BART turns dramatic AirPod rescue into PSA on rider safety

Target Audience: All BART riders and potential riders, but especially younger, tech-savvy riders commonly living and working in the Bay Area. They are a key demographic in our ridership, use Twitter and other social media platforms more frequently and more likely to use high-tech devices like the AirPod.

Strategy Objective:BART took full advantage of an opportunity ' a rider dropped his AirPod onto the tracks ' and Twitter as a medium to start an appropriately toned and timed PSA about what to do when one drops a valuable onto the tracks. Communications Manager Alicia Trost immediately went over to Downtown Berkeley and filmed a crewmember retrieve the AirPod, turning the rescue video into a PSA on asking for staff help to retrieve any lost items on the track instead of risking it. Trost strategically chatted via Twitter with a San Francisco-based technology reporter Alex Kantrowitz as the rescue operation commenced; Kantrowitz then wrote a Buzzfeed article and created a Twitter Moments thread chronicling the rescue. No trains were delayed, and no costs were incurred for the filming for the rescue.

Situation Challenge: BART values rider safety above all else, and no concern is higher than a rider being on the tracks. It's an essential safety message for a system like ours and we are always looking for new ways to make the point. On January 5, commuter Christian Keil took off his bike helmet on the Downtown Berkeley station platform and dislodged his AirPod onto the tracks. He took a picture of the AirPod on the track and tweeted: "Happy Friday to my @apple airpod, who left me for @SFBART today. I hope they love you as much as I did." Our Communications team immediately recognized the viral potential of immediately retrieving the AirPod and explaining the process of how to do it safely.

Results Impact: The video of the rescue and the follow-up tweet of Trost holding the AirPod drew a combined 1.3 million organic impressions, 1000 Retweets and more than 8,300 Likes. Kantrowitz's Twitter Moments ' titled "The Great AirPod Rescue Miracle of 2018" ' generated more than 4,600 likes and a whopping 2.5 million organic impressions and national media coverage. But beyond the metrics, the true testament of the power of the PSA were found in the comments and earned media following the rescue. - "Not only did they respond, but the BART comms team took the opportunity to create a public safety film that doesn't sound preachy or condescending" - "Great example of realtime #responsivecomms, customer service and social video coming together to provide a great service and promote subway safety"

Why Submit: At no cost, BART generated an organic, viral social media campaign on a key safety lesson for all riders. The entire episode took place in 3 hours. It was filmed on an iPhone in one take without any editing, post production, or graphics. The team knew it shouldn't be overproduced and they needed to act quickly to make it effective. BART serves more than 420,000 riders on a daily basis, and such lessons are critical to share occasionally with lifelong riders and first-timers alike. We take pride in our social media policy and our transparent, human approach in conversing with riders on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Reddit ' and this episode encapsulates all the best qualities we have honed over the past few years.