Behind the Scenes – City Line Vehicles Are Arriving! (Video)

Target Audience: The City Line Vehicles Are Arriving! video was created to give the public the first glimpse of STA's new all-electric 60' articulated coaches, and to generate excitement for Spokane's first BRT line which was still two years away. The audience was the greater Spokane community, businesses and residences along the route, and current riders.

Strategy Objective:The arrival of the first City Line bus seemed to be the answer. We decided to create a reveal video, but our plan had problems. We couldn't film the bus with passengers or on the road because it wasn't street legal yet. Also, we had no budget. So we videotaped interviews with local leaders and cut in action shots of the new bus. To create suspense, we used dramatic music and slow zooms. The music is the only thing we spent money on ($49). We learned to animate a satellite map and painstakingly dissected and animated blueprint files to create a montage of stations being rapidly constructed. We saved the best for last – a drone hovering near the garage ceiling to get video circling the bus. Through editing and special effects, we tried to create an ‘epic' feeling. Please see attached pdf.

Situation Challenge: Disruptive construction along the future City Line route had been going on for nearly a year downtown and in neighborhoods that are very vocal and politically active. Delays due to weather and COVID-19, and the ongoing inconveniences caused by station construction, were rankling some members of the community. Sentiment online and in public meetings seemed to be turning. Pointing to future City Line benefits wasn't going to cut it. We needed to show the public something tangible. We needed to show something now.

Results Impact: The City Line video was watched nearly 8,000 times on Facebook — over 4,880% more than other STA videos in the month it was released. The rate of positive reactions (likes, hearts, wows) was 1,090% of our average. Comments on the City Line video were up 1,630%. The video was also highly shareable on social media — 860% more than STA's average. Taking into consideration comments, shares, reactions, and view time, the video performed over 288 times better than our other posts that month. Before making the video we had some reservations about a ‘talking head'-style video, but the data shows it proved highly effective and popular.

Why Submit: We are submitting this video because it symbolizes what our small, scrappy team does best — work together, meet deadlines under pressure, typically spend less than $100 per project, and exceed expectations to make public transit easier and more convenient to use. Thank you for considering our team!