One of the most surprising things you learn about public transit marketing, when you do as much of it as we do, is that most of the world’s transit campaigns are really weak.
So many systems simply try to tell people that taking transit is a good idea, or a virtuous thing, or even better than driving. The problem is that non-riders will always remain unconvinced. They simply do not see themselves on the bus.
This is why smarter transit marketing goes beyond the system as simply buses and trains, and connects outwards to the real people and lifestyles that good public transit is part of.
This Australian campaign for Melbourne’s Metro Trains, just posted on Ads of The World, is a good example:
Created by McCann Worldgroup, this campaign does everything right. Instead of creating unrealistic expectations about the transit experience, it just shows you that real people—people like you—are happy and proud to have transit use as part of their lifestyle.
And while a feel-good lifestyle campaign like this is unlikely to get hardcore drivers out of their cars, it can appeal to others: students, young urban adults, and seniors. People who are on the edge between being dependent and choice riders.
Just think of this approach as making the choice to ride an easier one. And the great photography and art direction doesn’t hurt either!