Pace Suburban Bus - Gas Prices

Target Audience: The target audience for this campaign was suburban commuters who might be looking for more affordable transit options as the nation faced surging gas prices. In addition to welcoming new riders, this campaign also sought to remind existing riders of their continued savings when they choose Pace over other options.

Strategy Objective:This campaign, which included Waze, social media and programmatic advertisements, highlighted the feeling of dread we all get when filling up at the gas station these days. Pace showed there is an easier, more cost-efficient way to commute by hopping on a Pace bus to get to your destination. The campaign also sought to reach people at a time and place when their costs for gasoline is at top of mind, such as driving while using the Waze app.

Situation Challenge: As gas prices hit record highs throughout 2022, Pace set out to show commuters how to maximize their savings by riding Pace. Tapping into a burden that was being felt across the country, Pace's Gas Prices campaign encouraged riders to skip the pump, save their money and ride Pace instead.

Results Impact: This campaign either met or exceeded the original forecasts throughout each tactic used. With Waze's zero speed takeover, where a message pops up on the directions when a driver comes to a complete stop for more than four seconds, Pace produced a 0.19% save rate, beating Waze's average of 0.10%-0.18% and delivered 2.2M impressions. Digital advertising delivered 14% more clicks than the original forecast and social media garnered 72% more impressions than forecasted and aided in Pace's year-to-date ridership being 7.7% over 2021.

Why Submit: This campaign targeted audiences digitally as well as at the gas station when they are feeling the pain of the pump. By targeting riders through multiple communication channels, Pace was able to increase general awareness and reinforce to riders that Pace is a cost-efficient way to commute. The artwork on the gasoline price sign was a clever approach to conveying the emotion that people of all income levels were feeling when seeing gas prices this year as well.