goDcgo, DDOT

Commute with Care Campaign

Case Study, Marketing

Project Overview

During earlier stages of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, DC’s Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a Stay-at-Home Order that limited travel to essential trips only. So, goDCgo initially only targeted the “Commute with Care” promotions toward essential workers and travel, specifically those commuting by bike, scooter, bus, or Metrorail. Once the Mayor’s Order was lifted, we updated the “Commute with Care” language accordingly in order to communicate to all DC commuters traveling by bike, scooter, bus, or Metrorail since entering a phased reopening.

Challenges

Many essential workers in the District still relied on active and public transportation modes to get to and from work during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but as transit agencies had to adapt to this “new normal,” there were a lot of rapid changes such as modified or limited schedules. However, there were no public policies yet in effect for how to properly use public transit during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This warranted goDCgo to create the “Commute with Care” campaign to raise awareness around safe travel practices and protocols in place for commuting by bike, scooter, bus, or Metrorail throughout Washington, DC, using CDC guidance.

Our Approach and Objectives

The objective of “Commute with Care” was to help mitigate the rise in single occupancy vehicles resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. goDCgo designed the infographics with safety tips and transit service updates to educate commuters on how to properly travel by bike, scooter, bus, or Metrorail to reduce the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), while also raising rider confidence. This content was heavily promoted on goDCgo’s website, social media channels, and emails; and also repurposed for Capital Bikeshare station ads and a YouTube video. To further support this objective, we customized and distributed our own goDCgo-branded face masks and hand sanitizers as part of our free “Commute with Care” package offer for our employer, hospitality, and residential audiences.

The Results

While the campaign is still ongoing, there’s already been an increase in public awareness. To date, there have been over 200 “Commute with Care” infographic downloads, nearly 100 “Commute with Care” YouTube views, over 11,000 social media impressions, and over 1,400 face masks and hand sanitizers distributed.