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Center Identification Number: 473-03 Project Title: Continuation and Enhancement of The Public Transportation Promotional Materials Clearinghouse Co-Principal Investigators: Institution: Bill Mustard, Director Institution: External Project Contact: I. Project Objective Enhancements to the Clearinghouse that
will be undertaken in this particular extension request would be the cataloguing
and posting of public domain clip art, photographs, and fonts. The most
extensive enhancement planned for the Clearinghouse would be the development of
tutorials to assist Florida public transportation systems with their print and
digital publishing needs. The Institute will continue to promote the
Clearinghouse through transportation trade magazines (Passenger Transport/ TDM
Review) on at least a bi-annual basis. Finally, professional
papers/presentations will be prepared for APTA, ACT and the Florida Transit
Association annual meetings as a continuation of the Clearinghouse's public
education/instruction efforts. The ability of public transportation professionals to review the marketing and promotional accomplishments of their peers is a valuable tool in bettering the overall efficacy of their services. Such an exchange helps to curtail much of the cost and labor that routinely accompany the development and execution of marketing and promotional activities. Unfortunately, without a central information clearinghouse to which public transportation marketers and communications experts can refer and contribute, these efforts can go unnoticed and untried in other markets. The formation of the National Urban Transit Institute (NUTI) Promotional Materials Clearinghouse in 1996 addressed this problem by establishing an information relay system through which public transportation marketers share actual work examples, review available literature on marketing, and tap into the experiential knowledge of their peers. The Clearinghouse collects promotional materials from public transportation systems and TDM programs nationwide and provides the framework necessary to facilitate exchange of these materials, primarily through a site on the World Wide Web (WWW). Although Clearinghouse materials are acquired from sources throughout the nation, Florida TDM agencies and transit systems have dramatically increased their interest in and use of Clearinghouse resources. To date, over eighty public
transportation systems and TDM agencies have contributed materials to the
project and new materials are received on a continuing basis. In addition to
garnering the support of public transportation systems and TDM programs, the
Clearinghouse has enlisted the advocacy of organizations such as the American
Public Transit Association (APTA), the Association for Commuter Transportation
(ACT), and the U.S. EPA's Mobile Source Unit. These organizations, like the
transportation professionals they represent and support, have noted the
fundamental value in the goals and objectives of this project which:
III. Task Descriptions It is the intention of the NCTR at CUTR to subcontract this Work Order with the Marketing Institute at Florida State University. The activities outlined above will be
accomplished through the following tasks: Because service marketing is a dynamic field, program development and implementation are constantly changing. For this reason, the Marketing Institute will continue to collect, archive, and distribute marketing collateral and documents. Most of the activities involved in this component of the project will focus on the systems that have already submitted materials. In order to encourage submissions to the Clearinghouse, solicitation requests will be sent to systems represented in APTA and ACT's Membership Directories. Solicitation requests will appear in two forms. First, to those systems that have contributed information will receive requests for updated materials. And second, solicitation letters will be sent to those systems, professional organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions whose participation will add further value to the project. Furthermore, new efforts will be
undertaken to increase awareness among private organizations to the needs of
public transit professionals. Increasing such awareness will force these private
market forces to respond to these needs with products that are hopefully
inexpensive, targeted, and timely. During the most recent funding of the Clearinghouse, one of the proposed tasks was to measure the needs of public transportation markets. Although incomplete as of this writing, the survey instrument is a survey that will be mailed to membership listings of both the American Public Transit Association and the Association for Commuter Transportation. Results of this survey will help to hone
Clearinghouse services to the needs of respondents. This survey will help us to
assess what the true needs of marketers are and incorporate new functions that
respond to those needs. Over the years, the Clearinghouse and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) have built a cooperative relationship in which APTA forwards entries and winners of the Ad Wheel Competition for posting on the Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse currently maintains a similar relationship with the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT). An extension of the Clearinghouse will
allow the Marketing Institute to continue to display award winning materials
submitted by both these agencies. The Clearinghouse will continue to solicit all
materials, although additional effort will be given to collecting materials
deemed appropriate or needed by results of the survey discussed in Task 2. Such
materials or issues of interest will include Commuter Choice as well as other
TDM-specific issues that affect the marketing operations of agencies. A component of the Clearinghouse that was added in 1997 is a collection of small tutorials and "how to" documents that are intended to assist Clearinghouse users in the development of print and web materials. This section of the Clearinghouse, however, will garner greater attention during this proposed extension. Experience during the past two years has
shown that a high-level of interest exists among Florida's TDM and transit
agencies regarding the basic principles that guide design and publishing.
Presentations on basic marketing design and promotion were presented by
Clearinghouse at two Florida TDM Summits and the 2000 ACT International
Conference in Orlando. Extensive interest was generated by these presentations
about basic design and promotional practices. For this reason, an extension of
the Clearinghouse would allow more effort to teaching TDM professionals and
transit marketers the fundamentals of design. Success in this endeavor would
allow these same professionals to reduce their print budgets by providing the
tools for in-house design, production, and distribution. Professional presentations and papers will be developed for APTA, ACT, the Florida Transit Association (FTA) and other groups per request. Pertinent articles will be developed for at least two issues of Passenger Transport and TDM Review. At the conclusion of the project, a final report will be compiled which will outline the activities of staff and students. This final report will also contain results of the survey as outlined in Task Three and will contain an overview of public transportation marketing trends. This final report will also serve as the foundation for additional funding requests from individuals and/or agencies that wish to continue financial support for the Clearinghouse. IV. Relationship to Other Research Projects The Marketing Institute conducts ongoing research and education in the field of public transportation marketing and research. These projects include niche marketing studies, professional development seminars and consumer attitude surveys. The Clearinghouse will borrow upon this research to better serve public transportation professionals in Florida. The Institute also maintains communication with similar project operators throughout the country. V. Technology Transfer
Activities/Peer Review The primary mission of the Clearinghouse is to provide for interaction and technology transfer of marketing and promotional materials. Promotion of the Clearinghouse will be broadened to guarantee exposure of the project. APTA has provided significant assistance in this area and has agreed to continue promoting the project through its Marketing and Communications Steering Committee. Also, concerted efforts will be undertaken to ensure all public transportation systems have access to this information. Although the Clearinghouse's web site will serve as a primary distribution device, individuals without Internet access will receive updates on the project and assistance in accessing the information through traditional means. To this end materials will be placed on the World Wide Web, CDs and ZipDisks created, articles/presentations will be developed for professional publications and meetings and staff will be available for technical assistance to public transportation systems in Florida. Members of the oversight committee will represent both small and large public transportation systems as well as TDM professionals, reflecting the type of input and exchange sought by the Clearinghouse. Individuals of this new oversight committee include: APTA Public Relations and Communications
Director Nationally, many public transportation
programs find it difficult to market to the rapidly changing needs and
lifestyles of their current and potential consumers. The Promotional Materials
Clearinghouse provides direct support to public transportation marketers and
helps them identify effective marketing and promotional strategies. On a local level, continued operation of the Clearinghouse will enhance the educational and research functions of the National Center for Transit Research and expose students within the FSU College of Business to career opportunities within the field of public transportation. Students assigned to the project will be encouraged to enter the transportation marketing field, providing valuable input and real world experience to the profession and, consequently, to the commuting public. VII. TRB Key Words Marketing, public transportation,
transit, promotional materials.
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National Center for Transit Research · at the Center For Urban Transportation Research · University of South Florida · 4202 E. Fowler Ave., CUT100 · Tampa, FL 33620-5375 · (813) 974-3120 · (813) 974-5168 · www.nctr.usf.edu · Comments: webmaster@cutr.eng.usf.edu |
