Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Taste of Buffalo Special Event

Target Audience: The Taste of Buffalo is the biggest annual festival in Western New York. Attendance is upwards of half a million people, drawing from Metro's service area, making it a great place to reach riders and prospective riders. The event is open to everyone, so the audience covers Metro's full demographic category.

Strategy Objective:Metro decided to park a regular 40-foot bus and opened it to the public. We encouraged people to sit in the driver's seat, take a photo, beep the horn and see what brand new, state-of-the-art buses are like inside. We played transit themed music, like Bus Stop by the Hollies, to add a little fun to the atmosphere. Metro staffed a tent next to the bus, with Customer Care professional capable of answering public transportation questions. To draw people in, Metro put up banners explaining what buses and trains "eat". But the real draw was the 100-square foot map of the area, pasted to the ground outside the bus. The map depicted all of Metro's routes, and rail line, along with all of the participating restaurants.

Situation Challenge: Metro, a transit agency, was offered display space at a food festival. The challenge was to be attractive and interesting to people looking for something that tastes good.

Results Impact: The display was exceedingly popular. Thousands of people stopped by, took selfies, walked through the bus and found their homes and favorite restaurants on the giant map. The most gratifying quote was, "I haven't been on a bus in a while and this is nice," which we heard hundreds of times over the two-day event. Metro social media presence quadrupled, and the display was nominated for an award. Participating in Taste of Buffalo placed Metro Bus and Rail in the community as a full-service transportation service. It also helped to brighten Metro's image, showing more color and personality than comes through on a daily commute.

Why Submit: No one is clamoring to see a bus at a food festival. And yet, Metro had a line for most of the two days.