The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced the winners of its annual AdWheel Awards at the APTA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, including three top honors for Greater Grand Rapids very own public transportation system, The Rapid. The awards recognize public transportation systems and business members for excellence in advertising, communications, marketing and promotion.
The Rapid was the recipient of two first place awards, one for the “We’re on the Line” (category: print, advertisement – promotion) promoting The Rapid’s Silver Line and the Silver Line map (category: print, system map). “We’re on the Line” went on to receive the Grand Award in the print category, recognized as the best of the 14 first place winners in the print category.
“Receiving a prestigious APTA AdWheel Award is a very high honor that reflects the outstanding commitment to excellence and innovation of our hardworking staff,” said Peter Varga, CEO of The Rapid. “The awards are an acknowledgment that our team is among the nation’s ‘best of the best.’ On behalf of our riders and supporters, we congratulate their efforts.”
More than 500 entries competed this year in the five categories of print, electronic, campaigns, special events and social media. First-place honors were awarded in various subcategories in each of four groups divided by system size. Grand Award winners were chosen from those first-place winners in each group. The Rapid competed against public transportation systems with between 4 million and 20 million passenger trips annually.
For a complete list of first-place winners, visit www.apta.com .
In addition to the awards honoring The Rapid, Grand Rapids-based American Seating Company’s promotional campaign highlighting “Listening, Designing and Investing in Public Transportation” was recognized in the business member category with a first place award for community campaigns.
“I applaud the 2015 AdWheel Award winners for their exceptional work,” said APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy. “These public transit communicators are truly leaders in their field and we recognize their efforts to promote the many benefits of public transportation, and we are proud to put their creative work in the spotlight for others to see.”
