SEPTA’s Airport Train Line  - 20th Anniversary

Last year SEPTA was reaching a significant milestone - 20 years of service for SEPTA’s R1 Airport Line. To celebrate this anniversary and boost ridership, Braithwaite developed a campaign that included rider promotions, print and radio advertising, and a highly visual birthday party event – complete with a nearly life sized train-shaped birthday cake – right on the R1’s airport platform.

We coupled guerilla marketing with creative storytelling to develop easy ways for media to cover the promotions and event. Inventive “did you know” angles told media that the 4,861,800 miles the R1had traveled in 20 years was the same as “climbing Mount Everest 884,115 times” or “taking a trip to the moon 20 times,” while strategically placed street teams handed passers-by off-beat items like voodoo dolls to sway the traffic gods to get them home if they chose a cab over the R1.

The pre-event and day-of coverage was overwhelming. Major print outlets featured stories not only on the anniversary, but also on the creativity of the campaign to support it. The event was also covered by every TV news station, including three live segments on FOX29’s morning show. Most importantly though, was the effect on SEPTA’s business – a 22% increase in R1 ridership.