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Challenge

Being creative while still being sensitive to government agency needs presents its own challenges – but incorporating traffic congestion relief into billboards that are seen in a flash takes the word “challenge” to a new level. Based on survey and focus group results, the RTD FasTracks program found that relieving traffic congestion, and offering more choice and convenience were the three messages that resonated most with participants. However, the challenge still remained – how do you effectively educate the public that those things that resonate with them are the reasons they want and need the FasTracks rail expansion program?

CIG Solution

CIG developed a public education campaign that relied on the communication tools that would get the most response and reach the average, travelling taxpayer – outdoor advertising and social media. Taking the types of tools into consideration, CIG determined that the message needed to be concise, to the point and use everyday language that people could relate to.

The “Because traffic s#©!s.” campaign was born.

The campaign communicated exactly what the research supported – people felt that the expansion of transit offers them the choice to get out of traffic and/or alleviates the pain they feel in their cars because other people have gotten off the road. The strong language perfectly captured the feeling of frustration people feel when stuck in traffic, and the clever treatment on the word “s#©!s” offered a humorous twist. The juxtaposition of the smoggy, bumper-to-bumper traffic with the clean, slick train helped further communicate this message.

The campaign was placed on external bus ads, billboards, banners at key RTD stations and through RTD’s existing social media methods. The campaign was such a success with the RTD Board of Directors that mugs and keychains were created to keep the momentum of the campaign going, long after the billboards were removed.

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