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Get Florida Moving

Situation:

We were engaged by Floridians for Better Transportation to build public, media, opinion leader and, ultimately, lawmaker support for increased transportation funding in the 2005 legislative session. While lawmakers and other opinion leaders generally recognized the need for transportation improvements, higher funding levels were not being embraced as a priority. And, while polls showed the public was aggravated with traffic congestion, their frustration was not reaching legislators in the form of advocacy for road improvements.

Strategy:

We created a highly visible and effective campaign that produced statewide earned media coverage, Web traffic and public and third-party advocacy for road improvements. Under the name, Get Florida Moving, we built an engaging, interactive Web site that allowed the public to nominate the worst roads in Florida and contact their legislators to promote transportation funding. Over the course of a three-month period, we generated 25 significant print stories in major daily newspapers, statewide television and radio coverage, and 50,000 unique visits to the GetFloridaMoving.org Web site. The coverage we generated contained key messages about the urgent need for more transportation funding and featured the web address. In addition, we produced an informative and persuasive DVD that we used as a briefing and lobbying tool with legislators.

Outcome:

Get Florida Moving resulted in a significant increase in transportation funding. The 2005 Florida Legislature passed landmark growth management legislation that included over $1 billion in new funding for transportation projects throughout the state. The legislation, SB 360, also created the Transportation Regional Improvement Incentive Program (TRIP.) This new funding program was designed to leverage local investments in transportation infrastructure and to provide local governments with match funding to advance projects ahead of schedule.