East Midlands Railway has handed a £45.6m media services contract to McCann-Erickson Central Limited (trading as McCann Leeds). The award covers strategic media planning and buying for all three of the operator's sub-brands: EMR Intercity, which runs services from the Midlands through to London St Pancras; EMR Regional, serving towns across England including Crewe, Matlock, Stoke-on-Trent, Peterborough, Grantham, Norwich and Skegness; and EMR Connect between Corby and London St Pancras, which includes the Luton Airport Express.

The contract encompasses paid media across multiple channels. These span audio-visual work (linear TV, video on demand and connected TV), radio (digital audio, traditional radio and sponsorships where relevant), and out-of-home advertising in both digital and paper formats. Social media activity covers Meta, Snapchat and TikTok, whilst digital covers both awareness and conversion-driving campaigns.

McCann Leeds will also manage digital display capability including standard IAB and dynamic display, handle pay-per-click advertising for both EMR and Luton Airport Express, and deliver search engine optimisation work for eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk and lutonairportexpress.co.uk.