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MARTA examines its image problems By John McCosh - Staff Writer |
February 13,2001
Long confined to two core counties, metro Atlanta's mass transit system is expanding. But the MARTA brand name apparently won't be because it has an image problem.
Some local officials worry that could spell trouble for the future of one of the South's largest transit systems - and MARTA Chairman Bill Moseley said he's even open to the idea of changing the agency's name if it's too tarnished to ever seem attractive to metro Atlanta's outer counties.
Cobb County now runs its own bus service, and Clayton and Gwinnett counties plan to roll out bus systems this year. All will connect seamlessly to MARTA, which operates the buses and trains in Fulton and DeKalb counties. And MARTA may even become the operator of Clayton's system. But the familiar MARTA logo won't be showing up on the new buses.
Cobb has its own name, Cobb County Transit, or CCT, and Gwinnett and Clayton officials have made it clear they will choose a different name for their systems as well.
The resistance to the MARTA brand name has long been a fact of life in the Atlanta suburbs, where some see the logo as a symbol of potential urban intrusion. But it is a matter of renewed concern among the transit agency's supporters, who believe MARTA needs to continue to expand to survive.
This month MARTA is kicking off a $700,000 marketing study to examine its image throughout the region.
"I know there is a negative perception attached to the name," Moseley said. "But a rose by any other name is still a rose."
MARTA's No. 1 image problem is a perception that the system is unsafe, but that could be fixed, in part, with a few well-placed Coca-Cola vending machines.
So says a marketing proposal to renovate MARTA's image as the transit agency embarks on a $700,000 program this month to win more riders and expand its reach. People feel safe and comforted when they're near the familiar red-and-white Coke logo, says the Atlanta marketing firm Turner Fernandez Turner. Acknowledging "this is going to sound crazy," the firm suggests that putting Coke vending machines on MARTA trains would conjure up "all sorts of positive images of childhood, security, stability and Americana."
Naturally, the proposal notes, giving MARTA riders a Coke and a smile would require the transit agency to consider ending its long ban on consuming beverages on its buses and rail cars.
Turner Fernandez Turner is one of 10 agencies pitching to win the job of pinpointing MARTA's image problems and suggesting ways to fix them. Another proposal includes marketing the system with promotions such as those used by the Atlanta Braves - offered by a marketer who used to promote the Braves with themed events such as weddings at home plate.
The marketers all say that if chosen, they'll finish their study this year - which may prove to be one of the most critical in the life of the 29-year-old transit system.
Among the key events:
Clayton and Gwinnett counties, which declined to join the MARTA system in past years, are starting their own bus services this year. That effectively walls off MARTA's expansion to the northeast and south, elements of the agency's long-range plan for three decades.
For the first time in decades, MARTA is in a no-growth mode, with no new rail stations funded or under construction.
MARTA's core jurisdictions - Atlanta and DeKalb and Fulton counties - recently declined to extend their commitment to collecting a 1 percent sales tax for support of the system, a decision that could be reconsidered later this year. If at least two of the three jurisdictions don't change their position, the system will fall out of line for future federal funding.
Meanwhile, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority is on a mission to create a metro Atlanta transit system, even if much of it won't bear the name acronym of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.
MARTA is concerned, and it will be addressing its image this year as part of a national campaign pushed by the American Public Transit Association to boost the public perception of mass transit. The association, which is holding a marketing workshop in Atlanta later this monthfeb, is hoping to fund a $5 million nationwide campaign over five years to win more riders.
"We did some polling and focus groups and did a list of priorities, and as an industry public transit's image just wasn't very good," said Amy Coggins, a spokeswoman for the association. Also, a survey a year ago found that, when asked to rank public transit as a concern, people placed it well below education and crime.
In many ways, MARTA's image problems are typical of systems throughout the country.
"People in the suburbs think MARTA is a black, transit-dependent system," said the agency's chairman, Bill Moseley. "Some people are saying they don't like the MARTA name."
For three decades the MARTA acronym has been the subject of a racially charged joke: "You know what MARTA really stands for, don't you? Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta."
"I was told that the first week I moved here in the 1980s," Moseley said. "Maybe we can change the name to RTA and it can be the Redneck Transit Authority."
Twelve years ago, the agency considered a name change as it prepared to pitch an expansion to Gwinnett County voters, in part because it was common knowledge that the acronym was being altered into an ethnic joke. An Internet search of the phrase shows it turns up in national publications such as The New Republic and international ones such as the Turkish yazarlar. ???
It's that kind of ingrained tarnish the marketers will be challenged to fix. And if they can't, MARTA officials say they're even open to the idea of changing the name.
But giving up on the MARTA name means giving up an identity many immediately associate with transportation.
"The biggest question is, 'Is there equity in the current name?' " said Mike Paul, a New York marketing consultant who is not among the bidders for the MARTA contract. "If there is equity, then you stay with the name."
The $700,000 contract to study MARTA's image will be just the beginning of the promotion effort.
"My friends in marketing tell me you can spend millions and millions on this kind of thing," Moseley said.
Most of the marketing proposals say any campaign should be targeted to the approximately 30 percent of the population that isn't strongly for or against public transportation. The reasoning: Supporters are already on board and convincing the hardened opposition is cost-prohibitive.
That leaves people who consistently choose to drive past MARTA stations and bus stops primarily because of concerns about convenience or safety.
Public safety "is probably the No. 1 concern of our people," said Carl Rhodenizer, the Clayton commissioner who spearheaded his county's approval of a new bus system last year.
Most marketers in the running for the campaign acknowledge that the challenge is greater than creating an awareness of mass transit.
"In fact, recent indications are that people in Atlanta are aware of the alternatives for public transportation. It's just that they're not convinced that the public transportation experience is worth changing their behavior for," says the proposal by Turner Fernandez Turner.
Some marketers are suggesting appeals to altruism. StarrChild Productions borrows some ideas from the national transit campaign, suggesting a series of themed days to promote MARTA. Among them: "Livable Communities Day," "Try Transit Day" and "Transit to Work Day."
But appealing to the commuter's concern for the environment and the future of the region is probably not a strong selling point, says Georgia State University marketing professor Ken Bernhardt.
"Some people may be motivated by greater good reasons," Bernhardt said. "But if they tie it to individual benefits, that will be a better than a pitch to save the world."
Pratt & Buehl, another marketing prospect, says MARTA should push itself as a connection to the city's cultural offerings. Slogans suggested include "Moving Atlantans Rapidly Through Art."
Also proposing to tie the MARTA ride to feelings of good times is the proposal by Hope-Beckham, one of whose key partners, Bob Hope, used to promote the Braves. During the 1970s, Hope was charged with drawing fans to the stadium and produced such promotions as "Headlock and Wedlock Night," which featured wrestling exhibitions and the home plate weddings.
The plan calls for themed months, including some playing off the seasons of the Braves and Atlanta Hawks, and using sports celebrities such as retired Braves hurler Phil Neikro to pitch MARTA.
Only one firm lists transit-related experience in its proposal. San Diego-based Wash Creative says it has produced campaigns for Long Beach Transit and AC Transit of Oakland, both in California.
But the firm would seem to have two strikes against it. It is the only out-of-state firm to apply and the cost of its proposed work is the most expensive.
Wash would allocate $195,185 of the $700,000 budget for its labor, nearly double the lowest proposal and about $50,000 more than the median.
Whichever company wins the bid, MARTA could use a little outside promotional help, marketing experts say.
Last year's public relations campaign included the animated character "Marti," a birdlike creature that made a few appearances and hasn't yet become a household name.
"Marti? It doesn't ring a bell," said Georgia State's Bernhardt. "They need to let Marti out more."