AUCKLAND, Today: Auckland Transport and Thompson Spencer have launched a campaign to build excitement ahead of the City Rail Link opening in 2026. The project will reshape travel with faster journeys, more trains and new stations across Tāmaki Makaurau.
Originally a social-first brief, Thompson Spencer’s concept impressed so much it became the lead integrated campaign across out-of-home, social, digital and radio.
“Once we grasped the scale of this project, it became obvious the CRL isn’t just an infrastructure upgrade, it’s a giant time gift,” says Matt Eastwood, Creative Director at Thompson Spencer.
“People spend so much of their day commuting instead of actually living. The CRL flips that, so the idea for us became pretty simple: skip the mission and get straight to the moments you actually want to be in.”
“The work connects with people where they are and shows how the CRL will make their everyday movements easier and faster.” – Melanie Spencer, Co-CEO of Thompson Spencer
The campaign expresses this through a bold, fast-paced visual world showing how the CRL helps people spend less time travelling and more time in moments that matter. Each execution links to real destinations on the network.
Rena Murphy, Marketing Manager at Auckland Transport, says: “The CRL is New Zealand’s largest transport infrastructure project, and an eagerly anticipated one at that.
“Thompson Spencer’s insight and creative captured that understanding and matched the momentum, connecting with people in real contexts and translating network improvements into human moments.”
“What began as a brief for supporting video content grew to an above-the-line campaign once the insight landed and it was seen how naturally it could stretch,” adds Melanie Spencer, Co-CEO of Thompson Spencer.
“The work connects with people where they are and shows how the CRL will make their everyday movements easier and faster.”
The work appears across the city in OOH, social, radio and digital. Once complete, the CRL will transform Britomart into a through station, with new and upgraded stations boosting capacity and cutting travel time.
CREDITS
Client: Auckland Transport
GM Marketing & Media Partnerships: Anna Lawrence
Marketing Manager: Rena Murphy
Marketing Specialist: Xaviar Rego
Creative Director @ AT: Chris Swift
Agency: Thompson Spencer
Business Director: Olivia Thompson
Creative Director: Matt Eastwood
Executive Producer: Carlene Managh
Producer: Janelle Ng
Snr Art Director: Erik Hay
Designer: Jono Ong
Photography: Dan Trotter
DOP, Edit: Shayne Archer
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