Here’s A Public Agency That Really Understands Content Marketing
AC Transit’s Dedicated Site, ACTForMe.org, Paints a Brilliant and Loving Portrait of the Benefits of Public Transit
AC Transit operates a very sophisticated bus transportation system in the San Francisco Bay area, handling more than 65 million passengers annually in an area covering 364 square miles. That’s pretty impressive.
But what really impressed me is the fact that they also make excellent use of the web to tell a story that turns taking the bus into the obvious transportation choice.
AC Transit has created ACT for Me as “Your Guide to the Future of Public Transit.” They illustrate why AC Transit should be an integral part of your life by sharing a creative range of content—from user-generated videos, to a savings calculator, to a discussion of community and environment benefits, and the exciting future of transit.
Lots of images of happy riders with capsule explanations of their love of AC Transit make an authentic case for their service. For example, they quote Reginald James, a rider since 1986, “By taking AC Transit I don’t have to worry about rising gas prices and vehicle maintenance costs. Plus, I enjoy riding the bus. I like talking to the different bus drivers and I really appreciate the free wireless internet on the transbay buses.” Mr. James and his many fellow, real-live riders suggest that becoming an AC Transit regular would be not only the right thing but perhaps even the enjoyable thing to do.
ACT for Me created a fun contest to inspire its passengers to create webisodes that illustrate how the AC transit bus system contributes to making their daily lives better.The contest winner is a delightful video about a young girl and her mom who go to the park every Sunday–and of course take the bus to get there. You can click here to watch the brief video.
AC Transit has done a superb job of enticing Bay Area residents out of their cars and onto the bus by putting a very human face on public transit as the smart alternative to clogged roadways and greenhouse gases. Take a look at what AC Transit is doing on the web to promote public transportation 24 hours a day, seven days a week: ACTforMe.org. it’s a superb use of content by a public agency that rivals anything you might expect from a profit driven corporation.
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[...] We have already written about their wonderful online marketing campaign that paints such a compelling picture of the benefits of bus travel. AC Transit created ACT for Me as “Your Guide to the Future of Public Transit.” They illustrate why AC Transit should be an integral part of your life by sharing a creative range of content—from user-generated videos, to a travel savings calculator, to a discussion of community and environment benefits, and the exciting future of transit. Here’s A Public Agency That Really Understands Content Marketing. [...]
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[...] We have already written about their wonderful online marketing campaign that paints such a compelling picture of the benefits of bus travel. AC Transit created ACT for Me as “Your Guide to the Future of Public Transit.” They illustrate why AC Transit should be an integral part of your life by sharing a creative range of content—from user-generated videos, to a travel savings calculator, to a discussion of community and environment benefits, and the exciting future of transit. Here’s A Public Agency That Really Understands Content Marketing. [...]
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Comments [2]
I love to see another transit agency producing a good, functioning website. I work for the St Louis Metro, and we’ve had significant problems developing a comprehensive marketing and communications plan. Our funding has been cut so far that we actually had to lay off our webmaster – one of our software guys now does double duty for web stuff. We’d like to produce a website such as ACT for Me, but it’s just so difficult in this socioeconomic climate.
Newt this a great article. What I like about this post is the wonderful example you use to help us visualize what works and how it connects.
This post has given me some insight to my own content and a great visual to reach the readers I have in my audience.
Thanks for a great twist on a very abstract idea.