Case Study: Turning London’s cable cars into karaoke booths
Turning London’s cable cars into karaoke booths
Transport for London (TfL) wanted to increase leisure visits to the IFS Cloud Cable Car during the festive period, particularly on Thursday and Friday evenings outside of school holidays, when demand has traditionally been lower.
The challenge wasn’t simply to advertise the attraction, but to give Londoners a compelling new reason to visit. The campaign also needed to shift perceptions of the Cable Car beyond transport, raising awareness of wider leisure experiences while driving ticket sales during an increasingly competitive Christmas entertainment season.
Working with WPP media agency Wavemaker, TfL approached Time Out because of its reputation for helping audiences discover the best things to do in the city. Rather than promoting an existing experience, the brief challenged Time Out to create one.
Time Out’s Creative Solutions team developed Cable Car-aoke, transforming two IFS Cloud Cable Cars into private karaoke booths suspended 90 metres above the River Thames.
Running every Thursday and Friday from 13 November to 19 December, groups could book an exclusive cabin through the IFS Cloud Cable Car website. Each cabin was fitted with microphones, speakers, party lighting and access to a playlist of more than 1,000 songs, turning a journey across London’s skyline into a festive night out.
The experience was designed specifically for Time Out’s audience, people actively looking for memorable things to do in the city, rather than adapting an existing TfL product. To maximise awareness, the activation was supported by a multi-platform campaign across Time Out’s editorial, social and newsletter channels, alongside activity from TfL and Wavemaker.
The activation exceeded both commercial and engagement objectives. Across the six-week campaign, 76% of available tickets were sold, equating to 91 booked experiences, with the majority taking place during the traditionally quieter first half of December, before school holidays began.
Beyond the hero experience, TfL also recorded a year-on-year revenue uplift across its wider festive ticket portfolio, demonstrating a halo effect beyond Cable Car-aoke itself. Guest feedback reflected the success of the experience, with 93% overall satisfaction, and participants consistently highlighted its originality, festive atmosphere and seamless execution.
The supporting media campaign also exceeded expectations, delivering 4.66m impressions and outperforming Time Out benchmarks across every campaign format. For TfL, the campaign demonstrated how iconic public infrastructure can become a destination in its own right. For Time Out, it reinforced the role publishers can play in creating experiences, not just promoting them.
Traditional publisher partnerships often begin with a campaign brief. This one began with a blank sheet of paper.
Rather than asking how Time Out could advertise the Cable Car, TfL asked how Time Out could help create something people genuinely wanted to do. The result shows how publishers can add value far beyond media inventory, combining audience insight, editorial understanding and creative thinking to develop experiences people actively seek out.
As media brands increasingly move beyond content alone, the ability to create culturally relevant moments may become just as valuable as the ability to reach large audiences.
Our Time Out audience doesn’t just consume content, they seek out genuine, fun things to do in the city. Cable Car-aoke showcases our ability to develop creative solutions that don’t just advertise, but genuinely become the experience.
Where else could you belt out Mariah Carey classics with your mates while soaring above the Thames in your own private karaoke cabin? It was a one-of-a-kind way to celebrate, sing your heart out, and soak up the views of the city’s skyline, all at once.