Integrated Marketing
Communications Campaign for
the Greater Cleveland Regional
Transit Authority
By: Brad Bielak
Carys Behn
Mike Marsico
Maria Lazaris
Kevin Chmura
Submitted April 24, 2012
Situation Analysis
COMPANY BACKGROUND
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) is a public transportation
system. They offer services that include the use of buses, trolleys, and trains or rapids for
transportation. Their services are easy to use and affordable for public use. One of their
important policies includes diversity and inclusion. They are committed to promote diversity
within the company to allow for a variety of culture, opinions and experience to help the
organization. Another policy involves sustainability and states the RTA “is committed to
protecting the environment as it provides public transit services to northeast Ohio. We will
provide sound business practices that integrate sustainable principles throughout every level of
operation to create a healthier and livable environment for our customers and the community we
serve” (riderta.com).
RTA is an organization that is structured as a political division as was created
under Chapter 306 of the Ohio Revised Code. The board of trustees is charged with managing
and conducting RTA’s affairs as well as establishing overall RTA administrative policies, which
are implemented by the General Manager. Four documents establish the parameters for the
governance of RTA, as well as the powers, responsibilities and duties of RTA, its Board of
Trustees, officers, management and employees.
Due to the increase in jobs in Cleveland along with rising gas prices in the area, ridership
on the RTA has been increasing over the past year. There were 4.3 million rides in March, a
5.3% increase over March 2011. This continues a trend where ridership has increased each
month for 12 months in a row (Breckenridge).
This IMC campaign will center on getting more Cleveland State University students to
use the Cleveland RTA system. Every semester each CSU student is charged $25 for an RTA UPass, which allows the student to use any of the many RTA transports free of charge. This is a
large discount, but unfortunately less than 50% of students actually pick up their U-Pass. The
Cleveland RTA is spending much money in an attempt to reach CSU students in the hopes that
they will use the RTA system, grow accustomed to it, and give them the motivation to continue
to ride the RTA once they graduate. The Cleveland RTA has a unique partnership with CSU, and
it is a shame that less than half the students take advantage of this very exclusive opportunity.
The Executive Management team:
Joseph A. Calabrese
Sheryl King Benford
Stephen J. Bitto
Chief Executive Officer, General Manager/Secretary-Treasurer
General Counsel, Deputy General Manager, Legal Affairs
Director, Marketing & Communications
Research
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
A. Discover why students are/are not using their RTA U-Pass, which they are paying
for through tuition.
B. Discover what feelings and expectations come to student’s minds when they think
of the Cleveland RTA.
C. Learn what changes students recommend to better connect with our target market
and increase ridership.
D. Learn about student’s interest and knowledge of the RTA Facebook page.
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Focus Group
Our focus group was conducted with eight participants ranging in age from 19-23 who
are current CSU students. Five of the participants live on campus while the other three live
within two miles of campus. There were five males and three females.
During the 45 minute long discussion, our goal was to understand how our participants
truly felt about the Cleveland RTA. All participants had heard of the Cleveland RTA. We began
by asking them what they liked best about the Cleveland RTA.
Some of the answers included:
 Appropriate running times of bus. For the most part reliable and there when needed.
o Quote: “I have to get up early and need to be at practice on time at 6am. I live on East
9th so I depend on the bus being there on time.”
 Good for getting to Tower City, Barroom, W. 6th St.
 Saves time.
 Convenient in morning.
 Good in cold weather.
We then asked them what they disliked about the Cleveland RTA riding experience. Answers
included:
 People bothering you.
 Waiting occasionally.
 People asking for money on bus.
 Buses honking horns at night on campus.
o Quote: “Hearing the bus honking in the middle of the night and not being able to
fall back asleep gets old fast.”
 Transit police not always the friendliest.
Now that likes and dislikes were covered, we moved on and had them describe one word that
they would use to describe the Cleveland RTA. The answers were very unflattering.
One word description:
 Gross
 Uncomfortable
 Quiet
 Smelly




Bad on weekends
Waiting
Loud
Creepy
After discussing the participant’s feelings toward the Cleveland RTA, we moved on to the
Facebook page. When asked if they were aware the RTA has a Facebook page, only one of the
participants knew it existed. He said he “liked” the page because he was entered to win a prize if
he did. He did not remember what the prize was as he did not end up winning it. He also said he
currently does not go to the page to check it out.
After the Facebook discussion ended we moved back to the RTA and usage habits. When
asked if they had picked up their RTA U-Pass that they had paid for through tuition, six said they
had while the other two said they had not, with “laziness” and “keep forgetting to pick it up” as
their reasons. They still ride the RTA, however, as there is nobody checking cards during the
school day. It should also be noted that the two live on campus so their need for the pass is not as
essential as those that live off campus.
When the participants were asked if they are more likely to ride the RTA by themselves
or with friends, six said they were more likely to ride with friends. It should be noted that the two
who said they take it more often alone were two of the three participants that live off campus.
Finally, we wrapped up our discussion by asking if any of them had ever taken the Rapid
that goes out of Tower City. Of the eight, three have used the rapid, all to get to the airport. As
opposed to the RTA buses, all three of them have had positive things to say about the Rapid.
Quote: “I took the Rapid with a group of friends and it seemed more organized than the bus.
There is a lot more security, I guess.”
The other two participants agreed with this statement, adding that the turnstiles and
security guards checking tickets made them feel safer.
One last find, and a very interesting find at that, is that everyone agreed that if the RTA
ran an exclusive bus service on the weekends that would run a loop from campus to West 6th St.
where the bars and clubs are it would be used. It should be noted that all were very enthusiastic
about this idea.
Survey
Male
65.00%
Female
35.00%
Do you ride the Cleveland RTA?
Yes 75.00%
No
17-20 years old
45.00%
21-24 years old
50.00%
25+ years old
5.00%
Commute
50.00%
Live on campus
50.00%
Awareness of paying for RTA U-Pass
Yes 100.00%
No
No 0.00%
0.00%
Using RTA U-Pass
Yes 70.00%
No
Have you heard of the Cleveland RTA?
Yes 100.00%
25.00%
30.00%
How finding out about the RTA U-Pass
Friend
30.00%
Professor
5.00%
Letter
5.00%
Counselor
5.00%
Online
5.00%
CSU information
sheets
35.00%
Are you aware you can create a transit route
on website?
Yes 55.00%
No
Have you ever ridden the Cleveland RTA
with friends?
With Friends 70.00%
Alone
Other
15.00%
Other: Looking at tuition bill
Emotion describing RTA experience
Ambivalent 5.00%
Angry
5.00%
Frustrated
20.00%
Nervous
10.00%
Fearful
5.00%
Safe
0.00%
Relaxed
10.00%
Indifferent
35.00%
Other
10.00%
No
65.00%
No
15.00%
Have you ever taken the Rapid from Tower
City?
Yes 45.00%
No
55.00%
Are you aware the Cleveland RTA has a
Facebook page?
Yes 50.00%
50.00%
Have you ever visited the Facebook page?
Yes 20.00%
No
Why have you visited the website?
 Look up information
 For schedules
 Lost and found
 Route information
30.00%
Have you ever suggested to another student
to take the Cleveland RTA to a destination?
Yes 85.00%
No
Have you ever visited RTA website?
Yes 35.00%
45.00%
80.00%
The following are some examples from other questions:
How would you describe yourself?
 Imaginative
 Fun
 Responsible
 Busy
 Athletic
 Stubborn






Emotional
Happy
Motivated
Caring
Personable
Hardworking






Why do you ride the Clevleand RTA?
 Easy way to get to downtown
 Convenient way to get around Cleveland
 Easiest way to get anywhere on Euclid
 Paying for it so may as well use it
 Lazy and don’t want to walk
 Don’t have to buy parking pass
 Saves money and gas
 Have driving and hate gas more than driving
Why don’t you ride the Cleveland RTA?
 Just don’t
 Don’t know
 Not enough security
 Unpleasant people on bus
 Dirty
 Drive own car
If you don’t currently ride the Cleveland RTA, what would make you ride it?
 Better routes
 More frequent bus times
 Extended routes
 More security
 Clean
Shy
Carefree
Introvert
Ambitious
Hates college
Student
RESEARCH CONCLUSIONS
The Cleveland RTA is seen as a convenient way to get around Cleveland, especially to
Tower City and the bars. It is usually dependable when it comes to being on time, but some
believe that it should run more frequently on the weekends. The actual RTA experience of riding
the buses is where most of the weaknesses can be seen, as people find them dirty, smelly,
uncomfortable, unsafe and all around unpleasant. Additionally, although there is a decent
amount of awareness about the website and Facebook page, not many people are actually going
and using them.
SWOT Analysis
STRENGTHS
One of the major strengths of the Cleveland RTA is that the price for the bus passes and
tickets are affordable to the majority of the public, including CSU students. The RTA buses,
since they run on a schedule, are usually reliable and never run too late. The bus schedule, along
with the fact that they run on a consistent 15 minute basis during the morning and evening rush
hours, make the buses convenient for the public, especially for workers. There are also many
varieties of transportation made available by the RTA, including buses, trolleys and the rapid.
Additionally, CSU students are able to use an RTA U-Pass for free, which helps with use and
awareness of the RTA by CSU students. Due to this U-Pass, a large majority of CSU students do
know about the RTA. The RTA Facebook page is also a useful tool to communicate with the
target audience, as their Facebook page is one of the top 3 in the country (viewer-wise) for public
transportation systems. The RTA also gets creative with their advertising, using a lot of nontraditional and buzz marketing to generate awareness.
WEAKNESSES
The main weaknesses of the Cleveland RTA center around the bus experience. Many
riders feel that the buses are not as safe as they could be, and thus tend to avoid them, especially
at night. If the transit police are not on the buses to supervise, or if the drivers are not checking to
see if tickets have been purchased, anyone is able to get onto the bus. Additionally, the buses are
not always to cleanest and best smelling mode of transportation available. There could also not
enough interaction between the RTA and the public.
OPPORTUNITIES
Opportunities for the RTA include the ever-increasing gas prices, which are making
people more reluctant to drive their own cars and are driving them to seek alternative modes of
transportation. People, especially college age students, are becoming more environmentally
conscious, which will lead to a higher use of the RTA’s “green” way to travel. With the high
levels of traffic coming into the city during the morning and evening rush hours, taking the RTA
makes traveling to and from Cleveland easier. As CSU is still primarily a commuter campus,
students who want to avoid the parking issues and traffic will be inclined to use the RTA. As
there is no other public transportation system in Cleveland, the RTA has the opportunity to bring
in a large crowd of new students in the ever growing CSU campus.
THREATS
Threats to the Cleveland RTA involve the other modes of transportation available to
students and commuters alike, including cabs, cars and the Viking Loop. There are also other
eco-friendly vehicles like bikes and eco-friendly cars. The RTA also must be concerned about
any accidents or crime that occurs on or near any of the RTA modes of transportation.
Key Advertising Problems
Cleveland RTA has several advertising problems that need to be solved. One of these
problems include the fact that only about half of the students at Cleveland State activate their
RTA U-Pass and less than half even use the RTA. Another problem that needs to be solved is the
reputation RTA has among the student body. There is a well known reputation of RTA being
unsafe and occasionally late, which is why some refuse to use the RTA.
As a group we will need to figure out a way to dispel these problems. We will be using
research such as online surveys, personal interviews, and focus groups to find out information
that will helps us create a marketing plan, which will fix these problems. The Online Survey will
give us a broad idea as to why people are not getting and using their U-Pass. The Personal
Interviews and focus groups will allow us to find out why people have certain opinions of RTA
and what can be done to change their opinion and make it more desirable for them to ride.
The advertising problems of RTA might include issues like not enough exposure of RTA
to the target audience and public. With RTA’s low budget for advertising, the use of more
traditional advertisements can be too expensive. Therefore more non-traditional types of
advertising are being implemented. The issue with this is that one needs to try and get the same
(or better) exposure that traditional advertising acquires.
Objectives




To increase the percentage of Cleveland State Students to pick up their RTA U-pass
(about 50% of students currently do) by 20%, by the end of the first year.
To Increase the number of people who follow or “like” the RTA Facebook page to
20,000 by the end of the first year (currently at about 13,000).
To increase the number of students who use the Cleveland RTA by 20%, by the end of
the first year, as determined by a before and after survey.
To increase awareness of the RTA among the student body at Cleveland State, so that
everyone surveyed has heard of the brand.
Target Audience
The target audience will be all students who currently attend Cleveland State University.
They are aged between 18-25years old. We chose to target them because this age group either
will not have a car, or will more likely not have a very high income that goes towards paying for
the added expenses of having a car (gas, parking passes). The RTA pass is included in their
overall fees so these students have access to the RTA system. We also are targeting the younger
students as they are more likely to get involved in using the RTA and are open to new things.
Within this target audience are two types of students:
On campus: This refers to all students who currently live on campus. They either live in the
university dorm or in an apartment in the city of Cleveland on-campus.
Off campus/commuter: This refers to all students who attend the university, yet have to commute
every day. They need to travel to and from home to campus nearly every day. They will be the
ones who have a bigger issue with gas and mileage.
Brand Position
The RTA is positioned as a public transportation company that offers low cost
transportation around the greater Cleveland area to Cleveland State University students. They
offer an alternative to high gas prices and vehicle mileage issues, thus also offering an
environmentally sustainable mode of transport for our environmentally conscious riders.
Campaign Strategy
1) Use forms of non-traditional guerilla marketing around the Cleveland State Campus.
2) Use direct mail to create awareness and inform students of the RTA U-pass website and
Facebook page, primarily so they will visit the site and pick up their U-Pass upon arrival
at campus.
3) RTA sponsored events on campus to create awareness of the brand.
4) Update Facebook page more frequently and offer promotions and incentives on the
Facebook page.
5) Use a small amount of traditional advertising to create a fully integrated marketing
campaign.
Key Consumer Insight
The target audience sees the Cleveland RTA as an unclean, unsafe and stressful way to ride.
Although there is awareness of the RTA and their Facebook page, members of the target
audience are reluctant to use it. Research has showed, however, that there are ways to reach this
target audience of Cleveland State University students, and by engaging them in a more
interactive way they will respond positively to the RTA brand .
Main Idea
This campaign will use interactive and buzz-inducing marketing techniques that will have
a primary focus on non-traditional, cost effective media. By creating a more fun and engaging
brand experience, the Cleveland RTA can successfully reach and increase the target market of
Cleveland State University students.
Message Objectives
CONNECT THE CLEVELAND RTA TO CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS BY
REACHING THEM IN AN ENGAGING AND INTERACTIVE WAY AND OFFERING EXCLUSIVE
PRIZES AND PROMOTIONS, WHICH WILL BUILD AWARENESS AND LASTING FAVORABILITY
OF THE CLEVELAND RTA.
Increase the Cleveland RTA presence at CSU events: Cleveland State University often
holds special events to bring students together. These events include The Weeks of
Welcome, Vikefest, Winterfest, and Springfest (csuohio.edu). At the events, run by the
Cleveland State Campus Activities Board, students can play games, eat, and learn more
about student groups. Starting Fall 2012, The Cleveland RTA will have a presence there
as well by having an information booth where students can pick up pamphlets and
brochures about RTA and its routes. Additionally, we will bring a cut out of the front of
an RTA bus, and will allow students to get their picture taken in the bus driver’s seat.
These events are prime outlets to reach CSU students and engage with them in a fun and
interactive setting.
“RTA Party Trolley”: One of our main findings of our research was that students like to
go out to the bars on Friday and Saturday night, but are reluctant to use the Cleveland
RTA and instead opt to spend money and take a cab to their destination. This destination
is primarily the bar and club scene on West 6th street. By creating an exclusive “Party
Trolley” for only CSU students that is a direct shuttle from campus to West 6th Street, we
can begin to change the behaviors of students and make the RTA their 1st choice when it
comes to nighttime transportation. By creating a fun, hip environment inside these
trolleys, and allowing CSU students to bring one guest with them on their ride, students
will now have a safe, reliable, and cost effective way to travel to their party destinations.
These trolleys will run on a continuous 15 minute loop from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday
and Saturday nights.
RTA Direct Mail Letter: In order to increase awareness of the Cleveland RTA before
incoming students even arrive at school, a direct mail letter will be sent out a few weeks
before classes begin to the households of every incoming freshman and transfer student
explaining the RTA’s relationship with Cleveland State University. The letter will discuss
the RTA U-Pass promotion, as well as provide information about the RTA web site and
how students can use the RTA to travel and explore Cleveland. Students will also be
encouraged to become a fan of the Facebook and Twitter pages in order to receive special
prizes and promotions. By reaching out to students before they even get to campus the
RTA can get a head start on achieving acceptance and lasting favorability of their brand
from these new students.
Banners: In order to generate awareness of the RTA among students once they reach
campus, welcome banners will be placed on the Student Center building and inside the
atrium as well. These banners will be placed during the beginning of each semester, and
will make sure the RTA has a presence on the CSU campus that every student will be
able to see. By introducing the RTA as a welcoming, positive brand, students will be sure
to pick up their U-Pass and experience a ride on the RTA.
ENHANCE THE SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE OF THE CLEVELAND RTA
Social networking is one of the most important, and cost effective, ways to target Cleveland state
University students. The overwhelming majority of our target audience uses social networking,
and we will focus on Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook
We plan to build onto what the Cleveland RTA fan page already has by creating promotions and
contests that will draw the target audience to the page while cultivating a positive association
with the RTA. The fan page will include:
“Fun” and “interactive” questions that will be relevant to our target audience. Sample
questions will include, “Where are you riding the RTA to today?” or “What was your
favorite RTA riding experience?” These questions will allow for better interaction with
the target audience, and effective 2-way communication that will help to gain further
consumer insights.
Updates on route information (alerts for broken down buses and traffic), along with
giving the weather each morning.
“Cleveland RTA Scavenger Hunt” promotion: During the fall and spring, the RTA will
create a scavenger hunt that will be a fun and interactive experience for the target market.
The scavenger hunt will begin by the RTA putting a list onto the Facebook page of
Cleveland attractions that can be reached by riding the RTA, including Tower City,
Progressive Field, The Cleveland Museum of Art, etc. Those who wish to participate
must upload a picture of themselves at the location with their RTA U-Pass sticker in the
picture as well. This will get CSU students out of campus and exploring the city in a fun
way while using the RTA. Once a student has uploaded pictures of themselves at every
location, they will win an RTA themed prize.
“Snap Me Bus” promotion: We will specially wrap 2 RTA buses with a unique bus wrap
encouraging onlookers to “Snap Me…if You Can!” These buses will go out once a
month, and the first 50 CSU students who upload a picture of the bus onto the Facebook
page will receive an RTA themed prize.
“Rider of the Week” promotion: Each week, the CSU student who uploads the most
unique photo that includes the RTA logo onto the Facebook page will be named the
“RTA Rider of the Week,” and will receive an RTA themed prize.
Twitter
The Cleveland RTA Twitter page will be synched up with the Facebook page, allowing
followers to participate in all the same promotions as Facebook followers. This is yet
another outlet to connect with CSU students, and will help to create a more
comprehensive social media plan.
ENHANCE THE PRESENCE OF THE CLEVELAND RTA’S SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PROJECTS
Once each semester, the Cleveland RTA will put on a “Pack the Bus” rally at Cleveland
State University. This will be a charitable event, and will involve placing an empty bus
on campus for a week and inviting students, faculty, and staff alike to donate supplies,
gifts, food, etc. by placing them in the empty bus. At the end of the week, the bus full of
supplies and goods will be driven to the Salvation Army (or other charitable organization
in Cleveland) to be given to those in need. This will be a great public relations tool for
the Cleveland RTA to use, and will allow for awareness and acceptance of the RTA
brand among students. These events will also generate media coverage, allowing for a
positive association from the community towards the RTA and CSU.
Media Objectives
The primary media objective of this campaign is to increase awareness and acceptance of
the Cleveland RTA by Cleveland State University students. This will be done by using
primarily non-traditional media outlets and buzz marketing.
The secondary media objective will be to create a more interactive social networking
experience that will engage CSU students and bring a greater acceptance and lasting
favorability of the Cleveland RTA.
Media selection
OUTDOOR BANNER ADVERTISING
Banners will be placed on the front of main classroom and in the atrium of the student center at
Cleveland State University for the 1st month of the fall, spring, and summer semesters. The
banner will say “RTA Welcomes Students to Cleveland State University,” and will reach all
CSU students with a high level of frequency, as students will see these banners every time they
pass these areas.
Budget Breakdown
2: 6’x25’ banners at $900.00 each = $1,800.00
(vinylbannersrus.com)
DIRECT MAIL
The direct mail letter will be mailed out to all incoming CSU freshmen and transfer students
beginning in August of 2012. The direct mail letter will then be mailed out to this same group
before every new semester .
Budget Breakdown
3,000 direct mail letters at $0.44 per letter (mailing costs) + $200 for paper = $1,500.00
INTERNET
Skyscraper ads will be placed on the Cleveland State University website home page
(www.csuohio.edu). The ads will look like the banners that will be placed on buildings around
the school during the first several weeks of the semester. Those who click on the ads will be
directed to the Cleveland RTA home page (www.riderta.com). These ads will promote both high
reach and frequency, as all Cleveland State University students see this home page when they log
onto the internet on a school computer, as well as when they need to go onto Blackboard or
check their account on Campusnet. The ads will be placed on the home page during the first and
last months of the fall and spring semesters.
Budget breakdown
1 Skyscraper ad at $2,000.00/month for 4 months = $8,000.00
(bigpictureweb.com)
BUS WRAPS
We will wrap 2 RTA Buses with the “Snap Me” bus wrap, to be used for the Facebook contests.
We will also wrap 2 “Party trolleys” that will be used to shuttle CSU students from campus to
West 6th Street and back on the weekends.
Budget Breakdown
4 bus wraps at $3,000.00 per wrap = $12,000.00
(bigideawraps.com)
RTA BOOTH
This RTA booth will be placed on the lawn between the students center and library (or inside the
student center if bad weather) during CSU events (Weeks of Welcome, Winterfest, etc.)
Budget Breakdown
Printing costs of RTA information/creation of bus cutout = $1,000.00
SOCIAL NETWORKING
The social networking will consist of cost of prizes that will go to participants in the Cleveland
RTA Scavenger Hunt, “Snap Me Bus,” and RTA Rider of the Week promotions.
Budget Breakdown
Prizes and promotions (about 1,000 winners in total) = $4,000.00
Media Budget
$1,800.00
$1,000.00
Outdoor Banners
$1,500.00
$4,000.00
Direct Mail Letters
$8,000.00
$12,000.00
Internet Skyscraper Ads
Bus Wraps
RTA Booth
Social Networking Prizes and
Promotions
Total Media Budget: $28,300
Campaign Timeline
August 2012
September
2012
October 2012
•Send out direct mail RTA welcome letter
•Place welcome banners on Student Center and in Atrium
•Begin Social Networking campaign
•Begin bus wraps and Party Trolley
•Skyscraper ad on www.csuohio.edu
•RTA booth at CSU welcome fest
•Continue Social Networking campaign
•Continue bus wraps and Party Trolley
November
2012
• Continue Social Networking campaign
• Continue bus wraps and Party Trolley
• Mid -November: skyscraper ad on www.csuohio.edu
• "Pack the Bus" rally mid-November
December
2012
• Continue Social Networking campaign
• Continue bus wraps and Party Trolley (unitl end of semester mid-December)
• Skyscraper ad contiunues to run on www.csuohio.edu until end of semester
January 2013
• Send out direct mail welcome letter to incoming students
• Place welcome banners on student center and in atrium
• RTA booth at CSU welcome fest
• Continue social networking campaign
• Skyscraper ad runs on www.csuohio.edu starting beginning of semester
• Bus wraps and Party Trolley start up at beginning of semester
February
2013
March 2013
April 2013
May 2013
•Skyscraper ad runs on www.csuohio.edu until mid-February
•Continue Social Networking campaign
•Bus wraps and Party Trolley continue
•Continue Social Networking campaign
•Bus wraps and Party Trolley continue
•"Pack the Bus" rally mid-April
•Mid-April: skyscraper ad on www.csuohio.edu
•Continue Social Networking campaign
•Bus wraps and Party Trolley continue
•Skyscraper ad will continue on www.csuohio.edu until end of
semester
•Bus wraps and Party Trolley will continue until end of the semester
•Social Networking campaign continues until end of semester
Evaluation
Every time a new marketing campaign is developed it is important to measure the
effectiveness before, during, and after the campaign. This is important because it will help us
clearly see where we started and where we ended up as far as changes in not only RTA ridership,
but also Facebook traffic and student awareness.
We will start our research of effectiveness by looking at the current Facebook page. Right
now RTA has about 13,000 people that “like” their page. Our objective is to increase the “likes”
in RTA’s Facebook page to 20,000 by the end of the year. We plan on attracting people to go to
the RTA Facebook page by advertising at Cleveland State events and giving away promotional
items to students who “like” the page. This will also help us gain awareness for the RTA page.
Once the students like the page, we will then use the page to promote more incentives to ride the
RTA, such as discounts at local bars or stores.
Another way we will measure effectiveness prior to our campaign is to continue to take
polls and use statistics provided by RTA that shows their ridership numbers. We will also use
statistics provided by Cleveland State that shows the percentage of students that have collected
their U-Pass. The U-Pass is currently used by about 50% of the Cleveland State students. We
want to increase this percentage by 20% at the end of the year. At this point we will check with
Cleveland State and RTA weekly to see the changes in the ridership numbers and adjust our
campaign based on the statistics.
We will check weekly because each week we will be sending out a different promotion
with the local bars and stores to people who ride and “like” the Facebook page. In our weekly
check we will then be able to see how the promotion performed. There are some variables that
we will need to check on during these promotions. Some of these variables will include gas
prices, time of the day, day of the week, and weather. These variables will help us gain a very
detailed analysis as to whether our promotion worked and when it worked best. In the future, in
about three months, we will then be able to alter our plan and offer different promotions daily,
instead of weekly to increase ridership based on our past promotional success. At this point we
will be checking in with RTA and Cleveland State each day to see how the daily promotions are
working.
At the end of the campaign we want to be able to look at our campaign and see that we
have achieved our objectives. Our objectives are to increase the amount of students that known
about RTA U-Pass to 70% at the end of the year, increase the RTA Facebook likes, and increase
awareness. If we achieve these goals the campaign will be a success. We also plan on doing
focus groups, random polling, and individual interviews with people at the end of the campaign
to see if and how much their view of RTA has changed.
Works Cited
Big Picture Internet Marketing Ideas website. www.bigpictureweb.com.
Breckenridge, Tom. (2012, April 18). RTA, Regional Transit Systems Seeing Renewed
Demand from Riders. The Plain Dealer.
Cleveland State University website. www.csuohio.edu.
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority website. www.riderta.com.
Vehicle Wraps website. www.bigideawraps.com.
Vinyl Banners R Us website. www.vinylbannersrus.com.