Metro St. Louis Car Free Day

Target Audience: The target audience was the car-driving public in the greater St. Louis Region (includes St. Louis, MO. and Madison County, IL), especially those who commute in Single Occupancy Vehicles (SOVs).

Strategy Objective:The objective was to educate the target market about the many alternative options to driving a car, like walking, riding bikes or scooters, public transit, carpools, and vanpools. To achieve this, Metro partnered with a total of 14 regional organizations, including the St. Louis Blues and St. Louis Cardinals to remind people of the benefits of public transportation during Car Free Day. This included all-day events across the bi-state area, themed busses, special guest appearances aboard public transit, ticket giveaways, and a dedicated landing page detailing promotions.

Situation Challenge: Commuters in the St. Louis region love their SOVs, which unfortunately cause rush hour traffic jams and negatively impact the air quality, especially during the summer ozone season. In order to combat this mindset, Metro planned its first Car Free Day to promote public transportation options.

Results Impact: The campaign resulted in strong media coverage by local broadcast, radio, print, online and social sources, and 2,045 unique page views to the landing page.

Why Submit: This was Metro's first time to host a Car Free Day in St. Louis, which helped reinforce that public transportation is good for the environment, community and economic growth. It was successful in gaining awareness, building local partnerships, and has set a strong foundation to build future events.