Media & Advertising Campaigns | Transit Marketing Experts

D2A²

Campaign to promote the service launch

The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan had plans to launch a brand-new bus service for travelers and commuters between Ann Arbor, Michigan, and downtown Detroit. The city of Detroit is commonly referred to as “The D” and Ann Arbor is commonly referred to as “A²” (A squared). The project included naming and branding along with a media campaign and other promotional deliverables. Thus, a shortened name emerged from Detroit to Ann Arbor, becoming D2A².

We started with 666 riders. Currently we have 5,281 monthly riders, a number that continues to grow.

Come On, Let's Go

Campaign to increase ridership

So many people were negatively impacted by COVID-19 and the pandemic. Isolation was identified as a real problem. Many of us needed companionship, human connection, affection, and to be around loves ones in order to heal. The COVID economy robbed so many people of their jobs, their income, and even their businesses. Indian Trails, for the first time, decided to do a campaign that was about more than just affordable travel. This campaign sought to persuade people to start to live their lives again. With bus travel so affordable, it was a great way to reach into those populations that were both isolated and had limited funds for travel. The campaign used research pointing to who could best benefit from bus travel and why they would be likely to go somewhere on a bus. Thus, three campaign themes emerged:

Students needing to go home for family time.
Men that had no car but wanted to feel connected to friends.
Older women needing safe travel options for big life events.

All three perspectives of the campaign were tested and run in a variety of media and platforms with the goal of increasing ridership and generating positive brand equity.

Snap to Win

Campaign to increase rider engagement

InVerve helped CATA develop a complete campaign aimed at promoting student ridership and engagement. The campaign was centered around the development and implementation of a custom "Only on CATA" Snapchat filter that was available in a designated area on Michigan State University's campus for a two-week period coinciding with the start of the Fall 2016 semester. The campaign included a contest where people could enter to win a semester bus pass by using the filter and sharing it on social media (or by entering through a webpage). In addition to developing the artwork for the filter itself, the campaign included messaging and three different creative executions which were tested across the following media: