Regional Transit Authority's Social Media Campaign for the City of New Orleans' Clean City Initiative

Target Audience: The target audience for this entry is RTA bus and streetcar riders who use social media to interact with us.

Strategy Objective:Our strategy is built around rider education. We realize that we are not in a position to reprimand individuals who litter. However, we have facts about what goes into cleaning up the litter, and have built a social media strategy around a call to action through the use of facts. The content strategy, described below, is for weekly posts. Content Type 1: Factual information about litter and how it impacts the socio-historical aspects of New Orleans; Content Type 2: Photos showing dirty bus shelters before and after they are cleaned. We made sure to photograph the shelters with the trashcan (at all shelters) in prominent view; Content Type 3: Factual information about how litter impacts transit in New Orleans; The content is meant to be jarring, to inspire discussion which leads to action.

Situation Challenge: In 2018, the City of New Orleans began a social media initiative around cleaning up litter. The city's digital strategy is built around a hashtag, #CleanUpNOLA. Local business and organizations have started using the hashtag to show what they are doing to keep the city clean. RTA is responsible for the cleanliness of transit stops and shelters. Therefore, we have developed a social media strategy around the different ways we are keeping shelters, buses, and streetcars clean for the citizens of New Orleans. Additionally, we have adapted the hashtag in order to participate in a communal discussion on the importance of clean, shared spaces in the city, how those spaces can stay clean, and how they are safer when they are kept clean.

Results Impact: The strategy has inspired discussions among our riders about the impact of litter on their daily lives. Our aim is not to create revolutionary changes in behavior, but educate individuals, particularly our riders, on the widespread issue of litter in New Orleans and the actions that RTA takes to keep transit-related spaces clean and safe. From this, there is a deeper respect for local efforts to keep shared spaces free of litter through the #CleanUpNOLA campaign.

Why Submit: This entry should win the AdWheel Award because it shows how RTA, as an agency that services the New Orleans region, is participating with local communities, organizations, and businesses to overcome an immense hurdle: the challenge of public cleanliness and safety. It is task that, to be successful, must have many groups working together. This applies regionally, but also internally at the RTA. In order for this strategy to be successful, Marketing team has worked with the Maintenance team and cleaning crews to develop factual and visually-interesting digital content. Thus, by participating in the #CleanUpNOLA initiative, we have shown that different groups with different tasks can come together, agree on what actions need to be taken against littering, and accomplish tasks, collectively.