Do you “SEPTA” to work? The museum? A game or concert? There are many reasons why people in the Greater Philadelphia Region use SEPTA. Now customers can tell the authority why they ride with Instagram.
Using the Instagram photo application, riders will be encouraged to take photos of SEPTA during their daily use of the system and caption the photo with what riding SEPTA means to them, along with the hash tag #iseptaphilly. Photos will be aggregated into a photo stream, which will live on the www.iseptaphilly.com home page.
The feed goes live on November 1. Weekly prizes, including tickets to concerts, 76ers games and Blue Mountain Ski Area and SEPTA passes and gear, will be awarded for the best pictures.
“We’re looking for more than the ‘I’m sitting on the train, heading to work’ photos,” said Elizabeth Bradford, the authority’s Director of Marketing. “Our customers are creative – we’re looking for them to use their artistic skills and submit inspired images of why and how they SEPTA Philly. Let’s prove the old adage true – a picture really is worth a 1,000 words.” Or in this case, two tickets to Jingle Ball to see Justin Bieber!
The Authority launched its I SEPTA Philly campaign in spring 2012 to attract the next generation of public transit riders – people between the ages of 18-34. In unscripted commercials, riders talk about safety, cleanliness, ease of use and affordability – topics raised during focus groups held with individuals in the targeted age group. Throughout the summer, the SEPTA asked riders to submit their I SEPTA Philly videos to the website.
“The video contest was a success,” said Bradford. “The Instagram feed makes it even easier for our customers to tell us why they SEPTA Philly – they can upload their photos while they are still on the bus, trolley or train.”
The photo contest is open to all members of the public and ends at noon on December 21, 2012. Submitted photos will be reviewed by SEPTA staff for approval before being accepted for the contest and the website. For more information on how to SEPTA Philly and to enter the contest, visit http://iseptaphilly.com.