Trinity Metro and J.O. Agency have created an integrated campaign to tackle concerns about riding public transit during the pandemic.
The upbeat campaign features video and digital advertising – all done with volunteer principals and extras, including staff, a creative promotional twist and a strategic media buy. The objective is to increase ridership while building customer trust.
Because of the pandemic, Trinity Metro experienced the same declines in ridership as other systems across the country. Trinity Metro began putting in place the necessary protocols to ensure the safety of both passengers and employees.
From enhanced cleaning to social distancing to implementing a face-mask policy, all safety measures were designed to help reduce the spread of the virus. The marketing challenge was to reassure prospective riders that using the service was safe.
J.O. Agency saw an opportunity to communicate the changes to consumers in a reassuring yet light-hearted way. To put riders at ease about returning to public transit, they developed the “We Got You!” campaign. Advertising features staff and passengers in colorful face masks following the protocols while interacting and dancing to upbeat music.
Video and photo shoots included all Trinity Metro service lines: buses and commuter rail lines, The Dash and ZIPZONE, Trinity Metro’s new first-mile/last-mile solution.
The “We Got You!” media campaign includes cable television, Hulu, digital advertising, print publications, YouTube video, social media, email and audio streaming on Pandora and Spotify. All rides were free for the first six weeks of the campaign.
The campaign has delivered more than 20 million impressions and the combined ridership of buses, Trinity Railway Express, TEXRail and The Dash has increased 10.6 percent between May and August.
