RTC Southern Nevada Maryland Parkway BRT Groundbreaking

Target Audience: The target audiences for this event were residents and businesses along Maryland Parkway, a critical corridor within Southern Nevada. Secondary audiences were identified as local, national, and trade/industry media; local, state and federal elected officials; and the general Las Vegas community.

Strategy Objective:With construction finally starting, the RTC wanted to celebrate its start, thank the Federal Transit Administration for funding, educate the community on the project/construction & secure media coverage. A groundbreaking event occurred at the Boulevard Mall in the heart of Maryland Pkwy. The indoor setting included a backdrop with the project logo/visuals, construction equipment & transit/construction workers to illustrate the economic impacts, after the speaking portion, which included U.S. Sect. of Trans. Pete Buttigieg and members of NV's federal delegation, the crowd moved outside to a ceremonial dirt pad featuring historic images of the corridor. The VIPs broke ground & began a chant of "Move that Truck" while the equipment pulled forward, revealing renderings of the completed project

Situation Challenge: The Maryland Pkwy. (MP) corridor is home to major destinations/employment centers, 63K residents, 109K jobs, carrying 9K transit riders, and 35K vehicles daily. Due to its significance, RTC developed a 12.5-mile BRT project to improve mobility and safety, improve air quality, and create a stronger sense of identity for the corridor, helping to expand redevelopment opportunities and attract future investment. Enhanced transit shelters, hydrogen fuel cell electric buses, upgraded pedestrian crossings & more are expected to create 1,100 new jobs and engage 18 local/small businesses with $33M in contracts. After many years of planning and the RTC sharing information on the project, they needed to make sure the community was aware that construction was finally beginning.

Results Impact: The RTC shared event & project information via media materials, industry/national media outreach, an interactive web page, social media, e-blasts to targeted audiences, business partnerships, and outreach. The event successfully met all its objectives. More than 200 people were in attendance with many mall patrons stopping to learn about the project. Thanks in part to the attendance of U.S. Sect. of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the media response was tremendous with all local stations and major publications in attendance. In all, the event garnered more than 708 media hits from outlets nationwide. This led to 283,702,548 impressions with an advertising value of $2.7M and PR value of $8M.

Why Submit: This groundbreaking stands above and beyond the typical local transportation event. Every element of the event was carefully crafted to ensure it was targeted to convey the desired messaging. From the location and attendees to the speaking points and event visuals, everything was intentional. Another reason this event stands out is that it was sponsored by project contractors who contributed nearly $18K to provide food, decorations, signage, and other materials, along with countless man hours & collaboration on event logistics. And finally, the media interest/coverage was extraordinary, greatly surpassing what is normally garnered for a local transportation project.