Metro Rebrand and Transit West Campaign

Target Audience: Residents of Portland, Gorham, Westbrook as well as students and faculty of the two USM campuses. These potential riders were interested in increased connectivity between the towns and with the introduction of the Husky Line and Route 3 at the end of August, Metro delivered. By rolling out an entirely new brand look including a new logo, bus stop signs, website and bus wraps, Metro showed Southern Maine just how committed they were to serve the general public. Metro was also aware of the lower income households who may be more reliant on public transit and incorporated tactics to reach these immigrant groups. By refreshing Metro's entire look with a new logo and updated branding, they also wanted to target all of Southern Maine to trust them as the region's transit leader.

Strategy Objective:Create awareness and interest in Metro's new look, updated website, as well as increased ridership on Route 3 and the Husky Line. With a relatively low budget, Metro was able to purchase various print ads within local publications and allocate some of their budget towards paid social to introduce the new routes to the general public. They also were able to create some community buzz on USM's campuses and at public markets by passing out t-shirts, branded bags, stickers, mailers with free ride coupons and magnets to introduce the new look to the public while encouraging them to visit the new website and look for the two new routes. Metro even teased the new bus designs by featuring small photos of the bus wraps on their social channels.

Situation Challenge: By introducing new routes to the general public, Metro wanted to ensure that commuters needs were being met as well as provide a more modern look for the transit agency as a whole. By ordering new buses, Metro's goal to make a big splash on the roads were met with the help of a new nautical logo which gave a nod to Maine's coastal geographic location. The new website is easier to navigate and makes use of icons similar to Metro's new branding. Route 3, the new crosstown route, continues to build ridership as commuters become more aware of the new route while the Husky Line continues to be full of 8,000 students and 1,400 faculty members who now have free access to travel between the Portland and Gorham campuses.

Results Impact: Metro saw a 34% redemption across their service lines from the free ride mailer that was sent out to 1,400 households and passed out at outreach events. After offering free rides for the first three days of their service, Route 3 saw over 650 riders, while the Husky Line had over 400 riders, even though school was not in session until the following week. Both routes have seen steady ridership numbers since their inception with 25,000 rides taken both in September and October for the Husky Line, and over 7,000 for Route 3 in its first two months of service. The digital portion of Metro's media plan garnered almost 1.5 million impressions and 7.5K clicks over the six-week campaign with positive feedback on their social posts.

Why Submit: With the launch of any new line, any public transit's hope is to improve mobility, increase access to affordable transportation and help spur the region's economic competitiveness. Given the small media budget that Metro allocated for such a large endeavor, including a complete rebrand and the introduction of two new routes, the response to both the new look and new routes were highly favorable on social media and in various publications. While ridership in 2017 hovered around 1.8 million, Metro fully expects to exceed 2 million in 2018 thanks to the updated branding as well as the two new routes; Route 3 and the Husky Line.