ABOUT

Stagecoach is one of the UK’s largest bus operators, serving communities across East Kent, East Sussex and parts of West Kent, including Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells.

THE BRIEF
As a public transport provider, its colleagues play a visible and essential role in daily community life. Frontline staff, however, regularly face incidents of verbal and physical abuse while at work.

Stagecoach briefed us to create a film to support a Zero Tolerance schools campaign, aimed at raising awareness that violence and abuse towards transport workers is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

The challenge was to communicate the seriousness of the issue in a way that felt truthful, responsible and appropriate for a young audience, without escalating fear or conflict.

OUR APPROACH
We proposed a people led creative approach rooted in lived experience. The film centres on frontline colleagues sharing their own stories of unprovoked abuse, allowing the message to be carried by those directly affected rather than imposed from above.

To convey the gravity of these incidents, we carefully reconstructed a real life attack alongside one of the self authored narratives. This was handled with restraint, ensuring accuracy and emotional impact without sensationalism.

Visually, the film combines a multi camera interview setup with slow motion observational scenes of contributors at work. This contrast reinforces the normality of their role and the shock of the abuse they face, helping audiences understand the consequences of their actions.

THE OUTCOME
Developed with stakeholder support from local Police forces, the finished film is shared with secondary schools across Kent and Sussex as part of Stagecoach’s Zero Tolerance education programme.

By grounding the message in real experience, the film supports meaningful discussion around respect, responsibility and the impact of behaviour on others.

The project demonstrates how carefully judged storytelling can contribute to safer working environments and stronger relationships between public services and the communities they serve.

"A brief like this, involving a range of community stakeholders, needs to strike a careful balance between challenging the audience in a hard-hitting way while engaging them to understand the core message.

Digitom was able to choreograph exactly what we needed and deliver an impactful film in a meaningful and sensitive way." Susan, Head of Business Transformation