In this candid chat, Hamish Day (Client Service Director at Dude London) sat down with Trainline’s Leah Knighton (Brand Director) to explore how entertainment can help brands break through in increasingly distracted digital environments.
Together, they unpacked how humour, cultural relevance, and emotional insight have helped Trainline stand out, even in “functional” categories. From festival activations to football sponsorships, the team focused on creating campaigns that solve real customer pain points while staying true to the brand’s role.
Leah shared the challenge of translating creative ambition into commercial value - highlighting the importance of aligning entertaining campaigns with business metrics, not just brand buzz. She also emphasized the need for consistent, insight-led messaging and the role a strong agency-client relationship plays in keeping work authentic and effective.
Hamish challenged the long-held belief that audiences have short attention spans, suggesting instead that they simply have a low tolerance for boredom. Referencing film runtimes, binge culture, and video games, Hamish positioned advertising within a wider entertainment context: if brands want attention, they need to be as compelling as the content surrounding them.
The takeaway? In a world of short attention spans and high expectations, brands must earn their place in people’s lives by being relevant, useful - and yes, entertaining.
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