Whether the goal for your agency is to increase ridership, promote rider safety, or communicate changes or upcoming initiatives to riders, marketing campaigns are key to a transit agency's success. When carefully planned and strategically executed, they allow agencies to connect with current or potential riders at scale.
As members of the public transit industry, we often see fresh, exciting, and thought-provoking marketing campaigns that inspire us. In the following article, we have shared some of the latest and greatest in our eyes that we hope will inspire you to continue to connect in innovative ways with the riders in your community!
Rider safety is one of, if not the top priority at transit agencies around the world. When an NRMA report found that more than one-third of pedestrians crossed busy intersections while distracted by their smartphones or wearing earphones, Transport for NSW in Australia took action. As their new tram corridor in Sydney began operating up to 12 trams day and night, seven days a week, a rider safety video marketing campaign was rolled out titled, “Heads Up, Play It Safe Around Light Rail.” What we are especially drawn to about this campaign is that in addition to video marketing, Transport for NSW also released light rail teaching and learning activities that were available through their online resource, “Safety Town.”
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System’s, “Choose Transit” campaign caught our attention and evidently APTA’s as well, given it was an AdWheel Award winner in 2019. The main goal of the campaign was to encourage ridership in 18-50-year-old non-riders, students, parents, working moms, environmentally conscious, English, and Spanish speakers in San Diego and in close proximity to transit lines and routes. Through video assets, social media, and the support of partners at 80 organizations, San Diego MTS saw over 250 million paid advertising impressions and 3.5 million earned media impressions.
Ultimately the campaign was a resounding success as the transit agency observed a spike of over 52,000 trips on their Ride Free Day. When compared to the same day one year prior, San Diego MTS bus system saw a 15% increase in ridership, while the San Diego MTS Trolley received an overall 17% increase in ridership. This success highlights the importance of truly understanding your demographic and what motivates them to use your service. Not only did SDMTS create a message with a strong call to action that aligned with community values, but the assets were shared where the key demographic was most active – online!
According to Transport for London’s Quarterly Crime Bulletin, “Eleven million passengers travel on TfL’s public transport services each day with very few of them ever witnessing or experiencing crime. For every one million passenger journeys, there are nine reported crimes.” While crime may be low on TfL, the sheer volume of riders can lead to unfortunate incidents between passengers or passengers and operators.
As part of the agency’s effort to encourage busy Londoners to be kinder in an increasingly trying world, the “Small Words. Big Impact.” marketing ad campaign was launched. Miranda Leedham, Head of Customer Marketing and Behavior Change at Transport for London explained that, “we want to reassure customers traveling on our network that we have been doing everything we can to make sure it is clean and safe, whilst also encouraging considerate behavior towards each other. This campaign is important as it reminds us all that there are simple things, we can also do to make everyone’s journey a bit more comfortable.” Here at Trapeze, that is something we can get behind!
Working on the frontline has never been easy or completely safe. Any number of hazards can put a bus or rail employee’s health and safety at risk, and COVID-19 only made this more evident. For that reason, we are drawn to the simple, yet effective, social media marketing campaign the National Safety Council rolled out for National Safety Month. While the tagline, “Who’s your reason?,” will ring true to any number of industries, it is especially effective as an internal marketing campaign for transit agencies promoting safety in the workplace among drivers, operators, maintenance workers, and the back office. Clearly the message connected with MV Transportation, who shared the post with the caption, “You are someone's reason for staying safe. Who's Yours?”
In transit, construction is inevitable and as a result, so is rider frustration. For Metrolinx, who embarked on a series of ambitious projects such as tripling trains, constructing light rail lines and bus rapid transit, and quadrupling GO Rail service, their “Awkward Phase” campaign was a way to address their riders’ frustrations. From cinema advertising to digital video, to radio and print, the quirky and humorous campaign equates the construction projects to an awkward teenage phase. According the marketing agency that partnered with Metrolinx for the campaign, it sought to “acknowledge the slow pace of construction and the mess it has created by disrupting traffic flow and asks the public to envision the final product as a reward for their patience.”
While not all riders were won over by the campaign, we recognize Metrolinx’s effort to provide its key demographic with a memorable and honest message. Mark Childs, Chief Marketing Officer, explains that “residents have told Metrolinx that they are eager to have more information about projects, progress updates, fare options, and partnerships.” Therefore, one must give them credit for doing exactly that with a humorous twist.
Transit agencies around the world are coming up with new and exciting marketing campaigns that communicate their message all the time; this is evident based on the five campaigns we have highlighted above! By taking a moment to reflect on what others are doing, our hope is to inspire you with all the potential ways to connect with riders and the larger community.
This article was originally published on February 14, 2017, and has since been updated for relevance.
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