I can’t find an existing thread but has someone new taken over the GNE socials? They’ve been fairly on point and topical of late 

They’re even responding to customers publicly and the tone is actually spot on (though you can tell when it switches to someone else who isn’t very good at it) 

Though if I’m being picky…don’t respond with ‘I’ on a social media account. It’s ‘we’. It’s not your fault the driver drove past a full stop whilst sticking the v’ s up. Different on the phone of course.  

Now if they could just ditch the ridiculous 9-5 hours they’d be halfway to a good service

(20 Jan 2024, 11:14 pm)Ambassador wrote I can’t find an existing thread but has someone new taken over the GNE socials? They’ve been fairly on point and topical of late 

They’re even responding to customers publicly and the tone is actually spot on (though you can tell when it switches to someone else who isn’t very good at it) 

Though if I’m being picky…don’t respond with ‘I’ on a social media account. It’s ‘we’. It’s not your fault the driver drove past a full stop whilst sticking the v’ s up. Different on the phone of course.  

Now if they could just ditch the ridiculous 9-5 hours they’d be halfway to a good service

Noticed this too.

I disagree with the I/we point, but I notice it's not consistent, so could be multiple people working the account. I do think that 'I' instead of 'we' is more personable when responding to complaints, though really it should be signed off with a name or initials.

The memes are a bit out of place given what the company and union put customers through only weeks ago. But, there has been an improvement for sure.

(22 Jan 2024, 12:26 pm)DeltaMan wrote The memes are a bit out of place given what the company and union put customers through only weeks ago. But, there has been an improvement for sure.

I don’t mind the memes as much as a conditioned social media user will sort of expect a company to do something these days. As tokenistic as they are…

I would be interested to know, following the head office cull, how many colleagues work in customer care. There is literally no reason for them to operate 9-5 if there’s more than 2 people. It’s just really bad management.

I wouldn’t mind doin it at least I’d give folk a good laff & not stand any rubbish

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/pZ48VDA...tid=WC7FNe

Standing grown adults in front of a primary school notice board and ‘rewarding’ them with some pound shop sweets all for the apparent benefit of a social media post is painfully cringeworthy.

This is awful. They genuinely see managers as adults and drivers as children, which we all know is the GNE culture, but to actively broadcast it!?

Fancy just doing your job correctly...

Recognition is important and it’s not about a reward but more the gesture but this from a marketing pov, this doesn’t look amazing

Been going on for months now that, although that's the first one I've seen on Social Media

(20 Apr 2024, 9:10 am)idiot wrote Fancy just doing your job correctly...

If I thought I’d be subjected to that ritual humiliation I’d be tempted to throw a customer’s lost phone out of an open window. If I had a manager who wanted to recognise my good work, come find me and tell me, maybe shake my hand. Write me a letter if you can’t be arsed to leave your office. Not this.

Do drivers get a choice? Personally, I'd be mortified if my ugly mug was plastered all over social media. It's good that GNE are recognising drivers who go above and beyond, though the sweets seem a bit cheap.

We used to get a £5 Greggs voucher at Deptford (sorry, Sunderland depot as they want to call it but unsure if that was the managers preference of reward).

The lack of attention to detail in this job advert requiring attention to detail is excellent.

Go North East's new advert has been released, titled 'Get your bum on board'...

https://x.com/gonortheast/status/1791057586814349544

Personally, the tune is alright but surely a less cringe/more professional message could be used e.g. 'Get yourself on board'

(16 May 2024, 10:51 am)Adtrainsam wrote Go North East's new advert has been released, titled 'Get your bum on board'...

https://x.com/gonortheast/status/1791057586814349544

Personally, the tune is alright but surely a less cringe/more professional message could be used e.g. 'Get yourself on board'

It's a load of crap to put it polite. There's absolutely nothing to sell people to get actually get on a bus and it's cringe as hell.

I'm really unsure who it's targeting. You'd literally be better having a campaign with the most boring man standing in front of a white wall saying: This is a bus, it costs £2 single fare. Get on board.

Least the £2 actually advertises something.

(16 May 2024, 11:23 am)Storx wrote It's a load of crap to put it polite. There's absolutely nothing to sell people to get actually get on a bus and it's cringe as hell.

I'm really unsure who it's targeting. You'd literally be better having a campaign with the most boring man standing in front of a white wall saying: This is a bus, it costs £2 single fare. Get on board.

Least the £2 actually advertises something.

I agree, I think the £2 fare is mentioned very briefly in the lyrics(?) but they do actually need to promote what could incentivise potential passengers. 

The TNE fares need to be shouted about more. £1, £2, £3, £6 etc. fares is what might drive people to use the bus.

(16 May 2024, 10:51 am)Adtrainsam wrote Go North East's new advert has been released, titled 'Get your bum on board'...

https://x.com/gonortheast/status/1791057586814349544

Personally, the tune is alright but surely a less cringe/more professional message could be used e.g. 'Get yourself on board'

So not only do we have a glove fetishist involved in the recruitment campaign, but we've also got someone with a penchant for people's bums involved in the advertising campaign!

What next?!

---

(16 May 2024, 11:23 am)Storx wrote It's a load of crap to put it polite. There's absolutely nothing to sell people to get actually get on a bus and it's cringe as hell.

I'm really unsure who it's targeting. You'd literally be better having a campaign with the most boring man standing in front of a white wall saying: This is a bus, it costs £2 single fare. Get on board.

Least the £2 actually advertises something.

I'm busy this month. 
If they can fit me in from next month, I would give it a go.

What's next?

Drag races

The odd tag line aside, they look good in all over red with black light surrounds, and no replacement/blue panel look on the front.

https://flic.kr/p/2pRwgkk

https://flic.kr/p/2pRvahD

I know it's just a wrap, but it seems odd that they would just go all over red, and not the company colours.

Absolutely dreadful. Is GNE trying. to become the lowest of the low!

(16 May 2024, 10:51 am)Adtrainsam wrote Go North East's new advert has been released, titled 'Get your bum on board'...

https://x.com/gonortheast/status/1791057586814349544

Personally, the tune is alright but surely a less cringe/more professional message could be used e.g. 'Get yourself on board'

Think GNE's advertising tactic is make it as cringe as possible, in the hope that it gets people talking and remembering it, outside of enthusiast circles, I'm not so sure how effective this method is.

Mind, the last time someone tried to make a bus advert with it being designed to line up with passengers, it didn't go down quite so well... https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/a...be-removed

(16 May 2024, 11:44 am)Andreos1 wrote So not only do we have a glove fetishist involved in the recruitment campaign, but we've also got someone with a penchant for people's bums involved in the advertising campaign!

What next?!

GNE furries likely.

Ive got a great line... We dont promise or offer refunds if your bus does't turn up - we Guarantee it will!






** terms and condition apply**

Has the tweet been deleted? I can't find it.

(16 May 2024, 4:42 pm)BusLoverMum wrote Has the tweet been deleted? I can't find it.

Just clicked the link shared earlier and it appears to have been deleted.

(16 May 2024, 4:19 pm)Jimmi wrote Think GNE's advertising tactic is make it as cringe as possible, in the hope that it gets people talking and remembering it, outside of enthusiast circles, I'm not so sure how effective this method is.

Mind, the last time someone tried to make a bus advert with it being designed to line up with passengers, it didn't go down quite so well... https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/a...be-removed


GNE furries likely.

Not sure about that, I kind of want to say they've tried, as an overstatement, to try and be a cool in the advert similar to the LNER or EMR adverts ie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEzHokvql14 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgAip4ES-U8

In reality though they've completely missed the mark and it comes across as an old bloke trying to be 'kool with da kids' and is up there with the Metro 'The Musical' for bad.

(16 May 2024, 5:19 pm)Andreos1 wrote Just clicked the link shared earlier and it appears to have been deleted.

I couldn't find it without following a link, either.

Hmm... bit of false advertising going on there, unless they're installing arm rests on all the seats?

I’m not sure a small provincial bus company doing a deliberately tacky ad will work. When you’re a big successful established brand you can absolutely go for it.

Here in the real world, where your Customers exist, as I’ve shared before, through privilege of my role, the challenges ‘non bus’ users have are cost, comfort and reliability and this doesn’t address them at all. Infact id argue this puts people off

Social performance is atrocious too

I'm not sure why one operator is going off in a silo to do their own marketing, when it's supposed to be ran centrally within the Enhanced Partnership that they've signed up to?

Page 76 of the BSIP document states:
"A North East Bus Partnerships team, housed within Transport North East, has been created, including programme management capacity. This team is in place to deliver the plan, monitor performance of the management of the partnership agreement, and oversee marketing and stakeholder activities designed to drive growth in bus patronage. We have set up a Bus Advisory Board, which is attended by representatives from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and North East Chamber of Commerce. Our assessment is that we can put these strategic relationships to greater use by using them to pave the way to collaboration with businesses to drive buses modal share"

In addition to that, KPIs 1 to 5 (page 38/39 of the BSIP) are all about growing passenger numbers, so it's a bit bizarre to run something like this in silo. It'd be a mess if Stagecoach and Arriva jumped in with their own thing too.