EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK Strategic Messaging Sharing the best, ready for the worst. T 6 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | APRIL/MAY 2017 Editorial Advisory Board Andrew Johnson Chief Operating Officer Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Gary Thomas President/ Executive Director Dallas Area Rapid Transit Keith Jones, P.E. General Manager M-1 Rail Kristen Joyner Executive Director South West Transit Association Matthew Tucker Executive director North County Transit District Patrick LeClerc President & Chief Executive Officer Canadian Urban Transit Association Paul Larousse Director National Transit Institute he role of marketing and communications has been in the news a lot lately with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, the recent Pepsi ad and several back-to-back incidents with United Airlines. But let’s start on a positive note. A recent commercial by Västtrafi k, a transportation agency in Sweden, was also making the rounds in social media and a variety of media outlets. Fade in, powerful, ambiguous sleek contours of some sophisticated vehicle. Que dramatic music and the buzz of electricity. Words systematically emerge emphasizing the cutting-edge technology, such as “Electrifi ed,” “Delegated Driving” and “Sustainable.” It escalates to a dramatic fi nish. Two headlights and the text “Th e Future of Mobility.” As the lights come on, a bus is revealed. It’s a fantastic ad for its creativity in mocking the buzz around self-driving cars. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth the view. People are talking about the possibility of futuristic vehicles driving them around while they can do things other than driving … yet that is something available to them in many areas right now. Th e irony. It made me think of a tweet exchange from earlier this year. @Uber- Facts tweeted: “If each New York City taxi carried 10 people and if every patron agreed to ride-share, the city wouldn’t need 85% of its taxi fl eet.” To which there was a reply: “Hi, this is called ‘a bus.’” Granted in many areas the buses might not be as high tech and if it’s an area that’s woefully underfunded and you’re dealing with hour headways, you’re not going to win people over. But in how many areas is it that the preconceived notion is keeping riders at bay? A similar concept for an ad was done by Capital Metro in Austin from several years back when it was launching MetroRapid (MassTransitmag. com/12325794). Also defi nitely worth the watch. On to the negative side of marketing and communications gone wrong. While there are many things that contributed to the backlash faced by United, there were a number of articles pointing to a crucial contributing factor: the head of communications reports to the head of human resources and labor relations, not the CEO. Th e airlines industry has a lot of scenarios that could be similar to public transportation, such as weather delays, unruly passengers, maintenance issues or even catastrophic events. PR professionals have been chiming in online saying that for a company with the ongoing potential for crisis, there needs to be a direct line of communication between the CEO and the one most qualifi ed in giving advice in crisis communications — the head of PR. Th e last month has off ered some good lessons to be learned from when it comes to communicating what we off er and being prepared for any crisis. Leah Harnack, Editor Västtrafi k “The future of mobility. As usual.” MassTransitmag.com/12324284
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