Transport for London's media campaign had to be pro-active. It wasn't just about getting the media on-side - it was about clear messaging, articulate positioning and a complex story. The implications of getting it wrong would have had immense repercussions for the success of the Games.
1. How TfL supported a great 2012
Games and kept London moving
Stuart Ross
Director of News, TfL
8 November 2012
1
2. How TfL supported a great 2012 Games
and kept London moving
• Games transport and comms challenge
• Get Ahead of the Games campaign
• Use of Social Media:
• Ahead of the Games
• During the Games
• In legacy
• Excellent customer experience
• Success & Legacy
• Q&A
2
3. Challenge 1: Scale
Olympic Games
17,800 athletes and team officials
5,000 Olympic Family officials
22,000 media
7.4 million ticketed spectators
Paralympic Games
4,000 athletes and team officials
1,000 Paralympic Family officials
4,000 media
2.7 million tickets
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4. Challenge 2: Location
Greater London
Wembley Arena
Wembley Stadium
CENTRAL ZONE OLYMPIC PARK RIVER ZONE
Wimbledon Earls Court Olympic Stadium North Greenwich Arena
Lord’s Cricket Ground Aquatic Centre Greenwich Park
Hyde Park Other Park venues Royal Artillery Barracks
Horse Guards Parade ExCel
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6. Challenge 4: Diverse audiences to reach,
communicate and engage with
Games Family Spectators Tube users Bus users
Drivers Walkers and Mobility impaired Businesses
cyclists people
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8. Partners working together to meet challenge
• Throughout, we had twin objectives:
• Deliver a great 2012 Games
• Keep London and the UK moving
• London 2012 Games transport strategy
had four main elements:
• Invest in public transport capacity, reliability and
accessibility
• Enhanced public transport – more and later
services
• Manage the road network effectively for all road
users
• Manage travel demand patterns to keep
London and the UK moving
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9. The Transport Demand challenge
An additional 3 million
public transport trips on the
busiest days of the Olympics
• Reductions in the volume of normal
On a normal travel, due to school holidays and
travel demand management, offset
day, 12 million by increases associated with Games
and cultural events
public transport
• So congestion likely at hotspots at
trips per day in certain days, times and locations –
London not across the entire network
• That’s why re-timing, re-routing and
changing the way people travelled
was so important
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10. Impact ‘at certain times and in certain
locations’ – The Hotspots
Roads Tube stations
70% 65%
Unaffected Unaffected
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11. The ‘Get Ahead of the Games’ campaign
• ‘Get Ahead of the Games’
campaign to communicate
directly with
Londoners, commuters and
people right across the UK
• Information, tips and advice
via ads, posters, emails and a
new website, Twitter, YouTube
and Facebook channels
• Explain how those who live and
work in travel hotspots can:
• Reduce
• Reroute
• Retime
• Remode their journeys
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12. Get Ahead of the Games – Campaign Phases
Olympic Paralympic
Jan-Mar Apr-Jun July Games
Day 1
Games
Day 1
S t a g e 1: S t a g e 2: S t aPhase e
S tea g
g 3: Stage
3: :
3 4:
Raise Explore Activate
awareness options o pActivate
tions Transit-
Ac t i v a t ion
options
e
options
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13. GAOTG website – The campaign hub
@GAOTG Twitter
and other social
media channels
integrated with
campaign
website
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14. Detailed info on public transport hotspots...
Public transport
‘hotspots’
identified for each
day of Olympic
and Paralympic
Games. Click for
more info and
travel advice
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15. ...and on the road network
Road transport
hotspot areas
also identified
with ‘avoid’ and
‘expect delay’
message to
encourage
people to plan
ahead
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16. GAOTG Social Media Channels
• GAOTG Facebook Page:
– Simple presence to provide GAOTG news and info
• GAOTG YouTube channel:
– To amplify video content, ads and engage audience
– Boost PR campaign and provide easily accessible content
for media
• @GAOTG:
– Key campaign tool – distribution of messages, news and
campaign content
– Ahead of the Games – Continuous stream of information on
how to plan ahead and links to website, YouTube
– During the Games – information on key ‘hotspots’ to avoid
each day and real-time travel info and advice
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17. TfL Social Media Channel Summary
• TfL Facebook Page – News and information about
TfL and current campaigns
• TfL YouTube channel – Repository for campaign
videos, information films and ads
• TfL Twitter channels:
– @TfLOfficial: PR and news management
– @TfLTravelAlerts: Real-time Tube, DLR, London Overground
– @Centralline... Line-based channels for all TfL rail lines
– @TfLTrafficNews: Real-time road travel info
– @BarclaysCycle: News and info – eg suspended docking
stations – for Barclays Cycle and Superhighways
– @TfLTPH: Taxi and Private Hire – stakeholder comms
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23. London 2012 Games Transport Success
• Tube and DLR carried record numbers
– up 35% on normal summer levels
• Tuesday Aug 7 busiest in Tube history –
4.57m in one day
• Record Barclays Cycle Hire figures –
1m hires in July, 47k on 26 July
• West End Tube station footfall up by
average 7% year-on-year
• Around one third changed their travel
• Central London traffic down 15%
• Huge crowds for road events
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25. London 2012 – Transport & Comms Legacy
Transport Legacy:
• £6.5bn in improved transport links
• Fast, frequent & reliable service
• Fully integrated communications
=
Excellent customer experience
Communications Legacy:
• GAOTG demonstrated potential to change
travel behaviour, with operational benefits
• Step change in digital and social media –
PR and customer comms
• New approach to Wayfinding & Signage
=
Reputation boost for TfL, London and UK
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26. London 2012 Games – Social Media Legacy
• Get Ahead of the Games campaign ended
following Paralympics
• Website remains ‘in legacy’ until end 2012
• But don’t want to lose the 60k Twitter
followers who benefited from travel advice
• So @GAOTG sought to migrate them to
@TfL... channels and other operators
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27. TfL Twitter Channel Summary
Followers:
@TfLOfficial: 55.3k
@TfLOyster: 6.7k
@TfLTravelAlerts: 18.5k
Line Feeds: Circa 80k
@TfLTrafficNews: 23.2k
@TfLBusAlerts: 6.5k
@BarclaysCycle: 8.6k
@EmiratesAirLDN: 3.2k
All Feeds: Over 200k
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Britain's 'largest peacetime logistical exercise’ The greatest logistical challenge any city can faceOlympic Games equivalent to 26 simultaneous world championshipsParalympic Games the second biggest sports competition in the worldOlympic Games:17,800 athletes and team officials5,000 Olympic Family officials22,000 media7.4 million ticketed spectatorsParalympic Games:4,000 athletes and team officials1,000 Paralympic Family officials4,000 media2.7 million tickets
Unlike some previous host cities with out of town venues, London’s Olympic Park was in the heart of the capital – just three stops on the Central line from Liverpool Street station and the City of LondonAnd a host of existing venues and iconic London settings were used for events across the rest of the cityThis meant spectators and the Games Family had to combine with Londoners and commuters on the city’s already busy public transport and roads
Every day of the Games was unique and brought unprecedented challenges to London’s transport system. E.g.Torch relay and rolling road closuresHuge crowds and closed roads for road events – 1 million for cycling road racesStart of athletics competition doubled spectator population of Olympic Park in one goParalympic events concentrated in East London, with many school groups going to events
TfL had twin objectives:Support a great Games – help athletes and officials reach events on time, and providing slick and friendly transport for spectatorsKeep London moving – ensure Londoners could get around and help businesses make the most of opportunities from the Games
JOURNEY START (Waterloo station)>FREE GAMES TRAVELCARDZone 1-9 travelcard issued to all event ticketholdersGames Family (e.g. athletes, officials, media) provided with free Oyster cards>WEB TRAVEL TOOLS AND SOCIAL MEDIAOver 1 million page views on TfL Journey Planner each dayOver 2.5 million people used the London 2012 Spectator Journey Planner>HIGHLY VISIBLE STATION STAFF4,000 TfL Travel Ambassadors and Incident Customer Service Assistants equipped with iPads and iPhones700 Network Rail Travel Champions>GAMES TRAVEL MAPS & INFORMATION6 million walking maps distributed at key interchange and hotspot stations18 million pocket Tube maps>GAMES SPECIFIC TRAVEL ADVICE>REAL TIME TRAVEL INFORMATIONProvided at the entrance to all stationsSame information provided to media and updated online in real-time>ACCESSIBLE GAMES TRAVEL INFORMATIONImproved accessibility information on TfL Journey PlannerAccessibility guides for Paralympic athletes and mediaAdditional staff deployed at key lifts>STATION HOTSPOT MESSAGINGMost stations unaffected but some stations experienced significant demand at certain timesPassengers pointed to getaheadofthegames.com for travel alternatives>FREQUENT & RELIABLE SERVICESignalling upgrades delivered increased capacityTrains ran an hour later at nightExtra services to cater for “bump-out”>ON-TRAIN VENUE INFORMATION>GAMES TRAVEL VENUE WAYFINDING>ACCESSIBILITY WAYFINDING>SPECTATOR MESSAGINGSigns and announcements used maximise use of available capacity for Olympic Park>HIGHLY VISIBLE STATION STAFFTravel Ambassadors worked with additional operational staffDLR stations staffed throughout the Games (usually unstaffed)All staff recognisable in London 2012 high-vis clothing>FLEXIBLE STATION MANAGEMENTOne-way flow systems designed for event bump-in and bump-outFlip signs erected to dynamically manage passenger flows>DAILY GAMES TRAVEL BULLETINSEvery day of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is differentEvents affecting local transport highlighted to passengers>STATION CROWD MANAGEMENT>INTEGRATED LAST MILEGames “look book” created to ensure clear and consistent signageFully integrated operational plans established between Transport for London, rail operators and LOCOG>JOUNEY END (Olympic Park)
JOURNEY START (Waterloo station)>FREE GAMES TRAVELCARDZone 1-9 travelcard issued to all event ticketholdersGames Family (e.g. athletes, officials, media) provided with free Oyster cards>WEB TRAVEL TOOLS AND SOCIAL MEDIAOver 1 million page views on TfL Journey Planner each dayOver 2.5 million people used the London 2012 Spectator Journey Planner>HIGHLY VISIBLE STATION STAFF4,000 TfL Travel Ambassadors and Incident Customer Service Assistants equipped with iPads and iPhones700 Network Rail Travel Champions>GAMES TRAVEL MAPS & INFORMATION6 million walking maps distributed at key interchange and hotspot stations18 million pocket Tube maps>GAMES SPECIFIC TRAVEL ADVICE>REAL TIME TRAVEL INFORMATIONProvided at the entrance to all stationsSame information provided to media and updated online in real-time>ACCESSIBLE GAMES TRAVEL INFORMATIONImproved accessibility information on TfL Journey PlannerAccessibility guides for Paralympic athletes and mediaAdditional staff deployed at key lifts>STATION HOTSPOT MESSAGINGMost stations unaffected but some stations experienced significant demand at certain timesPassengers pointed to getaheadofthegames.com for travel alternatives>FREQUENT & RELIABLE SERVICESignalling upgrades delivered increased capacityTrains ran an hour later at nightExtra services to cater for “bump-out”>ON-TRAIN VENUE INFORMATION>GAMES TRAVEL VENUE WAYFINDING>ACCESSIBILITY WAYFINDING>SPECTATOR MESSAGINGSigns and announcements used maximise use of available capacity for Olympic Park>HIGHLY VISIBLE STATION STAFFTravel Ambassadors worked with additional operational staffDLR stations staffed throughout the Games (usually unstaffed)All staff recognisable in London 2012 high-vis clothing>FLEXIBLE STATION MANAGEMENTOne-way flow systems designed for event bump-in and bump-outFlip signs erected to dynamically manage passenger flows>DAILY GAMES TRAVEL BULLETINSEvery day of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is differentEvents affecting local transport highlighted to passengers>STATION CROWD MANAGEMENT>INTEGRATED LAST MILEGames “look book” created to ensure clear and consistent signageFully integrated operational plans established between Transport for London, rail operators and LOCOG>JOUNEY END (Olympic Park)