WARC, 30 January 2014
NEW YORK: Metro, which runs the public transport system in
Los Angeles, has benefited from the ability of its in-house agency to take a
long-term approach as it tries to make travelling by bus or train become
"cool".
Michael Lejeune, creative director for the organisation's
Design Studio, told delegates at the In-House Agency Forum that projects such
as revitalising the Metro brand required multi-year planning and
implementation.
"The nice thing about being in-house is you do get to
look down the line: you're not worried about your next engagement or billing on
that, necessarily," he said.
"You can concentrate more on what's going to happen in
a year; three years; five years." (For more, including how Metro
transformed its brand, read Warc's exclusive report: How LA's Metro made public
transport "cool".)
This perspective is particularly valuable in Los Angeles,
where consumers are famously wedded to driving, and the roads are equally
well-known for high levels of congestion.
"Public transportation is the blind spot of everybody
in Los Angeles," said Lejeune.
The competition for space extends beyond the road and into
the marketing arena, as consumers are blitzed with messages from automakers
keen to tap into their passion for cars.
"You need to break through that clutter," Lejeune
insisted, "especially with something like public transportation, which no
one is waiting to hear from, quite frankly."
Metro's strategic marketing today remains much the same as
it was when Lejeune assumed his role at the transport system over a decade ago.
"What we really need to do is make Metro cool. Even
today, that is still what we're trying to do," said Lejeune. "It's
the easiest, best, and most solid guiding light."
Data sourced from Warc
No comments:
Post a Comment