BART partners with local graphic students to launch courtesy posters

Target Audience: Our target audience of the courtesy poster series was all riders but especially younger riders.

Strategy Objective:We turned to design students enrolled at a local art school and asked them to tell us what they experience when riding the system, how can it improve, and what is the best way to deliver the message. The students wanted to take advantage of the fact the average BART ride is 20 minutes and riders do look at the visuals on the trains to pass the time. They developed a bold yet engaging poster campaign to break through the clutter, grab the attention of young riders, and encourage actionable ways to keep BART pleasant, safe and clean.

Situation Challenge: While we work to attract younger riders and tap into a generation of people who want to live a car-free lifestyle we are mindful the rider experience is paramount. Safety, cleanliness, and improving one's quality of life are necessary to gain loyal riders. It's difficult to change behavior and etiquette messaging at BART has traditionally been tailored to a wide audience, institutionalized, and didn't speak to younger generations. We needed to find a way to explain our rules without coming across authoritative.

Results Impact: The moment the posters hit the trains, riders were snapping pictures and sharing them on social media. Instagram and Twitter were full of organic shares and posts. People were picking their favorite and adding commentary to the message. Our top tweet in February was about the poster series and earned 50K organic impressions, with 3,951 total engagement off one Tweet. The media picked up the story and interviewed the graphic students about the process and thus reaching an entire new audience of potential riders. Riders noticed the call out on the posters that they were designed by local students and praised BART for engaging with a younger generation and giving them a voice and platform for their professional work.

Why Submit: Marketing and Communication Departments often turn to established firms or in-house when looking to launch a new campaign. Instead of asking a traditional expert or making assumptions about the best approach to develop a new campaign, we went straight to the audience we wanted to engage with. We also took a risk by including previously taboo topics such as using elevators as a toilet and the impact it has on those who rely on them. We started a conversation. Much of the feedback included comments about BART finally acknowledging problems our riders face and being honest and responsive. Young riders are the future and we found a creative way to prioritize their needs and engage with them on the topics they want to talk about.