(The following story by David Levinsky appeared on the Burlington County Times website on September 17.)
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Faced with flat ridership on its River Line, NJ Transit has embarked on a new advertising campaign that targets residents of towns more distant from River Line stations.
The new marketing blitz features cowboy images and the slogan “Go West” in hopes of enticing commuters and leisure travelers from Moorestown, Maple Shade, Delran and other towns east of station locations to make use of the Trenton-to-Camden line and its connections to Philadelphia and other destinations.
“We see the opportunity to develop riders to the east, between Route 130 and Interstate 295,” NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel said.
The marketing campaign began this summer and will continue into the fall, Stessel said. It follows a three-month period in which ridership on the 34-mile Trenton-to-Camden River Line was flat while overall ridership on all NJ Transit lines rose to an all-time high.
According to NJ Transit, ridership on the River Line averaged 7,600 weekday passenger trips between April and June this year, roughly 0.3 percent less than last year. By comparison, between the fourth quarter of 2005 and fourth quarter 2006, ridership rose 14 percent.
Stessel said lack of growth prompted NJ Transit to design a marketing campaign to reach new customers.
“The goal here is to broaden the base of riders to as wide an area as possible,” Stessel said.
“We want to convince those residents that don’t live immediately along the line that the River Line is still an attractive option to go to Philadelphia or Trenton.”
Enter the “Go West” campaign, which puts an old western slant on some of the line’s most attractive features. One advertisement hails the River Line as “The Land of Wide Open Parking Spaces” in reference to the free parking at all 20 River Line stations.
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Stessel said another advertisement is intended to emphasize that River Line passage is free for commuters with monthly passes on Northeast Corridor trains.
“We want motorists to know that you not only enjoy a convenient commuting experience on the River Line but you also save money,” he said.
Keeping with the western theme, the advertisements include images of a cowboy twirling a lasso that then transforms into a map of station locations.
Carol Kaufman-Scarborough, an associate professor of marketing and business at Rutgers-Camden, said she thought that map was the most useful component.
“I think that’s very clever. It provides a geographical reference that helps someone judge where the trains go and whether it will be useful for them,” Kaufman-Scarborough said. “I also like the idea of wide-open parking spaces. I think it’s a clever tie-in.”
Stessel said the advertising campaign was created in house by NJ Transit employees rather than by contracting with a professional marketing or advertising firm.
About $57,000 is being spent on the new campaign — $44,247 for newspaper and Internet advertising and $12,600 to rent two billboards, Stessel said.
The total is substantially less than the $750,000 NJ Transit spent on advertising and promotions when the River Line first opened in March 2004.