NFTA
Talking about the Metro Rail expansion project
In 2016, the NFTA concluded years’ worth of research and analysis on alternate transit options in the Amherst Corridor (the area between the University at Buffalo’s North and South Campuses). Armed with hundreds of documents, statistics, reports, and recommendations, the NFTA faced a communication challenge — how can they tell their story and make their recommendation to the University at Buffalo and the general public in the most effective and compelling way?
The 19 Ideas approach.
We understood what was at stake. The NFTA needed to gain buy-in from the University at Buffalo and local municipalities for their project to get off the ground. We also understood that simply citing fact after fact wasn’t going to be the best approach.
Of course, dollars and cents drive a lot of decisions. The cost of the project was high. But we also felt strongly that the community impact and the individual impact the Metro Rail expansion project could have on the lives of so many Western New York residents, was even greater.
So we condensed and compiled hundreds of pieces of information, pulling out the salient and impactful points to tell the story in a way that was sure to resonate with the individual first and the school and municipalities second.
Personalizing the story.
We created custom head-shot illustrations to accompany a graphic of the extended train line. Each illustrated person was given a brief story depicting how their day-to-day lives would change with the addition of an expanded Metro Rail.
Formatting and presenting the map.
Understanding that this communication was predicated on in-person meetings, we needed to provide a physical wow factor. To do this, we incorporated a tailored vellum overlay best to showcase the proposed additions to the metro line. The booklet opened to a printed map showing only the current metro line, but when the next page was turned, a vellum page was overlaid onto the map, and the new line was placed in the exact location of the proposed route.
Showing broader support.
A project of this magnitude needed to pack an additional punch. No matter how great the story, it was critical to demonstrate wide-ranging support across New York State. Working together with our client and through independent research of our own, we secured powerful and impactful quotes of support from key figures and publications around town.
Smart infographics offer clarity.
Information is so much easier to consume when it is presented in a visually appealing way. Not only did we put together nice graphics, but the themes and icons used were also directly related to the project and the points noted within.
Train stop treatments.
A simple but clever creative treatment added to the bottom corner of each page guided you through the booklet and the project.
The finished product.
The result was a comprehensive yet concise 16-page brochure that creatively told a story of the community impact and benefits of an expanded Metro Rail. The meetings held with the University at Buffalo and government leaders used this communication as the focal point of the discussion, and the outcomes were successful. The project garnered the initial support it needed to move to the next phase.