Minnesota State Fair Shuttle Service

Target Audience: The target audiences for this campaign were Fair-going current and prospective riders identified through customer research, particularly those who could be influenced to avoid traffic back-ups and expensive parking by catching a round trip via bus to the Minnesota State Fair.

Strategy Objective:MVTA has provided residents of its service area roundtrip rides to the State Fair at a low fee for more than 20 years. This year, additional efforts were made to generate further awareness throughout the greater service area. In addition to increasing event ridership from previous years, special event services are a great way to introduce new riders to the MVTA brand and to encourage parking at newer, somewhat underutilized park and ride locations. The strategy behind this campaign was to create pieces that were fun, eye-catching and friendly to align with the State Fair feel. Consistent, engaging social media posts, including a custom video (with original music from a popular local vocalist), directed viewers to a Fair themed landing page within the MVTA site.

Situation Challenge: The Minnesota State Fair is one of the largest, most anticipated events of the year for Minnesotans and even out-of-staters. This event runs 12 days leading up to and through Labor Day weekend. With roughly 2300 Fair employees, along with attendance being nearly two million people, traffic and congestion surrounding Fairgrounds is intense. Enter the need for public transportation! Not only does this eliminate a large number of cars, but it can spare attendees the headache of navigating the gridlocked streets and the tireless search for an expensive parking spot. In addition, there are prospective riders who avoid the Fair completely because of the difficulty driving and parking a personal vehicle through traffic.

Results Impact: Through social media efforts alone, this campaign generated 41,205 impressions within a three-week time span. The video created with the local musician to promote the state fair services earned 2,104 views on the MVTA Facebook account. That's not including the additional exposure gained through the musician's page, which is an additional 5,953 followers. Engagements with State Fair posts on the MVTA page totaled 606 fans, riders and friends interacting with the MVTA brand. Five daily ridership records were set in 2018 with the biggest ridership day ever on the last Saturday of the fair!

Why Submit: MVTA has recently partnered with a local marketing agency, Russell Herder, to boost their brand presence and further engage those in their service area. This campaign was the first of many yet to come that will further improve the rider experience when interacting with the friendly, approachable MVTA team. Incorporating fun, inviting materials concurrently with a consistent, entertaining social campaign tied our brand directly to the State Fair, built important good will with Fair management, and allowed riders to anticipate not only the Fair itself, but the stress-free commute there and back.