Agency takes home awards for marketing

Laketran was honored last month for communications and marketing with an APEX award.

Last month, Laketran was honored with the Tom Ruffner Best of Show Award at the Lake Communicators APEX Awards, which recognizes local businesses for excellence in communications and marketing.

Hosted annually by Lake Communicators, a local group of marketing and communications professionals, the APEX Awards are in their 14th year.

The transit agency received the top award for their “How to Ride the Bus” video which was produced to promote the agency’s Travel Training program. The tool teaches first-time riders how to use the bus service and new rider tools, like real-time bus tracking on the Laketran mobile app.

Produced by Euclid-based Burges & Burges Strategists, the video has reached over 35,000 viewers online. “We know that riding the bus for the first time can be intimidating and people prefer to plan their transportation with apps, like Google Maps,” said Julia Schick, Laketran’s director of communications. “The video teaches how to use new rider tools that help riders plan their entire trip online and successfully use public transit.

“It also promotes our Travel Training program, which is an individualized program where Laketran’s travel trainer meets with residents to learn how to use our services and gain the confidence to travel independently. Travel Training is available to general public and mainly serves youth, seniors and people with disabilities looking for more transportation options.”

This video has also become a model for transit systems throughout Ohio, the agency detailed in a news release.

“In the transit industry, we don’t compete, we collaborate,” Schick said. “Area transit systems in Portage and Stark counties were also looking to produce travel training videos, so we worked together to create one video that could be branded for each agency reducing the production cost by half.”

Laketran also took home three additional awards: a gold award for their mobile app, built by Willoughbybased digital firm Blackbird Interactive, that features real-time bus tracking, schedules and fare information; a silver award for a new brand identity guide; and bronze for Laketran’s 2017 propane fleet and fueling station ribbon cutting event.

Laketran Board President Brian Falkowski said the agency is honored to be recognized, especially for its “How to Ride the Bus” video and mobile app.

“Laketran has made several investments in technology and programming to make riding the bus more convenient, whether its tracking your bus in real-time or participating in travel training to get started riding the bus,” he said. “All of this makes our services more accessible for Lake County residents and it’s great to see our public awareness efforts being acknowledged.”

Schick accepted the awards on behalf of the agency and credits partnerships with local creative agencies, printers and media that help get Laketran’s message out.

“We are honored that our work was so well received by the APEX committee and judges this year,” she said. “Taking home the Best in Show Award honoring former Wickliffe Mayor and designer Tom Ruffner, who was a longtime friend of Laketran’s, is truly an honor. The ultimate goal is making sure residents of Lake County know about their transit system and what we can do for them, so I encourage everyone to check out the video on our YouTube or Facebook pages.”

Laketran General Manager Ben Capelle said he’s very proud of the communications team.

“They find fun and creative ways to promote what to most is a simple topic of how to get around town. They continue work hard to keep up to date with marketing and transit trends to keep our community informed.”