2. CONTENTS
02 Introroduction: A competitive marketplace
06 Brand and identity
12 Internal communication
16 User education
22 User information systems
28 Marketing campaigns
34 ublic relations and
P
external communications
40 User feedback systems
44 Online engagement
EMBARQ catalyzes environmentally and financially sustainable
transport solutions to improve quality of life in cities.
This work is licensed under a Creative Since 2002, it has grown to include five offices, located
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- in Mexico, Brazil, India, Turkey and the Andean Region,
NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. that work together with local transport authorities to reduce
Report by: pollution, improve public health and create safe, accessible
Erik Weber, Visiting Fellow and attractive urban public spaces. EMBARQ employs more
erik.weber@dot.gov than 130 experts in fields ranging from architecture to air
Ethan Arpi, Strategic Communications quality management; geography to journalism; and sociology
and Marketing Manager to civil and transport engineering.
earpi@wri.org
Aileen Carrigan, Transport Planner
acarrigan@wri.org
Design and layout by
Dave K. Cooper, Video Production
and Design Manager
dcooper@wri.org
www.embarq.org
3. Introduction
Introduction:
A Competitive $21
billion
Marketplace Advertising dollars spent by
major auto companies in 2009
Motor companies like Toyota, Ford and Tata $3.2
spend tens of billions of dollars per year creating billion
Advertising dollars spent
and maintaining their images, cultivating their by General Motors in 2009
customers and selling their products.
According to Advertising Age, in For anyone interested in the sustainability
2009, major auto companies spent of developing world cities, these trends
a whopping $21 billion worldwide don’t bode well. While private vehicle
on advertising, with General Motors, usage rates are an indicator of newfound
alone, shelling out more than $3.2 wealth and prosperity, they also go hand In Brazil,
billion.1 These companies have armies in hand with deteriorating air quality,
of employees working in marketing longer commute times, increased the number
departments and some of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, higher rates of personal
best ad agencies on retainer. of traffic fatalities and the destruction
of public space.4 At the same time,
automobiles
The target for an increasing percentage governments have routinely turned sold per year
of this spending is emerging markets, their backs on public transport, instead has jumped
where auto companies see huge spending vast sums on new auto-centric
growth prospects. And for good reason. infrastructure, such as expressways and
from 1.2
India, for example, has experienced a ring roads, that encourage more private million in
20-fold increase in the number of motor vehicle ownership and use.5 2001 to
vehicles in the last several decades.2
In Brazil, likewise, the number of To reverse these consumer and 2.6 million
personal automobiles sold per year has development trends, public transport in 2010.
jumped from 1.2 million in 2001 to 2.6 advocates need to make public transport
million in 2010.3 a competitive and desirable alternative
2 EMBARQ From Here to There EMBARQ From Here to There 3
4. Introduction
to the private automobile. If this is
Brand and identity
Facts and done, cities will be more likely to invest
in public transport projects, leading
Fictions Internal communication
to increased personal mobility and a
FICTION Marketing is a luxury healthier urban environment.
transit agencies can’t afford. User education
FACT Marketing is a core The importance of
investment. A better public institutional structure User information systems
image attracts riders, leading Successful marketing, branding
to higher revenue and greater
demand for transit service.
and communications require an
Marketing campaigns
In turn, higher revenue and institutional structure that prioritizes
greater demand increase the their importance. Transit agencies
Public relations and external
likelihood of service expansion should have an upper-level communication
and improvements, making management position with decision-
public transport even more
making power and budgetary control User feedback systems
attractive to riders. In short,
marketing can lead to a whose exclusive responsibility is this
virtuous cycle of ever growing domain. Online engagement
demand and service.
A guide for beating
FICTION Public transport is
a subsidy. There’s no need to
the competition Neither the list nor the recommendations
reach out to a wider audience The purpose of this guide is to help within it are intended to be exhaustive.
because those who need or transit agencies develop strong and Instead, the goal of this guide is to
want to use public transport successful strategies for achieving encourage cities and transit agencies to
already do so. three important goals: think critically and creatively about how
FACT Public transit is not to make public transport the preferred
a subsidy for vulnerable 1 ttract new users that currently
A way to travel.
populations (elderly, persons
use private transport
with disabilities and low
income individuals/families), such as cars and motorcycles; For some time, it has been clear that
but an integral part of a high- 2 etain existing public transport
R cities need to create high-quality public
functioning city that can retain users who might transport systems to improve the
jobs, attract investment and feel compelled to buy a private urban environment. However, not until
support a high-quality of life. vehicle and; recently has it become clear that cities
Transit is a public good that
3 ecure political and financial
S must also convince the public that
benefits riders and non-users
alike. support from government these high-quality systems are in fact
officials. high-quality.
FICTION Branding and
marketing by a transport
This guide takes a cue from Finally, this guide focuses on bus rapid
agency is government
propaganda, something to be the private sector, which routinely and transit projects because BRT has become
avoided. successfully influences the solution of choice for developing
FACT Increasing transit use
consumer behavior. It adapts world cities looking for fast, cost-effective
has tangible benefits for all. If these eight branding, marketing ways to solve their transport problems. Of
an agency is nervous about and communications lines of course, these elements are also applicable
marketing its service, then it work and applies them to the public to non-BRT transport projects, such as rail
should never have invested in transport sector. systems and bicycle systems.
the service to begin with.
4 EMBARQ From Here to There
5. Brand and identity
Brand and identity:
Build a Strong
Brand
A brand is not a
Marketing expert Marty Neumeier puts it nicely: logo. A brand is
“A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, a person’s gut
feeling about a
service, or company.” If each customer feels vastly product, service,
different about the values a company holds, that or company.
company has failed to create a strong, coherent brand. – arty Neumeier,
M
author of The Brand Gap
To create a successful brand, then, a Depending on your budget and the
public transport system should start skills and competencies of your staff,
by defining its core values. Most public you may want to consider hiring an
transport systems strive for a brand external marketing and branding
that clearly presents their services firm to implement many elements
as modern, efficient, rapid, reliable, of this plan. If you choose to go this
convenient, comfortable and safe. In route, there should be at least one
many cases, extensive market research senior member of your agency with
about current and potential passengers marketing experience who manages
will reveal any other values that need to the contractor throughout the process.
be incorporated in a successful brand.
Choose to stand out
These values become the foundation If other public transport services are
of the brand and should be injected already offered, it is essential to decide
into every part of the public transport whether to closely connect the brand
system. Think of it this way: your of the new system with that of the information
bus (and station, map, signage, etc.) established system or to differentiate Values
Name
is your mission statement, your the new one entirely. Logo
billboard and your annual report; Color scheme
everything about it represents your This choice may depend largely on Identity system
Macrobús brand brand to the public, from the way it the public perception of those other Slogan
Vehicle design
Guadalajara’s Macrobús looks, to the way it runs, to the quality services. If the public perceives the Station design
has a modern, fun and of service it provides. current system poorly, it might be a Typeface/Color
colorful brand.
6 EMBARQ From Here to There EMBARQ From Here to There 7
6. Brand and identity Brand and identity
good idea to differentiate the new Metrobús for local buses
brand. Another way of avoiding the and Metroenlace for regional buses.
stigma often associated with traditional The brand strategy, like that of Los
bus transport is to not use the term Angeles Metro, was to position the
“bus” in the new system’s name. integrated bus services as part of
the city’s larger transport system.
York Region, Canada is a great example The logo, color scheme, maps
of a city that took a creative approach and other materials also clearly
to addressing this issue. In York Region, associate TransMetro, Metrobús
the majority of residents did not hold and Metroenlace with Metrorrey.
Generally the public bus service in high regard.
speaking, a As a result, the city made an explicit Appeal to your passengers
prospect in decision to differentiate its new VIVA If the brand of a new public transport
BRT service from existing bus services line or system embodies local values
your target
and position VIVA as a new, high-quality and context, potential riders will be
market must alternative. Once VIVA was successfully more likely to relate to it. It’s important
be exposed to positioned and received positive to account for existing brands in a city
your message feedback from the public, York Region or country when designing a brand
seven times then rebranded all other bus services so as to avoid unintended conflicts or
under the new VIVA brand. unwelcome associations.
before he or
she begins to On the other hand, if other transport When contemplating the branding
pay attention. services are effective and popular, it of a new BRT line, it is important
makes sense to brand the new service to understand who the primary
–Belynda Johnson, in a way that connects it to the existing ridership groups will be. If the service
“Modern Transit
service. Los Angeles Metro is an is targeted at local residents, it may
Marketing III: How to
example of a transit agency that chose be important to entrench the brand
Make it Work”
this approach, positioning its new in local associations. In Ahmedabad,
Orange Line, the city’s first BRT corridor, India the city named its new BRT
A Total Brand
as an extension of its existing Metro Janmarg, meaning “people’s way”
Solution
rail system through the use of standard in Gujarati, to foster a sense of local
The VIVA BRT system
design elements and information pride and ownership. Similarly, in
in York Region, Canada
systems, such as the system maps and Johannesburg, South Africa, the city created a powerful
website. Still the service maintained a chose Rea Vaya, which means “we are corporate brand and
distinctive identity through the use of going” in Sotho. applied it throughout every
the color orange in all of its marketing aspect of the system
and communications materials. Stay on brand from network maps and
advertisements down to
Communicating the values behind seat upholstery. Even the
Monterrey, Mexico is another example a brand requires persistence and bus drivers’ uniforms fell
of a city that developed a unified brand repetition. If various elements of your under brand guidelines: the
to connect its bus and metro services. It system convey different messages drivers’ vests used custom
gave the local and regional bus systems through their design, content, color fabric on the back that
was a hound’s-tooth-style
names that conformed to the Metrorrey and quality, users will be confused,
design using the VIVA logo.
Metro brand: TransMetro for the BRT, making marketing efforts less effective.
8 EMBARQ From Here to There EMBARQ From Here to There 9
7. Brand and identity Brand and identity
Los Angeles
METRO
Through a unified
brand and clear
messaging, Metro
has proven that it can
capture the attention of
riders in the most style-
conscious of cities.
Putting BRT
on The Map
Los Angeles Metro
includes the Orange
Line on its system map,
sending the message
that it provides the
same quality of service
as rail.
10 EMBARQ From Here to There EMBARQ From Here to There 11
8. Internal communication
Internal communication: The 290,000
team members
Sell Your Values understand that
the powerful
FedEx brand
is our most
Every employee of a public transit agency, from important asset.
Our brand is
a bus driver to a senior engineer, should be thought of as managed with a
a brand ambassador. In Société de Transport de Montréal system of tools
(STM), Montreal’s transit agency, half of its more than and guidelines
8,600 employees work directly with customers.6 to ensure that
it is protected
and consistently
represented by
These interactions are important class, highly educated and car-owning. team members. In
opportunities to maintain and reinforce If employees can’t identify with the other words, our
the agency’s core values and brand. But brand or are not enticed to ride your team members
this constant contact means that every service, chances are the general public “are” FedEx. They
employee needs to understand and be won’t be either.
invested in those values.
are the brand.
Communicate up –Gayle Christensen,
Private companies throughout the Communicating your agency’s values managing director of
broader transport sector take this and brand to all employees is an brand, FedEx
seriously. FedEx includes a primer important example of communicating
on its global brand in each new down, but good internal
employee’s orientation. Southwest communication will also include an
Airlines frequently invites its employees emphasis on “communicating up.”
to be filmed in the company’s This includes having protocols for
commercials. Tactics like these can help street-level employees to report issues
employees recognize that they are, in they’ve observed or encountered,
some cases quite literally, the public face as well as channels to communicate
of your brand. the importance of certain projects,
decisions and events to high-level
Employees can also be a testing ground decision makers.
for an agency’s brand. Members of information
an agency likely represent a relatively Because good transport projects Training manual
wide cross-section of the population don’t always originate at the Strategic plan
from lower-income, less educated and highest level of government, effective Employee surveys
“Town hall” meetings
transit-dependent, to upper-middle internal communication strategies Idea box
EMBARQ From Here to There 13
