Qatar Integrated Public Transport Marketing Strategy & Wayfinding Standards
HELPING QATAR SEE HOW EFFECTIVE ITS TRANSIT MARKETING CAN BE
The government of Qatar’s Ministry of Transport and Communication (MoTC) upgraded its public transit system with a replacement bus fleet and new metro rail and water taxi systems ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was held in the country. MoTC set a goal of increasing transit ridership from 0.5 to 10 percent of daily trips. The main challenge to achieving this positive change in travel behavior was persuading people to select a different transport mode for their daily travel.
- Client: Qatar Ministry of Transport and Communication (MoTC)
- Services: Research, Best Practices Reporting, Gaps & Needs Analysis, Case Studies, Marketing & Communications Strategy
- Markets: Government, Transportation
Challenge
The government of Qatar’s Ministry of Transport and Communication (MoTC) upgraded its public transit system with a replacement bus fleet and new metro rail and water taxi systems ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was held in the country. MoTC set a goal of increasing transit ridership from 0.5 to 10 percent of daily trips. The main challenge to achieving this positive change in travel behavior was persuading people to select a different transport mode for their daily travel.
Solutions
BEST PRACTICES BASED ON WORLD-CLASS PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEMS
Global-5 authored a sophisticated best-practices report and provided MoTC with recommendations based on its findings. The report offered a thorough analysis of world-class public transit systems in London, Paris, and Amsterdam in addition to the smaller systems in Dubai and Orlando, which are similar Qatar in size, climate, culture, and target ridership. MoTC was presented with the most relevant best practices on how to use digital tools and owned, earned, shared, and paid media to effectively market its public transit systems and communicate with its riders.
IDENTIFYING GAPS AND NEEDS
We became deeply familiar with the then-current marketing and communications efforts by MoTC, Mowasalat (Qatar’s bus transit operator), and Qatar Rail by analyzing their efforts and results in owned, earned, shared, and paid media categories. We also met with Qatar Rail and MoTC staff in Doha for conversations about their marketing efforts and goals. From our analysis and meetings, we created a report that identified gaps in their marketing and communications for both current and planned transit systems and provided recommendations on how to fill those gaps.