Eurostar has launched its new brand identity under the slogan ‘Together we go further’, highlighting its expanded network following the merger with Thalys earlier this year.
While the merger officially took place in May 2022, Eurostar has now unveiled a single website and mobile app, where customers can book connections across mainland Europe, as well as a joint loyalty programme under the existing Club Eurostar branding.
The website and app now feature the new symbol and logo inspired by l’Etoile du Nord, the original train service linking Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, which is also a tribute to the first Eurostar logo.
The fleet of 51 trains will also feature the Eurostar name and new logo, though colours differ depending on the destination. The trains serving London are blue, while those travelling to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany remain red.
Passengers that were previously a member of the My Thalys World loyalty programme have seen their accounts updated to Club Eurostar, with any existing miles or points transferred to the new account. While the name remains Club Eurostar, the company says that its 2.5 million members will earn points more quickly than before.
The programme has four statuses: Classique (0 to 499 points), Avantage (500 to 2,899 points), Carte Blanche (2,900 to 4,999 points) and Etoile (over 5,000 points). Members earn 1 point for each euro/US dollar spent, and 1.2 points for each GBP spent.
A new advertising campaign, created by adam&eveDDB and DDB Paris, will also launch on TV and in cinemas across the network’s five countries (UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany) on 16 October, featuring colourful visuals by ten local artists from the cities served by Eurostar.
The campaign focuses on the brand’s “key attributes: European, inclusive, unique and sustainable”, with an advert which sees two women meet on board Eurostar and “find themselves transported into the vibrant world of travel opportunities across five cities”.
Gwendoline Cazenave, CEO of Eurostar, commented:
“Today, with our teams and for our customers, we are writing a new page in the history of high-speed rail travel in Europe. With Eurostar, our customers will have Europe at their fingertips. Our ambition is clear: more Europe for a unique and sustainable travel experience.”
François Le Doze, chief commercial officer at Eurostar, added:
“Travel inspires us and renews our sense of creativity, which we wanted to bring to life in our new campaign. We wanted to create the feeling of excitement customers feel when they are about to embark on a journey to discover Europe.
“We have packed the commercial and OOH ads with hidden details for the public to enjoy and discover the more they revisit, in the same way we explore our destinations.”
The company aims to carry 30 million passengers per year by 2030, serving 28 destinations in Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the UK. Earlier this year, Eurostar also announced a new ski service from London to the Alps via Lille, set to launch on 16 December.
Last year the company carried 14.8 million passengers and generated sales of €1,532 million. The train operator carried 19 million passengers in 2019, before the onset of the pandemic.
Readers have previously voiced their concerns regarding capacity cuts and the closure of stations at Ashford and Ebbsfleet International. We spoke with Cazenave and Le Doze on the subject earlier this year:
Business Traveller’s Alex McWhirter comments:
As often happens after a media event more details emerge.
- Eurostar says it has almost solved the capacity issue at St Pancras. For example it can now sell almost all seats on trains departing for Paris. Previously as many as 250 seats were unsold on a train having as many as 900.
- The bad news is that readers based in Kent may have to wait longer for Eurostar to serve Ebbsfleet and Ashford. Previously Eurostar had said it would be 2025. Now CEO Gwendoline Cazenave tells The Independent that it will only do so “when we can afford it.”
- Today Netherlands’ travel media reports that a meeting on 30 October may decide the future of Eurostar’s direct Amsterdam-London service (because of work being carried out at the city’s Centraal station in 2024).
