​The AdWheel Awards recognize the marketing and communications efforts of APTA’s members. Additionally, the annual awards competition creates a structure to share best practices and to raise the awareness of the value of public transportation marketing professionals within the industry. The 2024 Cycle opened October 8, 2023 and closed November 15, 2023. Entrants will be notified of First Place status in late December 2023.

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What are the categories and subcategories?

In an effort to align the AdWheel Awards with organizational and industry strategic goals, awards will be presented in the following three (3) categories. Each category has five (5) subcategories for entries to be submitted under.

For the 2024 cycle, we have the special Workforce Development category to recognize such things as efforts to hire and retain bus/rail operators and all other public transportation industry staff.

  1. Best Marketing and Communications on Workforce Development (e.g. staff recruitment or retention)
    • ​Print Media (e.g. brochure, newspaper ad, billboard)
    • Electronic Media (e.g. online video, radio ad, web content)
    • Special Event (e.g. press conference)
    • Social Media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram efforts)
    • Comprehensive Campaign (A campaign is an effort with multiple components that are used together to achieve your goal​)
  2. Best Marketing and Communications to Increase Ridership or Sales
    • ​Print Media (e.g. brochure, newspaper ad, billboard)
    • Electronic Media (e.g. online video, radio ad, web content)
    • Special Event (e.g. community event, press conference)
    • Social Media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat efforts)
    • Comprehensive Campaign (A campaign is an effort with multiple components that are used together to achieve your goal​)
  3. Best Marketing and Communications Educational Initiative (Non-Workforce Development [e.g. Highlighting funding needs, general public information,​ improving safety or security, courtesy, or other transit objective])
    • ​Print Media (e.g. brochure, newspaper ad, billboard)
    • Electronic Media (e.g. online video, radio ad, web content)
    • Special Event (e.g. community event, press conference)
    • Social Media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram efforts)
    • Comprehensive Campaign (A campaign is an effort with multiple components that are used together to achieve your goal​

How and when are 2024 winners honored?

First Place winners and non-winners will be notified in late December 2023 and honored in-person at the 2024 Marketing & Communications Workshop, February 11 – 14, 2024, in New Orleans, LA.

Grand Award winners will be selected from the First Place winners and honored at the 2024 APTA TRANSform Conference in Anaheim, Sept. 29 – Oct. 2, 2024. Grand Award status notifications will be sent in mid-summer 2024, to all First Place winning entrants.

Eligibility:

All APTA members in good standing may submit entries. Entries may be submitted by individual members, or two or more members working on the same project. For answers to membership questions, call APTA’s Membership Department at 202-496-4800.

Eligible Entries: Elements or campaigns must have been used in whole or in part between December 16, 2022 and October 15, 2023, and that particular entry element/campaign may not have previously won an AdWheel Award.​

NOTE: All materials entered become property of APTA and may be used in promotion of both APTA and the AdWheel Awards.

All entries must have been submitted via the online entry portal by November 15, 2023.

Fees:

The AdWheel Awards Program is a self-sustaining program. Entry fees are used to cover the costs of running the program. You are allowed to enter in as many subcategories and categories as you like. The 2024 entry fee is $125 per entry.

  • ​You may pay by credit card after you complete your entry.
  • You can also pay by check. Please remember to send a copy of your invoice with your payment. Many checks are sent to APTA and we need to know where the funds should be allocated.
  • Payment is due by December 12, 2023.
  • Purchase Orders are not allowed as a form of payment for this awards program.

Make checks payable to: American Public Transportation Association and mail to:

APTA
AdWheel Awards-c/o Stephen Kendrick
1300 I Street NW, Suite 1200 E
Washington, D.C. 20005

Entry Tips:

APTA has created a list of tips to help you submit your AdWheel Award entry.

  • Avoid the Rush Hour Traffic Jam: The submission portal receives a lot of activity the last four (4) business days before the deadline. To avoid overloading the site, be sure to submit your entries in advance.
  • Group Selection: Be sure to verify your 2022 ridership statistics before selecting a group category. APTA reports this data, and you can find it in the Q4 2022 report.
  • File Upload Limits: The maximum file size is 20 MB. Please do not upload zip files.
  • Video Files: All video files must be submitted as YouTube or Vimeo URLs.
  • Advertising Agency Submissions: If you are an advertising agency, be sure the transit agency’s name that you are representing is clearly listed on the submission. If you are unsure which category to select for the entry, ask the transit agency.
  • Category Selection: Double check the category you have selected to make sure it is the correct category for your entry.

The Written Part of the Entry is the “Effectiveness Statement”

Submit clear and concise effectiveness statements, maximum 800 characters in length per question, including spaces and punctuation. (Judges read this statement, view files you have uploaded, and follow links you have attached, in order to determine the score of the entry.)

  1. Who was the target audience for this entry?
  2. What was the situation that necessitated creating this entry?
  3. What was the strategy of this entry?
  4. What results did this entry have? (e.g. increased ridership, higher sales, greater public awareness, etc.)
  5. Please tell the judges why this entry was submitted and why it should win an AdWheel Award.

Group determinations are based on your parent organization’s 2022 data:

  • Group 1: Providing 3 million or fewer annual passenger trips
  • Group 2: Providing more than 3 million but fewer than 15 million annual passenger trips
  • Group 3: Providing more than 15 million but fewer than 50 million annual passenger trips
  • Group 4: Providing 50 million or more annual passenger trips
  • Group 5: Business members

Judging Criteria:

Each entry is judged on the following measures:

  • Goals Achieved
  • Overall Impact
  • Message Clarity

The two highest scoring subcategory winners and the campaign subcategory winner will be considered for the overall category​ Grand Award.

Have Additional Questions?:

Please contact Stephen Kendrick, APTA Senior Program Manager, Marketing & Communications at skendrick@apta.com.

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