Proven Public Transit Marketing Strategies with Evan Henderson, Sr. Account Manager at Garth Solutions

Welcome to Stop Requested, the podcast where we discuss everything transit. I’m your cohost, Levi McCollum, director of operations at ETA Transit. And I’m your cohost, Christian Londono, senior customer success manager at ETA Transit.

Welcome back to Stop Requested. Christian, how are you doing?

Doing excellent, Levi. How about yourself? Doing very well. We’ve got another interview in store for our listeners today. We’re going to be speaking with Evan Henderson, the senior account manager at Garth Solutions.

Evan, how are you? I’m doing great, Levi and Christian. Thank you so much for having me on. Yeah, this is a real pleasure.

You know, we we’ve known each other for a little while. Obviously you worked at PalmTram with Christian and me. So we’re excited to see, you know, what you’re up to now and also get your take on some transit marketing.

Yeah, I’m really excited to talk to. You know, for our listeners, they might not know who you are. Can you give us some background and, you know, just share with them what your experience is in public transit?

Yeah, well, you know, I am born and raised in Broward County, Florida. And so I think my first experience, you know, riding public transit was in high school when my mom would drop me off at school and I would ride public transit back to my house to get to where I needed to go.

And, you know, years later, I never knew that it would end up into a career in public transit. I started off at PalmTram as the marketing manager and, you know, quickly dove into some projects there and had the opportunity to stay there for a little bit, worked as the senior public relations manager for a while, working on all sorts of different transit projects.

And then just recently, I wasn’t planning on leaving, but Garth Solutions made me an offer really I couldn’t refuse.

And now I’m in the world of consulting for different transit agencies and projects. And I just love it.

I just love everything about transit. So I’m really passionate and I think I’m looking forward to a good conversation where I know that you guys are passionate about this topic as well. Most definitely.

And, you know, in this podcast, we talk about everything transit and, you know, we talk about, you know, automated vehicles, you know, transition to EV, we talk about, you know, planning for routes and even swag for transit agencies, but one of the aspects that we haven’t touched on is marketing.

And telling the transit story and why, you know, marketing public transit is so important. So Evan, I want to ask you a couple of questions just to get your take on this.

So first is what drew you into the world of public transit marketing? Well, I think a lot of people in transit kind of find themselves in just stumbling into the transit world.

And so I am certainly one without exception that also followed along that path. You know, I had a strong passion for marketing, but never really knew where that would take me.

I interned at the city of Tampa and that was really my entrance into government marketing. But then, you know, one day I think I just stumbled across an advertisement for Palm

Tran, didn’t even know what they did, didn’t know that that type of marketing even existed. And I just hit apply and here I am today. So, you know, I think the passion kind of developed over time and the more that I learned about the operation side, the planning side, the governmental affairs.

I just really fell in love with everything that public transit stood for and the opportunity really that you have to create meaningful opportunity for others through the services that public transit offers.

So what would you say, why is marketing public transit different from other industries? I think one key difference that you look for, especially compared to the private market, is the amount of tools that you really have at your disposal to market.

Now we’re living in an AI forward world where you get to have these different tools and learn about them.

But I think marketing for public transit is one of the most difficult sectors to be in just because of the time constraints and the personnel constraints that sometimes you might face yourself with.

And so using and leveraging those tools to automate things and find out new information can certainly help you, I think, evolve in your space.

I think you’re also talking to a very broad audience where other industries might be a little bit more niched.

And so for public transit, I mean, you’re talking to government officials, you’re talking to riders, you’re talking to choice ridership and people that don’t currently ride.

And so you need a lot of public input to make a transit system viable and to encourage people to use it.

And that’s the thing, like the perception of public transit, you spoke about elected officials, which, you know, in many cases they don’t ride the transit system and choice riders, some of them ride the transit system, some choose not to, right?

They drive their own vehicle or people that are currently not taking public transit, maybe because they’ve never taken it, they’ve never been exposed to it.

So, you know, how does effective marketing help change public perception of transit? I think it changes it tremendously.

I think you look at places, even if transit, public transit is one of the main ways that people get to where they’re going in these large metropolitan areas like New York or Boston, to even places where it’s not as public transit centric, it might be, you know, more cars on the road, having advocacy and marketing really helps change the public perception because you can show the benefits. I mean. I think a lot of times people don’t even know about it. And so you can’t really expect people to make choices to go towards public transit if they don’t know about it. And so showing off the benefits of public transit is really important to helping change that public perception and to show people really how safe, easy and convenient it is to get to where they need to go without a car.

And when you approach those people, or you come across the people who might not be so familiar with public transit, or, you know, let’s just say they’re adverse to public transit. They’re more on the automobile side of the argument. How do you sell them? What do you say are the community wide benefits that would propel a public transportation system and make it more of a forefront of the community? I think I’m talking to different agencies and local elected officials who are responsible for implementing such things and dollar amounts to afford towards public transit systems.

I really like to tell them that public transit isn’t just about moving people to places, but it’s about the possibilities that you can use with it. And so whether that’s someone that needs to go to the grocery store or go to their job and have a reliable means to get there. That type of storytelling and community benefits, I think, really resonates with people because, you know, they’re just like us. They want to just live their life and get to where they need to go. And so that is one of the things that I always like to kind of preach a little bit is that, you know, that’s what public transit can do for you and for your community.

Do you have a specific example, Evan, of maybe a project that you’ve worked on where you’ve helped the community realize the benefits of public transportation? Yeah, you know, one of my favorite marketing campaigns that I think I got to work on during my time at PalmTran was the Let’s Get on the Bus Challenge. And essentially what we wanted to do is challenge the public to ride public transportation if they haven’t before.

PalmTran had been in the community for over 50 years, and there are a lot of iconic spots in Palm Beach County. And so we wanted to encourage people who hadn’t ridden to ride before, encourage people that were currently riding to continue to ride more. And we also invited some of those local leaders to share the same vision for public transportation in the future. So we did this through a challenge where if you joined us on riding and we would set up a day where you got to try the bus with these local leaders, and you would be able to amass people to your team. So we kind of made a competition style to see who could build the largest team and, you know, win. So that was one of the campaigns I think I’m most proud of and had the most fun on.

Yeah, I came across that campaign on LinkedIn, I believe. I know that PalmTran has a pretty big presence on social media. And the thing that really stood out to me there was the number of public officials that were participating in that program, in that advertising campaign. It really makes the difference to have the people at the top also using the system. And, you know, eventually, or I guess ideally, they are going back to their constituents and preaching the benefits of public transportation. So you gain an advocate by giving them a good experience on the bus.

Yeah, exactly. And I think one of the reasons that campaign was so successful, and it wasn’t a mistake that we invited, you know, which people we invited to participate, a lot of people heard about it and wanted to join themselves. And so I think what made it particularly successful, though, is the fact that we were able to show the benefits and show what it was like for a real rider to ride. You know, I think Christian mentioned that some people have never ridden public transit before. And so gaining that first firsthand experience was really important in showing them the benefits and the challenges that they could help out with.

Yeah, I think that, you know, one piece is elected officials and some of those stakeholders that they’re critical, especially if you’re able to bring some of those elected officials as advocates. And then now, when decisions are being made about public transit, not only they got to ride the system, but, you know, they were pretty much promoting it and telling people in their community to use it. So, you pretty much make them pro-transit in a way, and it’s more likely that you get them, you know, as advocates, as supporters of the transit initiatives.

The other piece is also involving the community, and we spoke a little bit about the public outreach, going out there and getting folks involved. So, in terms of an effective public outreach, I want to ask you, what are some of the best practices for conducting meaningful public outreach in transit projects? I think some of the best practices that people are using now.

are honing in on which avenues and which to relay some of their messaging and meet with the public. So, you know, like I mentioned earlier, there’s a variety of tools that you have, but it’s also just as important to use those online tools as it is in person and make those connections in person, especially when we’re talking about, you know, the populations and communities that can often be overlooked. Those that don’t speak

English as a first language or, you know, those that have disabilities that might need certain attention to. And so it’s really important to make sure that you’re reaching out to people and putting yourself out there first, not just waiting for them to see the information that you’re posting somewhere, but really going and being proactive about chasing down the different audiences that you want to look at some of those materials and, you know, take action because of it. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And, you know, following up on that, some of our listeners might be in the marketing, transit marketing space, and they might be curious to know what types of content or events have been most more successful in your campaigns?

I think the type of content that’s been most successful has definitely been short-term video. And, you know, it’s been an explosion in the marketing world in the past several years, whether you’re on TikTok or Instagram or Facebook’s incorporating Reels along with YouTube.

Short video content has been a way for people to leverage their story in short, packageable moments and really showcase what an experience might look like if people can’t be there to experience it.

Another type of way is through local community events. I think whenever you’re able to make those connections in person, people often might scroll past some of those videos and pictures, but they certainly will remember an event and how you made them feel. And so that’s probably one tip that I would give away to, you know, continue to make those campaigns successful.

And I would imagine, you know, back to what you said earlier, is meet them where they are, right? Like, hold these type of events at a transit hub or even sometimes in the buses or in places where they already are at. You know, I know that a lot of the times when we ask for public input, you know, sometimes agencies, we tend to coordinate meetings at a time where, you know, riders would never be able to attend really. So every time that, you know, you’re planning to hold an event where riders are not, it’s of course by default going to be very difficult to get their participation. So definitely meet them where they are.

Yeah, I definitely agree. I mean, meeting people where they’re at is probably, you know, one of the most important tools that a marketer has in their tool bag. And, you know, I would say too, whether you have audio announcements on board or any type of digital tool, you can help maximize your reach through some of those digital tools, but there’s nothing like being in person.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. You know, just thinking about how transit agencies market now, I get the sense that a lot of the times the agency just feels like they’re pushing the information out, right? We’ve got a service change coming up, so you need to be informed about this event, right? How do we change that? So rather than just pushing the information out, the folks that are writing the service are actually involved in some of the marketing.

How do you pull them in? One way that I think that agencies can go beyond just informing the public to actually involving them is by picking those community advocates and leaning on them to help assist you. If you’re, you know, a one person team or, you know, even if you have a team of five and you’re expanding across a relatively large, dense area, you really need those people that are already involved in the community that believe in your mission to further amplify your message. And so building those connections and partnerships is essential and really, really important to getting in front of the people that you want to inform and engage with.

So it’s really a collaborative effort. You guys know in planning that the planning process involves lots of different people, whether it’s operators and operations to the community and riders themselves. Getting that engagement from them and just listening with an open perspective and inviting people to just share what they want and their opinions is really valuable information.

And so just creating a space that’s opening and welcoming to that. And just a follow-up to that, Evan, you know, engaging the public is one thing and you can pull them in, right, if you have the right tactics. But it’s also important to be able to maintain them, to be able to garner trust and continue getting that participation in the transit service, right? So it’s not just some folks in an ivory tower that are kind of dictating what, you know, what the service is doing, but you’re actually involving the public in the planning process, right? And as a result of being in the planning process, they’re kind of part of your little marketing cohort in a way.

They’re almost an extension of your staff if you can gain that type of trust with them. What would you say would be some advice, or do you have any advice for transit agencies who are looking to build that trust with their community? What would they say? do? Consistency is one of the most important things I think, you know, consistency and showing up and being available for anyone, whether they have a need. When you get to know a person or, you know, a community leader that you can trust and lean on, just be, you know, sharing that passion that you have for transit I find is just infectious, but actually showing up and being available, you know, again and again and again to show your face lets them know that they can trust you and I think that you’re more likely to find that you’ll get good participation from them.

Yeah, definitely the consistency is an important piece because they know that you’re coming often to meet up with them and, you know, gather their feedback and I think transparency.

It’s very important to be able to, you know, let them know the state of affairs of things altogether when it comes to disruption management and even when services are delayed and so on.

When the agency always puts communication out there and keeping the riders informed, it helps them gain that trust. So, you know, connected to what you just said, that consistency is what builds that relationship and builds that trust. I want to ask you about some of your go-to marketing tools. You know, you mentioned there’s different tools out there marketers can use today and now with AI there’s even more things that are coming up, but what would you say is your favorite marketing platform for outreach?

My favorite, I’ll take two different approaches to this. I really love Instagram just because I’m a user of Instagram and TikTok. I love those short video clips that you can learn about people’s personalities and the way that they move and either the product they offer or the story behind it. And so, for me, a personal favorite is Instagram, but I think, you know, for public for public transit, there’s nothing like in-person. You know, the more that you can be out on the bus in front of the community of riders or potential riders or elected officials, no matter who your audience is, I think being in person and having some sort of event is key.

So, as a follow-up to that, what would be one campaign that you’re particularly proud of? I mentioned it a little bit before, but the Get on the Bus challenge was really important to me and one that I’m particularly proud of because of the sheer amount of dedication and effort it took for, you know, our team to execute on it. We did 16 or 17 different rides. We had paid advertisements and reached about 2 million people in the span of three months with that campaign. And this was before any service changes took place. So, you know, I will take a little bit of credit for moving the needle in ridership where that pushed us over the edge of recovering for pre-COVID ridership. So, it’s one that, you know, I hold particularly dear to my heart and

I hope that if any other transit agency out there wants to steal it, please do, please do. Yeah, thank you for offering for agencies to copy from that campaign. And I would imagine later on when we provide some contact information of yours that they’ll be able to reach out and learn more about that campaign. I want to ask you, what would be one mistake transit agencies should avoid when marketing transit? What would be one mistake that, you know, that pitfall that you would say, you know, be on the lookout for this, don’t do that? I think one mistake that we can all find ourselves, you know, easily in is doing stuff for the sake of doing stuff. So, you know, I’m one that likes to have a plan and, you know, a strategy and know where I’m going. And so, any time that you can take to take just a wider step back and look at, you know, why are we making this flyer?

Why are we making this video? Is there a different way that we can present it? Just having some sort of brainstorming session and, you know, relying on good people on your team, the experts in the industry to make things the best as possible. You know, having a plan is super important. So, that’s one mistake that agencies should avoid, you know, in marketing. So, that’s a good one, Evan.

If, you know, I had to sum all this up from the conversation that we’ve had. It seems like it’s a good idea to have a plan, to keep telling the story of the transit agency. You know, who’s writing, who’s benefiting from it and why. Find your champion from maybe an elected official or it could be a prominent citizen. And then be consistent and transparent in your message.

Anything else that you would add there? No, I think that, you know, we covered a lot of ground. But if people would like to learn more about, you know, any of the initiatives that we’ve done or brainstorm some new ones, I always like talking to other people in marketing for transit. You know, you can find me on LinkedIn or email me at evan.garstolutions.com. Evan, thank you for joining us for this episode of Stop Requested and sharing your insight in terms of marketing for public transit. I know there’s different listeners out there that are going to appreciate your takeaways and also offering your free consulting.

Just one email away. And I ask our listeners to tune in for another episode of Stop Requested. We release a new episode every Monday. And again, thank you for listening in.