EMBARK - Say Hi to Free Wi-Fi

Target Audience: The audience for this campaign was broad and two-fold. First, we wanted to provide even greater value to our existing customers. Second, we wanted to encourage occasional or infrequent users that free Wi-Fi is available onboard all buses and every route.

Strategy Objective:Our primary objective was to reach existing and potential customers. Social media was selected as the primary channel for communicating the riding benefits of Wi-Fi enabled buses because of its targeting and measurement capabilities. To supplement our social media strategy, we reached out to news media, placed a few exterior wraps on our buses, and installed interior cards in all of our buses. With a small budget, achieving the most bang-for-buck was a necessity.

Situation Challenge: In a region where public transit support is growing, yet funding is sparse, EMBARK wanted to respond to requests to improve customer amenities. We wanted to be sensitive to the fact that there's room for improving our bus service, but also a need to provide modern amenities in order to maintain current customers and appeal to new audiences. A challenge we wanted to avoid was appearing like we were funding an elaborate campaign. New amenity aside, if the campaign seemed too robust, it may suggest that funding for Wi-Fi (and the campaign) could have been used for a new route or extended hours. Messaging had to break through the noise in a relevant, but cost-conscious manner.

Results Impact: This campaign has garnered attention in all the right places. Customer engagement soared and dialogue with new audiences blossomed. Since the launch of Wi-Fi and the ongoing relevance of this campaign, EMBARK continues to see strong average daily use around 40 GB. The following stats represent the results of the initial month-long social media campaign. Facebook Totals: Reach 364,734 Impressions 580,207 Likes 5,980 Comments 403 Shares 478 Post Clicks 5,180 (includes all post clicks, photo views, link clicks) Twitter Impressions 137,987 Engagements 1,882 (includes all clicks, image expansions) The Wi-Fi campaign has had a lingering effect as evident by our sustained ridership growth and its ongoing ability to spur dialogue with new audiences.

Why Submit: "Say Hi to Free Wi-Fi" is a small, but mighty campaign. It advances our agency's ForwardTogether long-range plans and has spurred many opportunities to speak with new audiences. Most recently we participated in an Open Streets event with more than 40,000 in attendance. Our Wi-Fi served as a hotspot for the event and was an ideal setting for introducing public transit to the masses. This campaign is award worthy because it was able to support so many initiatives of our agency. Using a data-driven strategy, staff was able to develop a relevant and result-oriented campaign that has helped boost ridership, elevate the status of the agency, and build community support.