A clear message for Auckland’s commuters

AUCKLAND, Today: Auckland’s population is booming, with 44,600 new residents expected every year. To keep the city moving, Auckland Transport (AT) needs to change the way people think about transport.

For many, AT is just about public transport, potholes, and parking tickets. But there’s more to it than that. AT wants to educate Aucklanders on how to keep their city moving.

The Your City Moving campaign is all about promoting behaviour change and encouraging people to use public transport, pay fares easily, and make the most of smart technology. With the clever use of words, colours, and movement, the campaign grabs people’s attention.

“Creative@AT brought together an amazing team for this campaign,” says Chris Swift, Creative Director. “We simplified a complicated challenge and created a clear strategy.”

“Our creative is made to get noticed, communicate quickly and tell people something they aren’t aware of. This team has delivered on that.” – Chris Swift

The team included some talented individuals, including Lisa Divett, Tim Huse, Kerryn-Lee Tyser, and Angela Lynskey.

The campaign had to convey a lot of information in a short amount of time. So, the team went back to basics, using simple words and images.

“Preliminary testing with a diverse group, who all use our roads in very different ways, showed giving context and explaining why change is necessary in a simplistic way,” says Anna Lawrence, Head of Brand and Marketing.

AT’s Pothole Promise is a great example of this approach. The campaign encouraged people to report potholes, with a promise to fix them within 24 hours.

“The idea behind the creative direction was to normalise potholes. If you live in a city with roads and rain, you are going to get potholes; it’s not unique to Auckland, yet Aucklanders are particularly angry about them,” says Lawrence.

The campaign has been a huge success, with 785 potholes repaired so far.

“Our creative is made to get noticed, communicate quickly and tell people something they aren’t aware of. This team has delivered on that,” says Swift.