Connecticut Department of Transportation CTfastrak Marketing

Target Audience: Car commuters age 18-60 who want to escape the stresses of their daily I-84 commute, as well as potential riders 18-60 who want or need to access a number of different destinations in central Connecticut without driving.

Strategy Objective:A social media contest was launched asking individuals to tell their CTfastrak stories in their own words. Contestants submitted video and voice recordings, sharing the ways CTfastrak has had an impact on their daily life. A very diverse group of riders expressed how CTfastrak has provided them with a better alternative for getting to work, school, social activities, and also how it has improved their quality of life by allowing them to spend more time with their families and less time on the highways. Of the dozens of submissions, ten were selected and invited to be recorded in a studio where the stories were then transformed into unique advertisements. The ads aired on local TV and radio stations, as well as on the CTfastrak YouTube channel.

Situation Challenge: CTfastrak launched in March 2015- a new, transformative Bus Rapid Transit system consisting of a bus-only roadway and a service plan with routes that either use the traffic-free roadway for all or part of their travel or circulate to popular destinations from one of the system's 10 stations. The challenge: The initial pre-launch and launch campaign successfully introduced this new system to the community. The goal of this "next step" campaign was to increase familiarity and motivate trial use of CTfastrak by showing consumers how the system is already providing riders across the region with a convenient, efficient way to travel.

Results Impact: It is difficult to directly attribute ridership gains to a single campaign, especially with a system that is in the initial growth phase and ridership unadjusted for seasonal impacts. That said, ridership grew 14.2% in the corridor when comparing the month prior to the campaign launch with the month after the launch (from 375,244 in August 2015 to 428,602 in October 2015). One thing that is certain is the television and radio commercials definitely led to a greater understanding and public awareness of CTfastrak. This campaign has been cited many times by the Governor and DOT Commissioner as successfully illustrating the transformative power of transit for the region and the state.

Why Submit: These advertisements launched approximately six months after CTfastrak began service and they enabled the public to make the leap from how the Bus Rapid Transit system worked in theory to learning specifically how it has made a real impact on people's lives and has the potential to benefit the community. This campaign allowed the audience to make a personal connection to real people who use CTfastrak in their everyday life. The element of storytelling is engaging and appealing, and through this campaign has raised the public's understanding of transit and its importance to the community, and ultimately increased ridership on the system.