Transit Companies that Nailed Experiential Marketing

REEFExperiential Marketing Blog
Successful Transit marketing examples
Service-based industries like transit can be heavily regulated, but that does not mean they aren’t able to create and launch incredibly creative transit marketing campaigns. This is where experiential campaigns can serve service-based industries well. We’ve seen activations that turn people’s concepts of the service on their head to ignite excitement, maybe get in on the joke and provide an experience that shakes up the mundane nature of their business. Often the service is the experience so up-levelling that experience will get conversations started in a good way. Below we explore two transit marketing campaigns that drove brand awareness and loyalty through innovative thinking and deployment.

Uber’s Mobile Office Hours

Let’s dig into a great example of an experiential marketing campaign making transit cool. You’ve heard of Uber, the incredibly popular ride-sharing company. Working to juxtapose some of the public-facing issues their company experienced, Uber partnered with PayPal for a transit marketing campaign during LeWeb in Paris called Meet the Speakers, Mobile Office Hours. Attendees took a 30-minute ride around town with event speakers and presenters. During their Uber ride, participants could ask questions and make connections with high-level executives which, despite not walking away with physical products, left them with a very positive impression of Uber.

York Transit’s Grand Opening

Another example of a company taking their transit marketing efforts outside the box is York Regional Transit. Reef Agency partnered with York Regional Transit to open six new subway stations. Working to infuse fun into an otherwise mundane (and sometimes frustrating) aspect of everyone’s daily commute, Reef filled subway entrances with exceptionally talented musicians, jugglers, and artists. Our staff manned subway lines handing out York Transit swag, goodies and creative and informative materials encouraging subway riders to learn more about York Transit initiatives.

Launch your own transit experiential marketing campaign

Just because your business lives within a regulated industry doesn’t mean that you cannot be a disruptor, think outside the regulation book and make your brand stand out.