Route-Specific Ridership Campaign - Direct Mailers - XB (Bellefonte) and XG (Pleasant Gap) Routes

Target Audience: These postcards acted as part of a larger campaign aimed at building ridership among those residing along CATA's XB (Bellefonte) and XG (Pleasant Gap) Routes, and specifically within the areas of the routes not served by additional routes. This included approximately 3,742 households. The audience consisted primarily of non-student riders ' work commuters, families, youth, seniors, etc.

Strategy Objective:CATA worked with Sire Advertising of Selinsgrove, PA, on a 3-month comprehensive campaign aimed specifically at increasing ridership on the two routes. The campaign included the two direct mail pieces nominated, distributed to those living within a quarter mile of either route, which included four complementary ride passes and a coupon for a discounted monthly OnePass. Also included in the campaign was an online landing page, and an option to register to win a 6-month OnePass. Flyers were also distributed to local businesses along the route, targeted social media posts were sent out on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and a feature article was included in CATA's email newsletter.

Situation Challenge: Ridership along the XB and XG routes remained steady, but additional available capacity and a higher than ideal cost per passenger rate made for a great opportunity to promote these routes and potentially increase ridership.

Results Impact: In total, 562 comp passes were used, by 160 unique individuals receiving the postcards. The other pieces of the campaign had similar positive response. Since the promotion, the XB has experienced a 16.7% increase in ridership over the same time period (June - August) last year. The XG experienced a 3.5% decrease over the same time period last year, but it's difficult to determine whether that decrease would have been larger had the promotion not taken place. While ridership will be monitored in the coming months to determine long-term effects, it appears as though the ridership promotion has been a great success.

Why Submit: This campaign shows the power that can come from working with an exceptional advertising and marketing firm to leverage talents and skills, to collectively promote the benefits of public transportation and increase ridership, and the strategy is one that can be recreated for other transit agencies across the country and uses a solid design that can be replicated across CATA's promotion activities. Based on its success, CATA is currently in the process of working with the same firm to develop and execute similar promotions. Additionally, the direct mailers nominated here and used in the promotion received a Certificate of Excellence by Graphic Design: USA when submitted by the firm to that national competition.