German minister of transport. Meanwhile, the iconic “freight belongs on rail” containers have been spotted all over Germany and Europe. After the spectacular Out-of-home launch and prime-time TV game shows with 13.6 million unique viewers, a total reach of 330 million and 330.000 interactions on social media, the debate about climate-friendly transport shifted from the logistics experts to the public arena. Today, more and more consumers are asking not just how products are made – but how they are moved.