Amtrak Taps Arnold For $30 Mil. Account

Shop’s McLean, Va., office will promote a leisurely train trip as an enjoyable way to travel

Research by Arnold’s Amtrak pitch team found that people enjoy rail travel’s scenic views and civilized pace, but that many consumers are unaware of what Amtrak has to offer, sources said.

Those ideas will form the crux of campaigns from the agency’s McLean, Va., office, which prevailed last week in a review for the rail system’s $30 million U.S. creative and media business, sources said.

To prepare for the pitch, Arnold staffers traveled many of the client’s 22,000 miles of track, interviewing riders and nonriders.

“Amtrak’s biggest challenge is to get onto people’s radar,” one source said.

Incumbent White & Baldacci, Herndon, Va.,