FutureWeek sat down with Samuel Eads, Head of Ad Sales and Operations at Trainline, and David Fieldhouse, Global Executive Director of Commerce Data at WPP Media, to discuss Trainline’s first direct data partnership with an agency group.
This new collaboration integrates Trainline’s first-party transactional location data into WPP’s Open Intelligence for Commerce – a platform that already includes data from retailers like Ocado Ads, with more than 20 global commerce partners lined up to join by 2026. While Trainline has been a WPP Media client via Wavemaker since 2022, this expanded relationship will allow WPP Media clients across the UK, Italy, France, and Spain to securely access Trainline’s immense data pool, which serves 18 million monthly active users in the UK alone.
In this interview, we explore how WPP’s AI-driven Agentic platform makes sense of this robust “mobility media” to unlock entirely new avenues for brands, how both companies ensure customer data remains completely secure, and how Trainline is navigating the new era of AI-powered travel discovery.
Could you explain how Trainline’s data integrates into WPP’s Open Intelligence commerce proposition, and what that unlocks for your clients?
David Fieldhouse (WPP): WPP Open is our global platform, and Open Intelligence is the data layer that plugs into it. My specific focus is bringing commerce partners, like Trainline, into the programme so our clients can access their data securely for ad campaigns. However, the word “integrate” is slightly misleading – the system is built on InfoSum technology, which means we can collaborate with Trainline without the data ever moving. This allows partners who are highly sensitive about their data to sit inside their own infrastructure while still collaborating with us safely.
How is AI specifically utilised in this partnership to make sense of this data?
David (WPP): This is where our Agentic platform comes in. Our AI can make sense of this massive amount of anonymous data and join different datasets together to uncover insights that a human wouldn’t ordinarily see. This gives us a competitive edge because the AI allows us to move and target audiences that might not seem logically connected on the surface, but are highly relevant when the dots are joined by the platform.
How does this transaction-based data compare to the traditional browsing or location data marketers are used to?
David (WPP): Traditional movement data is usually mobile ID-based, where you only know where an ID is at a given location. Trainline’s data is different because the segments are tied to actual transactions. If we know a segment of people travel to Canary Wharf or Mayfair three times a week, that becomes highly addressable when you move into platform environments.
Sam Eads (Trainline): We are seeing a real rise in “mobility media”. When we get a brief for Gen Z, for example, we can look at the millions of users using student railcards, tracking when they leave university to visit parents at the weekend. We can also build campaigns around long train journeys where high-intent audiences have time on their hands, or around cultural moments like summer festivals.
It is intent data at a massive scale – we have 27 million customers annually, 18 million of which are in the UK.
What types of brands stand to benefit the most from this specific data?
David (WPP): The most obvious are endemic brands that already advertise on-site, like audiobook providers, who can now use this data to target off-site on platforms like TikTok, Meta, Snap, and Google. But the bigger opportunity is with non-endemic brands. For example, if we know who is taking the train to the airport in August, that is incredibly valuable for a sun cream brand. We’ve also spoken with a soft drinks client looking to use this data to map campaigns to train stations on football match days.
With all this highly specific data being utilised, how do you balance monetising audience insights with customer privacy?
Sam (Trainline): Privacy, consent, and data ethics are baked directly into our development process. We have to comply with the most demanding regulatory standards in the UK and Europe. Because we utilise InfoSum – which uses ‘non-movement’ of data technology – we are engaging in data collaboration rather than data sharing. We absolutely cannot bombard our users, and the customer has to come first, ensuring we only use data to offer true value.
Sam, you joined Trainline in late 2024 to scale the media offering. How does this partnership fit into Trainline’s wider strategy moving forward?
Sam (Trainline): This partnership is incredibly important and aligns with our previous on-site formats. Taking this data off-site is the natural evolution to continue scaling this revenue line. Trainline Media is an emerging, fast-growing area of the business, and right now there is a massive industry shift toward retail and mobility media. My task is currently focused on educating our client and agency partners on how they can access this data in a tangible way to drive results.
