The Context

Translink delivers public transport across Northern Ireland, connecting people and communities with employment, amenities, retail and entertainment through rail, bus and coach services. They seek to do so in a way that supports  four objectives; Operational excellence; Customer satisfaction; Value for money; and Passenger growth.  To support these objectives they engage in creative partnerships to inject a bit of fun into the passenger experience, to encourage people to use their services and positively contribute to a thriving, healthy and sustainable Northern Ireland for all. 

Oh Yeah Music Centre is Belfast's dedicated music hub in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter. It hosts the Northern Irish Music Exhibition, a cafe, and a venue space which are all open to the public. 

The Solution

Translink’s new Metro logo showcases all the wonderful sights and attractions across Belfast, illustrating how ‘Metro IS the City.’ We connected them with Oh Yeah Music Centre based on their mutual objectives to promote Belfast as a place where citizens, visitors and tourists can enjoy and travel safely; as a result, The Metro Sessions - Moving in Tune competition was created. 

It was agreed that a new initiative, using the Sound of Belfast platform, was the best way forward to imaginatively engage the public in activities that promote the city as a vibrant, welcoming and creative place, filled with music, attracting tourists and encouraging residents to get out and explore their own city.  

The initiative fed into Belfast City Council’s ambitions for Belfast to be a designated UNESCO City of Music- Oh Yeah has since been invited to Chair the new BCC steering committee, and an application for UNESCO status will be submitted in early 2021; a strong partnership with providers of public transport will support this application from the city.

Many of Oh Yeah’s events promote safe travel to and from gigs for under 18s and families. The importance of public transport is one of the main drivers in the City of Music agenda. Great music cities demonstrate that public transport plays a crucial role in supporting better access to gigs, concerts and festivals. The Metro Sessions helped build awareness of the shared ethos of Oh Yeah and Translink in working towards this.  

The Metro Sessions - Moving In Tune competition invited and challenged music acts, of all ages and abilities, from Belfast to record and upload videos of themselves performing songs on Metro buses, at bus stops or along Metro bus routes.

The public was invited to vote on 59 acts who submitted a track to the competition, with over 3000 people casting their vote for the winning act. Drawing on the knowledge and expertise of the Oh Yeah Music Centre, five emerging musical acts were short-listed, then interviewed and filmed for a promotional video as part of an online social media campaign, before participating in the live final. The winning act received a cash prize, time in the studio, mentoring from Oh Yeah professionals and will take part in a paid live gig scheduled for 2021. 

The partners shared the objective of profiling and promoting Belfast as a vibrant city, building brand profile, seeking out and supporting new music talent and reaching new audiences and passengers. The Translink and Oh Yeah partnership demonstrated that Translink is in tune with the musicians and the people of Belfast, with Oh Yeah’s participation ensuring there was a credible and trusted local music brand involved in the roll out of the programme. 

The specific reference to the Metro brand meant that the Metro Sessions campaign was striking, with a stylish and vibrant visual identity that stood out to consumers. The tone of voice was conversational, relaxed and less commercial. It also resonated well with the music community in message and delivery. The campaign, which was digitally driven, focussed on showcasing the best of new Northern Irish talent in a contemporary and vibrant style, aligned with the Translink Metro and Oh Yeah brands.