CR Smith the Scottish double glazing company has entered into a £1 million deal with Edinburgh Trams, Marketing Edinburgh and TfE to advertise on 18 of the city’s 27 strong fleet for two years. The city partnership negotiated the first advertising deal for Edinburgh Trams only a few weeks after taking ownership of it, so there were big smiles all round today.
All of the income generated by the deal will come back to the city and will be reinvested in transport infrastructure improvements and destination marketing.
George and Gerard Eadie CBE the two brothers who have run the company for over 35 years were both at Gogar Depot this morning to have a look at the first of the 18 designs being rolled out, and then have a ride on it to the city centre.
Each design will have a different design but all will have the Man in the Blue and White Van on them. This was for so long the highly successful marketing image that CR Smith used to attract customers beginning in the 1980s.
The tram we travelled on had the Carrbridge to the Forth design on it with the oldest stone bridge in the Highlands arching over the Forth Bridge. There will be another featuring the Duke of Wellington and the traffic cone along soon.
The new Scotland-wide marketing campaign for the family owned home improvements company is centred on the tram first, with their fleet of new Mercedes vans and a TV campaign planned for later in the year.
George Eadie said : There are many reasons why the tram sponsorship works for CR Smith. We hope to achieve major public awareness and Edinburgh has some 1.3 million residents along with annual visitors. Princes Street, Edinburgh’s iconic thoroughfare has 1.4 million visitors each month. Tram journeys last year totalled 5.6 million passengers.
“We are partnering with Edinburgh, with Marketing Edinburgh and Transport for Edinburgh and Edinburgh Trams. We as a company promote sustainability and we believe at the core our partners also have sustainability. The concept of the trams and public transport has sustainability embedded in its ethos.
“Edinburgh is the gateway to Scotland and CR Smith is the Window to Scotland so it is for all of these reasons it’s got to be the man in the blue and white tram!”
John Donnelly, Chief Executive of Marketing Edinburgh said: “The partnership between Marketing Edinburgh, TfE and Edinburgh Trams is a new and innovative approach to managing citywide advertising in Scotland. By having Key City Partners take responsibility for advertising negotiation on behalf of, and for Edinburgh, we are cutting out the middleman, ensuring 100% of all profits come directly back into the city.
“With Edinburgh known as the Gateway to Scotland, the new creative by CR Smith, which celebrates our entire country’s iconic locations is the ideal fit for Edinburgh Trams, visually appealing directly to both our residents and visitors.”
Lea Harrison, Managing Director of Edinburgh Trams said: “With around 7,000 services running through the city every month, our trams offer fantastic exposure to forward thinking businesses. Customer journeys, currently standing at over 5.6 million per year, are continuing to rise as the tram becomes an ever more popular transport option.”
“Event promotions on our trams, such as The Royal Highland Show, have already proved hugely successful and we’re delighted to be expanding these commercial opportunities. The deal with an iconic brand such as CR Smith is a first and is a significant step in our promotional strategy.”
18 of the city’s @EdinburghTrams are now wrapped in images from across Scotland in a marketing deal with #crsmithtrams pic.twitter.com/aTOjKZdS2D
— Edinburgh Reporter (@EdinReporter) August 9, 2017
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
