Jingle Bus
Public Relations Campaign
Re-invigorating family-friendly
Holiday Cheer
For 20 seasons, Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21 has brightened downtown visits throughout November and December with the Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival. The Jingle Bus, a 40-minute narrated tour that connects guests to downtown landmarks and the most brilliantly lit scenes, is one of the festival’s most popular attractions.
Amid rainstorms, a new Warming House location, and a growing list of activities for families to partake in while downtown, the Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival’s long-standing Jingle Bus service was in need of a public awareness boost to remind past patrons of the family-friendly service and introduce new audiences to its value.
The Challenge
At just $2 per person, with discounted parking available in an adjacent structure, the Jingle Bus has been touted as one of downtown Milwaukee’s most convenient modes of transportation. Bad weather coupled with the City’s new and free streetcar system, which made its debut just two weeks before the festival’s kick-off, was beginning to impact Jingle Bus service.
In addition, a new six-week holiday market was unveiled at the recently opened Fiserv Forum. With several new attractions for guests to check out, patrons were fulfilling their curiosities at these novel destinations.
The Solution: Creating a Dialogue
WaterStreet Creative utilized traditional public relations tactics to give the service boosted recognition. After connecting with local media producers and reporters, WaterStreet Creative was able to create dialogue around a tradition two decades in the making, resulting in print, broadcast, and online mentions and interviews.
Engaging the Community
To capture and showcase the unique experience of riders on the Jingle Bus, WaterStreet Creative collaborated with local agency Social Candy to produce a promotional video for Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21's website and promote across the Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival social media pages.
The Results
Through media outreach efforts, WaterStreet Creative was able to secure multiple live and pre-recorded TV and radio segments, garnering over 789,000 impressions and over $37,000 in earned media coverage in one week, leading to all-time highs in nightly ridership which steadily increased throughout the duration of the festival.
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