C-TRAN - Ridgefield Raptors partnership

Target Audience: The target audience for this entry was the Ridgefield community and the general public. The Ridgefield Raptors are a minor-league baseball team that played its first season in Ridgefield in 2019, but have since become a community presence with fans and partners throughout Clark County.

Strategy Objective:C-TRAN's partnership with the Ridgefield Raptors included extensive advertising inside and outside the ballpark: Fence banners, program materials, radio ads and more were seen and heard by an average of more than 1,100 fans per game over the course of a 56-game season. Social media content, shared across multiple platforms by C-TRAN and the Raptors, amplified that reach. And four high-profile tailgate events in downtown Ridgefield on game nights provided additional opportunity to reach the community, including shuttle service that was provided by C-TRAN to that night's game from each event. One of those tailgate nights featured a bobblehead giveaway, featuring Rally, the Raptors' bird mascot, with the C-TRAN logo. C-TRAN also used its Ridgefield wrapped bus, with the Raptors on one side.

Situation Challenge: When the Ridgefield Raptors played their first season in 2019, C-TRAN was a partner from the beginning. For the 2022 season, C-TRAN's partnership with the Raptors presented a unique opportunity to reach an important audience as we launched two new services in the Ridgefield area: Route 48, a new bus route serving Ridgefield—and the first fixed-route service C-TRAN has provided there in many years—and The Current, an on-demand rideshare service by C-TRAN providing connections to the rest of the network. C-TRAN's relationship with the Raptors allowed it to reach an important community, including those who don't normally ride transit, as we built up new services in the area.

Results Impact: The added reach and community presence C-TRAN achieved by joining forces with the Ridgefield Raptors in 2022 undoubtedly increased awareness in C-TRAN itself—not only our brand, but the new services we provided to the Ridgefield community this year. That helped create a successful launch for The Current, which served more than 13,000 trips in its first 11 months of service, including nearly 3,000 in the Ridgefield/La Center service area. Route 48, which began service to Ridgefield in January 2022, carried more than 7,100 trips during the same period—a strong start for a new route with a relatively limited schedule of only six full runs per day. The established partnership also gives C-TRAN and the Raptors strong momentum going into 2023.

Why Submit: Though the partnership formed back in 2019, 2022 was an important year for both C-TRAN and the Ridgefield Raptors. After the 2020 season—only their second—was canceled due to the pandemic, the Raptors had a lot at stake to recapture their initial success and find solid footing coming out of that. Similarly, C-TRAN continues to build back ridership after seeing a significant drop in 2020 and 2021, as all transit systems have. To actually add new service as we recover from the pandemic reflects C-TRAN's bold approach to moving forward. Maintaining and expanding our partnership with an important community organization helped both C-TRAN and the Raptors in the process.