Metro Electric Bus Commercial

Target Audience: The target audience for this electronic media was the taxpayer.

Strategy Objective:We visually needed a mechanism to communicate the benefits of electric buses. Building on the basic premise of what electricity does, we emphasized how electricity could now power 40 foot buses. We also focused on the environmental message of a zero emission transit vehicle.

Situation Challenge: With the arrival of battery electric buses to the community, Metro used a variety of different methods to communicate this milestone-including the production of 2 :30 second commercials. The buses arrived in the middle of February, and Midwest weather did not allow for ideal filming conditions. So, we worked with what we had and filmed the commercials in our Operations and Maintenance Center, with the goal of communicating we were rolling out zero emission, battery electric buses.

Results Impact: We've used the commercial not only in traditional television advertising, but through social media and presentations given throughout the community. The commercial is a quick and effective way to tell the electric bus story. It has led to greater public awareness of Metro's forward thinking strategies to embrace new technologies and sustainable efforts.

Why Submit: It was extremely challenging to script and shoot a 40 foot bus in the middle of a MidWest Winter. However we were able to work around physical constraints and produce effective commercials that told a story the community could be proud of. The commercials ran over a period of 6 weeks, specifically targeting local news programs to capture our intended audience - the taxpayer. The end result was a great awareness of the new vehicles, and enhanced image of transit in our community.