1. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Marketing & Branding Unit 8: Improving Transit Quality

2. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Outline BRT Branding Social media Transit image

3. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood How do we sell cars?

4. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood How do you perceive transit?

5. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood BRT “BRANDING” Promotion in bus rapid transit goes beyond marketing

6. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Role of Branding in BRT Clearly differentiated transit service Enhanced outreach efforts Increased customer loyalty Improved employee satisfaction and retention Increased brand value Potential for attracting development activity

7. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Characteristics of Branding Marketing Classification of BRT Service – How BRT fits within the rest of a transit system Branding Devices – Attributes or identifiers that customers associate with a product

8. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Marketing Classifications

9. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Branding Devices

10. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood BRT Branding Tactics Name of service and lines Color schemes, graphics and logos Elements of the BRT system Operating features and performance Customer information such as signage, maps and schedules Publications, media, public relations and marketing information Employee selection and training

11. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Rear Window Multiple Doors Circulation Seat Comfort Fast Securement Interior Finish Large Windows Luggage Racks Information Grab Bars High-Comfort, Amenities

12. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood New Flyer Invero i40 LF Irisbus Civis Standard Artic Stylized Artic Specialized Stylized Std New Flyer Hybrid Electric 60DLF-BRT NABI 42-BRT Gillig 40 BRT NABI CNG 60 BRT Survey Said: “Sleek, Modern Image; Quiet; Safe”

13. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Case Study : Eugene’s Green Line EmX 4 miles (60% exclusive RoW) $23.5 million project, Opened January 2007 46% ridership increase 6 hybrid advance-design NFI artics Branded as “new spine”

14. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Case study: Las Vegas Service features: – Hi-tech French made Civis – 5 mi exclusive lane – Distinctive stations – 12-20 min. headways, 17 hr./day – Same fare, but pre-paid Image and brand essential in land of glitz Huge success, at least 3 more corridors planned

15. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood LA Metro Rapid: Incremental BRT Simple route layout: easy to find/use Frequent: 3-10 minutes during peak Fewer stops: ¾ mile apart Level boarding (LF buses speed-up dwell times Enhanced stations: maps, lighting, canopies, “Next Bus” displays Same fare Minimal investment: – Signal priority – Passenger information – Strong branding (buses, stations etc.) Results after demonstration: 23-29% reduction in travel times 38-42% increase in riders/weekday 1/3 of total choice riders, Same cost

16. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Branding Summary Most successful systems have strong branding Largest System Performance Impacts: – Capacity (Vehicles + Frequency + Route Speed) – Speed and Acceleration – Reliability/On Time Performance Largest System Design Impacts – Branding – Vehicle Styling – Cleanliness/Maintenance/Advertising Policy – Driver/Customer Service Courtesy The Brand Invites ’Em, But Performance Keeps ’Em

17. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood SOCIAL MEDIA The evolution of information and promotion

18. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Social Media Connections Agencies interact directly with their consumers (previously used press as intermediary) Enables agencies to tell story with words and images Communicate at lightning speed, often responding to request or providing emergency information in a minutes Multitude of transit agencies use

19. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Social Media Platforms Each social media platform has particular strengths and reaches different audiences: – Microblogging Twitter, Tumbler – Short, focused, and time-sensitive updates – Networking Social (Facebook, Google+) – User engagement through conversations and sharing Professional (LinkedIn, GovLoop) – Connections to stakeholders and employees – Media- and document-sharing YouTube – Entertaining and/or instructional videos Flickr – Photos of agency news and events to share with the public and the media – Social curation Pinterest and Storify - Consolidation of posts to tell a story about an event – Blogs Longer and more detailed updates about agency policies and events – Geolocation applications Foursquare – Check-ins to share information or discounts, gather data

20. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Uses of Social Media Marketing – Promote activities – Tell people what agency does - how they spend public funds and make policy decisions – Reach out to citizens for feedback on projects Community activism – Mobilize citizens around issues that matter to them Planning – Widen reach of agency and include those who cannot attend public meetings – Brings younger residents who may not otherwise attend meetings into the fold Real-time communications and emergency management – Send alerts about major issues – Communicate with partner agencies

21. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Marketing 4 E’s of social marketing – Entice customers to participate – Exchange information – Engage them in a social media dialogue – Experience that leaves an overall impression Contests and promotions to engage customers

22. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Future of Social Media Social media allows agencies to tap into large numbers of participants for techniques such as: – Citizen science – People working as sensors to relay information – Crowdsourcing – People working together to identify the assets and issues in the system – Participatory sensing – Mobile phones as instrumentation or sensors – Survey research - promote survey opportunities, test survey questions, and supplement traditional surveys – Data mining - Status updates, media sharing, and geo-located check-ins can be used to understand people’s behavior, choices and opinions. Visualize urban dynamics Understand activity participation, location choice, Sentiment analysis

23. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood TRANSIT’S IMAGE The bigger picture comes down to improving

24. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood 2003 GM ad in Vancouver

25. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood 2011 GM ad

26. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood How would you advertise transit?

27. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood God Created Transit Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6neVqNfmW7Uhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6neVqNfmW7U

28. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Conclusion BRT has been branded as a “premium” service to attract choice riders. Social media allows agencies to communicate directly with passengers and establish a trust relationship. Perception of transit comes down to how it is (or currently how it is not) marketed

29. Materials developed by K. Watkins, J. LaMondia and C. Brakewood Reference The materials in this lecture were taken from: Cliff Henke, PB TR&S, Inc. from APTA Bus Conference 2007 Bregman and Watkins, “Best Practices for Transportation Agency Use of Social Media” CRC Press, 2013