(12 Jan 2014, 7:54 pm)aureolin wrote Exactly this. GNE are very good when it comes to interacting with their customers, and the other two let themselves down here.
Does anyone think that anyone outside of the enthusiast community are aware that Stagecoach purchased 20+ new Enviro 200s for Sunderland last year? I doubt it. GNE buy 11 new Citaros for the M1, rebrand it as the 4, and everyone knows about it.
How effective do you think advertising on buses is? As far as I know, the only interaction with passengers in regards to the new E200s at Sunderland was via advertising boards on the sides of the buses:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nerbp/11312099894/
If I wasn't told about it getting done, I wouldn't have noticed them... If I'm an enthusiast who looks at buses, I can't imagine Betty or Tom to notice them either.
Go North East had a massive amount of promotion for each brand, the coffee wagon was out almost every day (
) and I feel GNE made an effort to communicate with their passengers that they would see new buses out in service. No doubt we can expect a few more chocolate bars to be handed out when it comes to the #Fab56 promotion too. 