OVERVIEW OF BRANDING & COMMUNICATIONS

Case studies of Indore & Bhopal BRT projects10th March 2014

Arnab RoySr. Project Associate – Urban Transport, EMBARQ India

WHY BRANDING/MARKETING IS IMPORTANTEspecially in Public Transport projects

Creates awareness, especially for the new system

Builds confidence in the new system

Apprises general public of the benefits of the system

Encourages public participation and sense of ownership

Initiated • 2007

Length of route • 11.46 km

Road section • 31.6 / 60 metres

System type • Closed• Median stations

Stations • 21

Headway • 5 minutes (average)

Type of bus • Standard, 12m• Air conditioned• 900 mm Floor• 245 hp, BS III engine

Completed • 31st March 2013

Operations • 10th May 2013

INDORE BRT (iBus): SYSTEM OVERVIEW

RIDERSHIP GROWTHUnprecedented increase within mere months

Befor

e BRT

12 -

16 Ju

n 20

13

17 -

23 Ju

n 20

13

24 -

30 Ju

n 20

13

01 -

07 Ju

l 201

3

08 -

14 Ju

l 201

3

15 -

21 Ju

l 201

3

22 -

28 Ju

l 201

3

29 -

04 A

ug 2

013

05 -

11 A

ug 2

013

12 -

18 A

ug 2

013

19 -

25 A

ug 2

013

26 -

01 S

ep 2

013

02 -

08 S

ep 2

013

09 -

15 S

ep 2

013

16 -

22 S

ep 2

013

23 -

29 S

ep 2

013

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000300% Increase in 4 months

BUT THINGS WEREN’T ALWAYS POSITIVE!Project faced immense criticism

Renewed approach towards garnering public support was the need of the

hourInnovation and Creativity

INVOLVE THE GENERAL PUBLICCreate sense of ownership!

Ahilya Marg

Highline Corridor

Malwa Busway Metro

Superfast

IndoLink iBus

Metroshine

TransMalwa

Udaan

Indore IntelligentInnovation

EVOLVE THE BRANDEvaluate options

FINAL BRANDING LAYOUTAesthetics and Sensibilities

OTHER BRANDING ELEMENTSDon’t stop just at the bus…

WHERE TO DO MARKETING?External as well as Internal

External

Internal

MULTI-TIERED APPROACHEach element with an objective

Raise general BRT Awareness – include other road users

Reach out to student, professional and community groups

Actively engage with and inform media

Keep internal flock together

Use of print as well as video media

Multi-phased system launch

BRT WILL BENEFIT ALL ROAD USERS!

Extensive Outreach Efforts

Multi-tiered approach

EXTERNAL MARKETING – PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

FOCUS GROUP SESSIONS WITH STUDENTS

FOCUS GROUP TOURS WITH STUDENTS

FOCUS GROUP TOURS WITH LOCAL POLITICIANS

FOCUS GROUP TOURS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES

FOCUS GROUP TOURS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES

EXTENSIVE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIAHigh impact on youth acceptance of iBus

www.facebook.com/IndoreBRT

FOCUS GROUP SESSIONS WITH INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS

FOCUS GROUP SESSIONS WITH INDORE POLICE

USE OF PRINT MEDIALeaflets for wider public dissemination

USE OF PRINT MEDIAPeriodic Newsletters (MyBus, Bhopal)

Courtesy: C Shukla, BCLL

USE OF PRINT MEDIAPassenger Information Handouts (MyBus, Bhopal)

SPACE FOR ADVERTISING

Courtesy: C Shukla, BCLL

USE OF RADIOLocal FM Radio Chat Sessions (MyBus, Bhopal)

Courtesy: C Shukla, BCLL

USE OF HIGH QUALITY IMAGERYHelps in creating bigger impact in peoples’ perception

INDORE BRT

BHOPAL BRTCourtesy: C Shukla, BCLL

ENGAGE WITH MEDIAMedia interaction is key for reaching out to the general public

FOCUS GROUP SESSIONS WITH LOCAL MEDIA

CHANGED REACTION OF MEDIASlightly changed post the marketing efforts

Phased project launch

Gradual introduction to the general public

19th APRIL 2013: DRY RUN LAUNCH

10th MAY 2013: FREE PASSENGER TRIAL LAUNCH

12th JUNE 2013: PAID SERVICES LAUNCH

BUT THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ENOUGH

Legal Hurdles

BUT THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ENOUGH!Litigations surround both the BRT projects at present

BUT THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ENOUGH!Litigations surround both the BRT projects at present

WHILE ON THE OTHER HAND…Project has been recognized at the international level recently

CONCLUSIONSWhat can we learn?

Have a planCohesive, Comprehensive & Transparent

Communicate the plan and keep updatingTo stakeholdersTo general public – it has to be peoples’ projectTo media – very important!To internal stakeholders: core work group

Use diverse media channelsPrintVideoRadioSocial

THANK YOU!