JRTC Opening Campaign
Target Audience: The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) targeted the entire city of Jacksonville and Northeast Florida for the Grand Opening of the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla, a one-of-a-kind regional facility.
Strategy Objective:The strategic approach for the opening was to develop a phased awareness campaign broken into four strategic parts to inform, engage, educate, and issue a call to action for JTA employees, customers and the community to learn more about the JRTC, JTA route transitions and the headquarters relocation by visiting the JRTC microsite. Phases were: It's Coming (to alert the public); It's Almost Here (to generate excitement); It's Upon Us (the final countdown); and Relocation Rollout (time to go!).By implementing a phased approach instead of a one-time blitz, the JTA was able to sustain interest in the JRTC opening and keep key stakeholders aware of critical deadlines, even during a challenging spring when the Authority's focus was on providing a safe and secure system due to COVID-19.
Situation Challenge: The JTA's May 4, 2020, opening of the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla, was a historic day that changed the game in transportation for the Authority, its' customers and the Northeast Florida community, particularly people residing in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties. The premier multi-modal hub is also home to the JTA's administrative headquarters. Before the opening, the JTA developed a phased awareness and educational campaign to educate and inform the community about the facility itself and the transition of routes from Rosa Parks Transit Station. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the JTA had to change the grand opening schedule from late March to early May to allow the Authority to implement safety measures in accordance with health guidelines
Results Impact: The Grand Opening campaign was very successful. Between December 2019 and May 2020, the JTA's social media channels, (comprised of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, the JTA website and LinkedIn), reached nearly 2 million users with only minor use of targeted, paid promotions. That is in addition to free and earned media coverage through local, regional and national media outlets. The JRTC microsite received thousands of views. The social media strategy was a two-year campaign that focused on education and construction updates, the various modes of service, preparing customers for transition and finally, sustained awareness. Due to COVID-19, the JRTC at LaVilla opened on May 4 instead of March 31, which required a substantial amount of communication on social and traditional media channel.
Why Submit: The opening of the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla reflects a new mobility paradigm in Northeast Florida and meant the Rosa Parks Transit Station would no longer be Jacksonville's main transportation hub. Ensuring that all stakeholders were well informed about the latest changes was paramount. The JTA accomplished that despite the challenges resulting from COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.