SFMTA partners with CapMetro and CTA to launch Together We Go marketing campaign
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), in partnership with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro) and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), launched the Together We Go marketing campaign to help transit agencies across the country build trust and grow ridership post-COVID-19 pandemic. SFMTA notes the multi-channel campaign is part of its work to develop a national transit adaptation strategy.
The campaign is part of a four-phase project funded by a national, competitive grant SFMTA was awarded from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The agency is also partnering on this project with the following organizations on the campaign:
- Institute for the Future
- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Transit (makers of the Transit app)
- Clear Channel Outdoor
- Intersection
- MIG
- Civic Edge Consulting
- IDEO
The goal of the campaign is to provide data-based tools and marketing materials any U.S. transit agency can use to increase ridership and revenue. SFMTA says the campaign aims to shift attitudes around public transit and will showcase how buses and trains do much more than get riders to a destination.
What’s next?
SFMTA notes ridership feedback will be pivotal to shape the final phase of the campaign. According to the agency, Together We Go ads feature a QR code riders can scan to complete a survey to share their reaction to the campaign and answer a few questions about their use of public transit. The survey is also available on SFMTA’s website.
Now that the campaign has launched, SFMTA notes it will start monitoring its performance during the coming months. It will also compile and review the campaign surveys to understand which elements of the campaign resonate with riders. From there, the agency will produce a comprehensive report on the marketing campaign that the FTA will publish.
To wrap up the project, SFMTA says MIT will use a data model they developed to assess the impact the Together We Go campaign has upon ridership. Other transit agencies will be able to use the model to measure the impact of steps they take to boost ridership. The agency notes it can also use the results to inform projections around ridership.
