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Los Angeles
Streetcar
—
A six-month political awareness campaign designed to
persuade Downtown residents to fund a modernized
streetcar system in Downtown Los Angeles.
The Set Up
Downtown LA was making big moves. Trendy bars, fancy restaurants, boutique hotels. All great things, sure. But it needed something else, something that would unite the city's interesting but distinct neighborhoods into one integrated community.
The Downtown LA Streetcar was the answer.
Government was on board too, committing to fund 50% of the project on one condition: demonstrate that the project had the support of the people.
And so WeAreGiants was hired.
Our Task
Garner support in the Downtown community for an additional tax, in the midst of economic uncertainty, no less.
A tax for something that many people thought was essentially the equivalent of Disneyland's trolley or the Hogwarts Express.
Not exactly an easy job.
The Strategy
We knew the key was to communicate the benefits of having a streetcar in Downtown LA, many of which were technical and economic in nature.
What real-world impact would the Streetcar have on residents' everyday lives?
To communicate those benefits, we developed brochures, billboards, posters, signs, email campaigns, door hangers, and infographics.
We also helped concept, plan, and design materials for a series of community events focused on generating awareness around the Streetcar project and the upcoming vote.
The Results
In the end, the vote passed by an enormous margin, far exceeding expectations.
In fact, we nearly doubled voter turnout compared with the previous City Council election.
Downtown LA was making big moves. Trendy bars, fancy restaurants, boutique hotels. All great things, sure. But it needed something else, something that would unite the city's interesting but distinct neighborhoods into one integrated community.
The Downtown LA Streetcar was the answer.
Government was on board too, committing to fund 50% of the project on one condition: demonstrate that the project had the support of the people.
And so WeAreGiants was hired.
Our Task
Garner support in the Downtown community for an additional tax, in the midst of economic uncertainty, no less.
A tax for something that many people thought was essentially the equivalent of Disneyland's trolley or the Hogwarts Express.
Not exactly an easy job.
The Strategy
We knew the key was to communicate the benefits of having a streetcar in Downtown LA, many of which were technical and economic in nature.
What real-world impact would the Streetcar have on residents' everyday lives?
To communicate those benefits, we developed brochures, billboards, posters, signs, email campaigns, door hangers, and infographics.
We also helped concept, plan, and design materials for a series of community events focused on generating awareness around the Streetcar project and the upcoming vote.
The Results
In the end, the vote passed by an enormous margin, far exceeding expectations.
In fact, we nearly doubled voter turnout compared with the previous City Council election.
The Brand Voice
Challenge 1
We knew we'd be discussing some pretty heavy, somewhat technical content, so we wanted to develop a design aesthetic that made the information easy to understand.
Challenge 2
Finding a balance between the more institutional look and feel that the City and client were accustomed to and something that felt more human and visually engaging.
The Result
Clean lines, bold colors, distinct fonts, and thoughtful infographics.
Challenge 1
We knew we'd be discussing some pretty heavy, somewhat technical content, so we wanted to develop a design aesthetic that made the information easy to understand.
Challenge 2
Finding a balance between the more institutional look and feel that the City and client were accustomed to and something that felt more human and visually engaging.
The Result
Clean lines, bold colors, distinct fonts, and thoughtful infographics.
Brochure
We created a piece that included everything residents might want to know about the Streetcar project in one place.
The challenge was to work through an enormous amount of raw data, statistics, and research, identify the most relevant information, and organize it in a clear and compelling way.
We created a piece that included everything residents might want to know about the Streetcar project in one place.
The challenge was to work through an enormous amount of raw data, statistics, and research, identify the most relevant information, and organize it in a clear and compelling way.
Marketing & Community Outreach
We knew that if the Streetcar measure was going to pass, we'd need to make our message easy to share.
Downtown residents were already deeply involved in the growth of their community. Given the right tools, we believed they could become some of the campaign's strongest advocates.
So we developed recruitment tools that encouraged passionate residents to share information and build support within their own communities.
First, we created the position of Streetcar Ambassador, equipping eager supporters with a concise guide they could use to explain the project to friends and neighbors.
We also created a training program for Streetcar Conductors that enabled especially enthusiastic supporters to organize their own small awareness campaigns within residential buildings.
We knew that if the Streetcar measure was going to pass, we'd need to make our message easy to share.
Downtown residents were already deeply involved in the growth of their community. Given the right tools, we believed they could become some of the campaign's strongest advocates.
So we developed recruitment tools that encouraged passionate residents to share information and build support within their own communities.
First, we created the position of Streetcar Ambassador, equipping eager supporters with a concise guide they could use to explain the project to friends and neighbors.
We also created a training program for Streetcar Conductors that enabled especially enthusiastic supporters to organize their own small awareness campaigns within residential buildings.
Events & Activations
Taste of Streetcar
Taste of Streetcar was our most effective and farthest-reaching event.
We invited 1,100 Downtown residents to join us for an evening of dining and education about the Streetcar.
The event featured 25 restaurants located along the proposed Streetcar route.
But the goal wasn't simply to introduce residents to local eateries. We wanted to use the event to educate voters about the project and the upcoming funding measure.
The challenge was getting attendees to engage with campaign information while enjoying the food and festivities.
So we created a guided, interactive tour along the proposed route.
The experience rewarded participants who took the time to learn more about the Streetcar.
Taste of Streetcar was our most effective and farthest-reaching event.
We invited 1,100 Downtown residents to join us for an evening of dining and education about the Streetcar.
The event featured 25 restaurants located along the proposed Streetcar route.
But the goal wasn't simply to introduce residents to local eateries. We wanted to use the event to educate voters about the project and the upcoming funding measure.
The challenge was getting attendees to engage with campaign information while enjoying the food and festivities.
So we created a guided, interactive tour along the proposed route.
The experience rewarded participants who took the time to learn more about the Streetcar.
Movie Night
While Taste of Streetcar was geared toward a younger demographic, we also wanted to create an event that highlighted how the Streetcar could improve the lives of families living in Downtown.
We built on the excitement surrounding the opening of Grand Park by hosting an outdoor movie night that brought residents together and created another opportunity to introduce the Streetcar project.
While Taste of Streetcar was geared toward a younger demographic, we also wanted to create an event that highlighted how the Streetcar could improve the lives of families living in Downtown.
We built on the excitement surrounding the opening of Grand Park by hosting an outdoor movie night that brought residents together and created another opportunity to introduce the Streetcar project.