COTA

tl;dr

the concept

The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), the region’s public transit system, has been a staple in the community for almost 50 years. As the organization prepared to roll out its first-ever five-year strategic plan during its 2019 annual luncheon, COTA’s leaders wanted to showcase how it was more than simply a bus service -- but an organization that connected the entire community. COTA enlisted Geben Communication to research, develop and execute a social media campaign.

the execution

Geben created and executed a social media campaign for COTA called, “Together We Move Every Life Forward,” focused on activating community leaders and partners to show how the organization was interwoven into the fabric of the community.

We solicited posts about COTA’s importance from city influencers prior to the event, and then paired them with an on-site, interactive experience. Specifically, the following three elements showcased how COTA and its partners are interconnected throughout Central Ohio:

• Influencer Tweet Thread (pre-luncheon)

• Real-time Mural (during luncheon)

• Time Lapse Video (after luncheon)

In addition, we had four members of Geben’s social media team running COTA’s social media channels, engaging with mentions, and taking/posting photos in real-time.

the result

The social media campaign was widely successful:

• 29 influencers participated in the campaign including William Murdock (Executive Director, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission) and The City of Columbus official account.

• Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn engagement on luncheon content increased significantly compared to the year before.

• Our campaign hashtag, #COTAmoves, jumped to the #1 top trending topic in Columbus the day of the luncheon.