Case Studies

What Can We Help You to Achieve?

Change Behavior

For the most part, human beings are creatures of habit. We like what we like and we don’t like change. Even when it’s change for the better.

So, how can an agent of change, say, the government, effectively promote an initiative or service that will require individuals to radically alter their habits or behavior?

We believe the process starts with a comprehensive look at the values and motivations of the consumer to determine who, exactly, will benefit from this change and how. With these insights, we create and test creative concepts that incorporate both rational and emotional appeals for greatest impact. Finally, we develop a strategic media plan to communicate the message as cost-effectively as possible.

Please read how we helped to change the behavior of drivers in the Washington D.C. metro area, by convincing them to ditch their cars and take the Metro.

Metro

The Challenge: Getting commuters out of their cars and into public transportation.

In 1999, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) hired us to develop an advertising campaign to promote the convenience and value of Metro trains and buses -- following a damaging spate of bad service-related publicity. After re-introducing Metro with an exciting new slogan, "Metro Opens Doors," our objectives became to encourage peak hour bus and bus-to-rail ridership by commuters; to increase off-peak usage by a broader audience; to promote usage of the Metro Web site "Trip Planner;" and to launch service at the newly opened Green Line stations.

The Results: All aboard!

While it is not always (or even often) possible to clearly measure the impact of an advertising campaign; in this case, our client was thrilled to report impressive and quantifiable success. In the first year of the "Metro Opens Doors" campaign, weekend ridership increased by nearly 60,000. By the fifth year, weekend ridership had more than quintupled. Weekday ridership increased by nearly 100,000 during that same time. Hits to the www.MetroOpensDoors.com web site nearly doubled as a result of the advertising campaign and monthly usage of the Trip Planner nearly tripled. And, after a successful launch (that resulted in a local newspaper story headlined "All Metro Doors Now Open"), ridership goals at the five new Green Line stations were quickly met.

How did we help our client to succeed?

Based on ridership studies conducted by WMATA, we created a comprehensive and integrated campaign that presented the Metrobus and Metrorail as a complete system that "opens doors" to social, economic and environmental opportunities for residents of the DC metropolitan area. Targeted at commuters, tourists and the general population, a series of clever (and often humorous) ads featuring the "Metro Open Doors" tagline and a variety of destinations and uses for Metro service was developed for targeted TV, radio, print, direct mail and outdoor placement.

The WMATA Web site, which serves as a dynamic medium with timely, detailed information about bus and rail service that is too lengthy for ads, was renamed and redesigned to enhance the online user experience and to support ridership goals.

Since these initial objectives of the campaign were met, we have been proud to continue supporting WMATA with successful advertising strategies and award-winning creative to insure full utilization and appreciation of one of the world’s finest public transportation systems.