Park&Co

How we helped Metro communicate its "safety first" message

It's not often one gets the chance to break creative ground on a completely new service that affects an entire city. That opportunity came to Park&Co when we were selected to help launch the new METRO light rail system in the Phoenix Valley. After many years of debate and construction, trains were finally going to roll, and it was our job to help people get on board.

Light rail ushers in a new era for a town hell bent on horizontal growth and the continual expansion of pavement to support it. For the first time, major parts of the Valley are joined by something other than busy streets and parking lots. Work, school, sports and cultural events suddenly seem closer together. A new, modern connection made all the amenities of the city more accessible to people rather than automobiles. Now that's something to build a campaign around!

"Your Life on Track" became our tagline and perfectly described what light rail brings to people in the Valley. For our safety print and TV campaigns, we created a modern, "shining city on a hill" portrait of the town and its train to visually announce the dawn of a new era. The same images were married with actual rail station footage and an eclectic host to create a short safety video that's every bit as entertaining as it is instructive.

Radio spots employed a fun, boy/girl repartee to illustrate how, by connecting so many great places, light rail creates one greater place. The connection theme carries over to our popular ASU venue posters, which paint the variety of activities now available on track with the symbolism found in a typical train or subway route map.

By illustrating the new connections between so many places in the Valley, we've helped form a connection between residents and their new train. It's rewarding to be part of such a major shift in public transportation. And as the route expands in the future, we'll be ready to keep the new mindset on track.

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