With 4 New Rail Lines, 2016 Is Going to Be Big: RTD Educational Campaign

Target Audience: The target market for the ABGR campaign included the entire Denver metro area, specifically the geographic areas that will be impacted by the opening of new rail lines through their neighborhoods, cities and local jurisdictions throughout 2016. In addition, the audience included any current transit rider that may be able to make new connections on the new rail lines. Advertising was planned district wide on bus, light rail and web with the main focus of the paid media outreach on print and outdoor ads placed in the neighborhoods or regions that were closest to the new rail lines.

Strategy Objective:The strategy for the ABGR campaign was to focus on repetition of the ABGR letters, colors, destinations and dates in traditional and nontraditional media. RTD's objective was to inform and educate riders and non-riders about these upcoming projects and completion dates, to establish specific awareness of the A, B, G and R lines, to generate excitement, and to create a foundation for subsequent 2016 campaigns. We utilized a modern typeface showcasing big, bold words, literally and figuratively, with the letters incorporated into the creative in circles with ample white space to build excitement. We utilized print, outdoor, digital, vehicle advertising, and non-traditional media to spread the message in unexpected places such as pedicabs, movie theaters, and elevator advertising.

Situation Challenge: The challenge that RTD was facing was the introduction of four new rail lines (A Line, B Line, G Line and R Line) in 2016. The ABGR campaign was launched in summer 2015 to build awareness of the new rail lines, educate the public about what was to come, and establish some basic recall among the general public for the colors, letters and destinations associated with these projects. This campaign focused heavily on these elements and on establishing basic facts about the rail lines general opening dates to both inform and create recall opportunities. The intention was to be able to carry forward this information and creative theme into the opening campaigns in 2016. We hoped to start off our 2016 campaigns one step ahead by establishing a solid awareness and education level in 2015.

Results Impact: The advertising campaign was eye catching and easy to remember ' resulting in an increased awareness of the A, B, G and R Line names, colors and project details. This comprehensive campaign ran from June through August, generating a total of 141 million impressions across a wide array of media. This included 2.25 million impressions earned from print media ' primarily local and community papers, 16 million impressions from non-traditional placements such as billboards, cinema advertising, and pedicabs, 4.5 million radio impressions, 1.25 million impressions from paid digital advertising, 181,000 unique visitors to our website, and over 116 million impressions from on-vehicle advertising. The campaign familiarized the public with this information and prepared them for the openings in 2016.

Why Submit: The ABGR campaign was submitted and should win because it is brilliant in its simplicity. The purpose of the campaign was boiled down to the core focus of showcasing the letters, colors, destinations, opening dates, and maps. In essence, we focused on the things people wanted and needed to know in a compelling manner and we used basic symbols of our system (color, shape, and letter) to tie this message directly to our existing transit system. The simplified information was repeated multiple times to increase recall, awareness, and basic knowledge of these capitol campaign projects. Due in part to its success, our first rail opening this year, the "A" as in airport is receiving record recognition and is expected to draw the largest opening day crowd in RTD history.