Railway Industry Association and railbusinessdaily.com join forces to support UK rail companies

The Railway Industry Association (RIA) and railbusinessdaily.com (RBD) and have joined forces to help raise the profile of the trade body’s members, and the UK rail supply community more widely.

RBD, the UK’s leading daily rail media business, now has 35,000 subscribers to its six-day-a-week newsletter and three million website visitors each year. The company also launched a brand-new Business Services division in January 2020. RIA, formed 145 years ago, has more than 300 member companies representing a large proportion of the rail supply chain. Its network of rail contacts extends to thousands, including Government, clients, and industry bodies, as well as academia and adjacent and emerging sectors.

In these difficult times as we all respond to the Coronavirus outbreak, this new partnership, officially launched on 8 April 2020, will give RIA members access to a wide range of helpful profile-raising services provided by RBD’s experienced rail marketing and communications specialists. Following the launch of RBD Business Services, RIA and RBD will now offer everything from the design and development of websites and brochures, photography and videography and PR and copywriting services (including support in writing and designing PPQs and ITTs) all under one roof – with the added benefit of being able to get company messages in front of 35,000 rail industry professionals every day. This collaboration will add huge value to participating organisations – especially as RBD has agreed to offer significant discounts to RIA members.

The partnership is established by two organisations with shared values – both aiming to support and promote the rail industry in the best way possible by working together for the good of the businesses that benefit from this arrangement. RIA has a strong membership full of businesses of all sizes, from contractors through to rapidly developing SMEs. RBD’s offering means that all these companies will have access to speak to the rail professionals they want to connect with at an affordable price.

Members will be given a range of discounts for RBD services, including:

• One free news story every 12 months for RIA members
• 30% discount on websites
• 30% discount on copywriting and graphic design
• 20% reduction on normal rates for photography, animation and videography
• 20% reduction on normal rates for media training and presentation skills

David McLoughlin, Chief Executive at RBD, said: “This is an innovative and value-adding partnership that will add weight to the voice of the rail supply community and spreading news of the work of its members to a huge audience of key industry influencers and decision-makers.

“Our aim is to help rail organisations to grow and prosper for their own benefit and that of the wider industry. Showcasing the work of organisations that deliver safely and deliver well is our reason for being. We have a very experienced team of rail industry copywriters, designers, web developers, photographers, videographers and animators standing by to produce marketing material that will help RIA members to stand out from the crowd.

“Then, through our daily newsletter, we can tell 35,000 people their story. It’s the perfect combination and we are delighted to join forces with such a forward-thinking team at RIA.”

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive at RIA, said: “In these difficult times as we all look to respond to the challenges of the Coronavirus outbreak, this new RBD and RIA partnership will enable rail suppliers even better access to important information and developments and further strengthen the voice of the UK rail supply community.

“Now is a particularly difficult time for businesses across the UK. So we hope this partnership adds value to RIA members, allowing them to market and promote themselves to key audiences.

“We look forward to working with David McLoughlin and his team at RBD, and hope RIA’s members will feel this adds value and will take advantage of this opportunity.”

For more information, please contact:

• RBD: Dan (dan@railbusinessdaily.com) or Rachel (rachel@railbusinessdaily.com)
• RIA: Max Sugarman (sugarman@riagb.org.uk)

For more information and to enquire, please click here.

Download article