Today marks the launch of our brand campaign for York Region Transit (YRT).
This is an exciting one for us, because Acart has been cultivating a specialization in transit marketing since 1999. In that time, we’re driven up ridership for OC Transpo and Kingston Transit, and helped the Canadian Urban Transit Association get its advocacy and environmental messages noticed, among others.
With this in mind, YRT was a substantial win for us last year, and has proven to be one of those ideal clients which demands and appreciates a stronger creative focus, and has the confidence to follow through. We saw that in our fall “Exposed” campaign against fare evasion, and it inspired us to take it up a notch for YRT’s brand advertising.
The insight behind the approach is that transit is not just about the ride, it is about getting there. While YRT has done an excellent job making their buses particularly clean and comfortable, the best way to get people on board is to remind them how their efficient and well-connected transit system can get them to the people and places that matter to them. And, of course, to show that YRT is a modern brand that listens and “gets” what its community needs from it.
The campaign was shot in three parts: a location shot (into which the passengers would “arrive”), the bus they came from, and the passengers themselves on a green screen.
Fortunately, the YRT garage furnished both buses and a roomy indoor studio for a winter shoot. Especially since the photographer, Christian Lalonde and his team from Photolux, and the on-site Acart team of Javier (AD) and Christine (AE), had to make sure all the pieces would fit together perfectly.
Congratulations to everyone involved — client, agency and supplier — on a great campaign. If you’re in York Region, look for it in YRT stations, shelters and buses, online, and in local cinemas.
Full Acart Credits:
Senior CD: John Staresinic
CD/copy: Tom Megginson
ACD: Vernon Lai
AD: Javier Frutos
AD: Kerry Cavlovic
PM/PR: Lynn Norris
Account Director: Gillian Todd-Messinger
Account Executive: Christine Anawati
Media Director: Sue McKinney
Media Planner: Kevin Scannell