Bustang

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) tasked Amélie with raising awareness and increasing use of the Bustang service that connects local transit systems statewide, providing affordable and accessible transportation.

Colorado residents tend to over-depend on driving, whether that be for convenience and flexibility, avoidance of public transit and crowded spaces in the post-COVID era, or a variety of other reasons. CDOT estimates that non-driving modes account for just 9.6% of all trips across the state (Colorado Transportation Vision 2035 Report). CDOT is working to get single-occupant cars off the road to mitigate traffic congestion and increase safety, and riding Bustang is a great way to do that!

To execute on our goal to increase trips via bus to destinations across the state for recreation (skiing, hiking, etc.), commuting, or for essential service (running errands in the city, attending medical appointments, etc.), Bustang marketing efforts were structured as integrated initiatives meant to reach all kinds of people in a variety of ways (no one-size-fits-all approach, here!):

• Paid Media: We utilized media consumption data and audience profile building tools to develop a statewide campaign of a variety of tactics, ranging from general awareness to hyper-targeted and traffic-driving. We developed engaging assets for the media buys to most effectively reach our target riders.
• Earned Media: We identified newsworthy information and resources, building relationships in the community and with media, and amplified our message across media outlets (with statewide- and regionally-focused strategies).
• Owned Media: We took advantage of our existing platforms that we control, e.g., our websites, social media, buses, CDOT channels, etc., to share our message with people who already have a vested interest and are looking to learn more and collect resources.
• Community Engagement: We built relationships with countless existing partners statewide (local organizations and municipalities), and identified new partners as appropriate to spread our message and resources to new communities. We worked with these partners to amplify our message in a way that will resonate with their communities and following. Community engagement also included attendance at many events, which created opportunities to connect with individuals in a tailored and meaningful way to share news about Bustang.

• Amélie was a key partner in promoting the recent pilot service expansion that resulted in ridership increases across the board.
• In the last year, the Bustang brand amassed over 250 million impressions, including over 1.3 million website sessions.
• Bustang and Amélie won two South West Transit Association marketing and communications awards — the “Spotlight” award for the integrated campaign and a “Hit the Spot” award for the social media partnership with I-70 Things that netted viral engagement metrics of over 2.3 million views and over 185K interactions over 10 posts.