by Global-5 Posted on Jun 24, 2024
Global-5 congratulates client Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District Five on its big win in the 2024 Florida Travel Choices Awards. District Five brought home Florida Travel Choices’ Marketing Excellence Award for its reThink Your Commute’s CraneRIDES public outreach campaign, which Global-5 developed and executed to bring attention to an innovative transportation alternative.
“Working on the reThink Your Commute project is an incredibly rewarding experience for all of us at Global-5,” John Hamill, Global-5 Executive Vice President, said. Hamill is also the program manager on the reThink Your Commute project. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to contribute to a solution that enhances transportation options and makes a positive impact on our community.”
This marks the second year in a row that reThink Your Commute has earned the Marketing Excellence Award. In 2023, Florida Travel Choices honored reThink Your Commute for its Retro Look campaign, which conveyed the benefits of alternative transportation that commuters might not otherwise consider. The campaign featured a distinctive visual look inspired by the Depression-era Works Progress Administration series created for the National Parks Service.
CraneRIDES, a fully electric and autonomous shuttle pilot, premiered in the City of Altamonte Springs, Florida in July 2023. It offers a clean, reliable, safe, and efficient transit option in the Uptown Altamonte business district. Parking and driving can be a challenge, so the business district, with its scenic Cranes Roost Park, was the best site for the initial route. There are plans to connect CraneRIDES to the Altamonte Springs SunRail station. CraneRIDES is jointly funded by FDOT and Altamonte Springs.
The campaign features a video to introduce this emerging technology to District Five residents and to demonstrate a route that includes stops near key businesses and apartment complexes. The Global-5 team worked closely with Altamonte Springs to craft the video with messages that CraneRIDES is new, easy to use, and safe. Because research shows that individuals may be wary or hesitant to try new technology, the video gave potential riders a chance to witness how transportation is evolving to serve the community.
As part of the campaign, the video, several photos, and shorter video reels were posted throughout the reThink Your Commute social media channels and were shared by the city and other transportation partners. The YouTube video garnered nearly 4,000 impressions and hundreds of views. The social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) earned more than 2,000 impressions and more than 600 video views. CraneRIDES was also featured in the reThink Your Commute newsletter sent to 13,500 subscribers in August 2023.
Throughout the campaign, residents were clearly engaged, asking questions and sharing their excitement about this new transportation option.
To find out how Global-5 can use its communications expertise to design an award-winning public outreach campaign for your organization, please contact John Hamill at johnhamill@global-5.com or 407-571-6771.