The Circuit Trails
Strong social influence and community connections fuel a comprehensive brand awareness campaign
OVERVIEW
Love + Belonging: Classic consumer behavior motivators inspired our “Proud to Trail” campaign for the Circuit Trails, Greater Philadelphia’s booming multi-use trail network.
Our goals in working with the Circuit were to boost its overall brand awareness, highlight the importance of the organization’s ongoing connection efforts, and increase trail use through social influence.
The desire to belong has been described as ‘a fundamental human motivation,’ a core factor that drives everything we do.
Source: Entrepreneur.com
Awards
Pain points & challenges
While there was already a strong general awareness of the Circuit’s many individual trails, we needed to increase visibility of the overall trail system as well as its important offerings and benefits:
Access to and conservation of recreational space and nature
Increased individual and community health and wellness
A commuting alternative for bikers and walkers
Community connections, job creation, and local economy contributions
SOLUTIONS: Strategy Meets Creativity
Discovery & Research
To benchmark the start of our work, we began with a comprehensive audit of the Circuit’s current communication tools. We conducted 1:1 interviews and surveys with select stakeholders, steering committee members, and trail users to determine each group’s objectives and priorities.
Branding & Visual Identity
With discovery & research insights in hand, we formulated a bold new campaign tagline that binds together all audiences via an inspiring sense of shared commitment: Proud to Trail.
We applied the tagline to a new logo and campaign wordmark system with personalization opportunities for individual trails and their respective partners, allowing them to “adopt” and promote the campaign with a powerful strength-in-numbers approach.
A comprehensive brand toolkit featured digital, print, and messaging assets that span targeted mediums, in addition to a set of guidelines to communicate how the Circuit brand should be represented to audiences as it grows in the future.
Web Design & Development
To help users learn more and engage in multi-trail use, we created a comprehensive new website that highlights the various trails and their place within the Circuit.
New messaging and primary web copy illustrate the trail system’s geographic reach and use trail tagging. Related links encourage users to explore the site, stay up to date on news, and engage in advocacy at multiple touchpoints.
A new interactive map feature gives users a high-level view of all current and in-progress trails with easy filtering by status, region and/or keyword — in addition to providing handy trail details, use tips, and itineraries that promote cross-trail journeys.
We encouraged users to stay engaged with their community of fellow trail lovers by using the hashtag #onthecircuit on social posts, many of which are featured on the site.
Multimedia Advertising
To achieve the greatest brand reach, we created and implemented a paid media strategy that maximized the client’s budget via transit, TV, digital, and print ads targeting Circuit trail locations across Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey.
