The six stalwart industry organizations that comprise the coalition known as the American School Bus Council (ASBC) have recently launched a multi-media marketing and public relations campaign to promote the health and safety benefits of the iconic yellow school bus.
The campaign highlights new protocols that have been widely implemented during the pandemic, like increased cleaning and disinfection and the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), especially face masks, and also reinforces traditional ASBC themes, like equal access to education, less traffic, cleaner air and, of course, incredible safety.
The campaign’s August centerpiece is a new section of the ASBC website dedicated to Covid-19, which provides a variety of resources for both parents and school transportation professionals. The website’s Covid-19 landing page features a new video, entitled “A Symbol of Safety” that explains how school transportation professionals are working harder than ever to make student safety their priority. It also features a link to the report of the School Transportation Aligned for Return To School Task Force.
Another highlight of the campaign is a 1-minute video called “Titans of Transportation” that extols ASBC’s core messaging in an impactful, new way. According to the promotional messaging, “The yellow school bus is awesome. It keeps kids safe, lessens environmental impact and provides access to education for all. It’s time to recognize it for what it truly is: A steadfast, hardworking titan of transportation. Give the yellow school bus another look at https://bit.ly/3iqzJHC.”
The campaign also leans heavily on social media, featuring paid promotional advertising and weekly posts on Facebook and LinkedIn. Using a robust social media management system, the ASBC team will monitor the brand’s social media presence and pro-actively seek opportunities for engagement targeting parents, school districts and local government officials.
“Our objective is to keep the yellow school bus top of mind among parents when children are returning to school”, said NAPT President Steve Simmons. “The plan is to be flexible and adjust strategy as the situation develops and changes.”
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