¡Buenas con VCTC! A Spanish Outreach Campaign from Ventura County Transportation Commission

Target Audience: The Spanish-speaking audience of Ventura County was at the forefront of the ¡Buenas con VCTC! Campaign (loosely translated to "Go with VCTC"). Most of VCTC's ridership comes from the Latino community and many don't speak English at all. We also targeted commuters and people living in relevant route corridors with our ads.

Strategy Objective:This campaign was developed by Latinos for Latinos. Moreover, this campaign tapped into the local community and was inspired by the traditional game of chance "Lotería" also known as "Mexican Bingo." Many potential new riders are intimidated by how transit works, especially if the information available is poorly translated or features irrelevant images. ¡Buenas con VCTC! focused on rapid-response Q+A ads on Facebook (an important platform for Spanish speakers) and featured "call now" ads in both digital and traditional formats. The campaign empowered Spanish speakers in Ventura County to give public transit a try. It has shown that VCTC understands the importance of creating culturally relevant communication for Spanish speakers.

Situation Challenge: Campaign and advertisement translations are typically made after the English version is final. Literal translations don't have the same effect as crafting a Spanish message first with the community and cultural aspects in mind. For this campaign, we needed a unique, culturally relevant educational message to better connect with the important Spanish-speaking audience on a variety of topics to remove barriers to riding the bus.

Results Impact: The campaign drove a 217% increase in Spanish-speaking visitors to the website (browser users). Additionally, calls from Spanish speakers to the VCTC helpline rose to 8% of total monthly calls (previously 5%).

Why Submit: This first-of-its-kind Spanish-language campaign raised awareness of VCTC's services to Spanish speakers in Ventura County, empowering them to give the bus a try, answering their questions, and providing fun, culturally relevant messaging. Latinos who speak only Spanish often don't see themselves or their culture reflected in advertising in the transportation community. This campaign had overwhelmingly positive engagement, indicating the messaging and creative were pause-worthy by the audience we strived to connect with.