Class I – Polk County Transit Services
Target Audience: Riders, future riders, BoCC, civic leaders, employers, media
Project Cost: $2,112
Description: Themed invitations, artwork unvelings, inspired speakers talking about transit and art, a local high school orchestra and speciality-printed souvenir ribbon were used to generate the large attendance (380) needed to deliver our educational message about the value of transit in Polk County. Attendees were not spectators, they were participants.
Based on the 12 permanent tile art pieces incorporated into the construction of the terminal, “The Art of Transit” theme was used as the focal point. The ribbon was custom printed with the “Art of Transit” stamped repetitively on it so that participants could take a piece home with them to commemorate their participation. When the media advisories and press releases went out, the press ate it up, providing great front-page coverage of the interactive ribbon cutting. Front page preview coverage ran a week prior to the event, the day of the event, and the day after the event.
Our public awareness goal of 80 percent of attendees was reached when event surveys recorded that 93.1 percent of attendees said the event “enhanced their understanding of transit opportunities available in Polk County. Ridership figures were a strong barometer showing that during the two months after the time the ribbon was cut (Dec 6, 2007 to Jan 31, 2008), ridership increased 7.5 percent (6,465 more riders) over the same time frame a year ago. This is 3.5 percent higher than our goal of 4 percent. The print media (both major local papers) printed FIVE positive front page stories (7 color photos) including a video montage.
Class II - LYNX
Target Audience: Community and business leaders
Project Cost: $2,900 (buses painted in-house)
Description: LYNX created quite a buzz for public transportation when the agency announced that it had received a grant from the state of Florida to operate its own bio-diesel fuel refining operation. To take advantage of the positive publicity, LYNX staged a signing ceremony that included Florida Governor Charlie Crist.
Prior to the event, LYNX sent an invitation via email (the environmentally friendly way) to community and business leaders. LYNX brought two buses to the ceremony, each painted with an environmental setting, to emphasize the agency’s desire to go green. LYNX representatives wore “Green Ambassador” buttons with the same background setting as the painted buses. The coup de gras, however was getting Governor Crist to the ceremony. He was booked to be the keynote speaker for the Florida Farm to Fuel summit that day, and took time out to join LYNX CEO Linda Watson and sign the official agreement between LYNX and the state of Florida. The event was covered by all 7 of Orlando’s TV stations and there were at least 10 news articles written about the event – meaning we were able to reach beyond our target audience to the public at large.
Class I – Polk County Transit Services
Class II - LYNX
