United Rail Passenger Alliance

Volume 3 Number 40

1. Another week, this time the first week of the new fiscal year, and another week when the Sunset Limited is not running east of New Orleans. Has anybody seen the Sunset Limited?
2. For all of the things Amtrak is doing, it’s what Amtrak is not doing that is making a negative difference.For too long, Amtrak has considered marketing and related activities beyond the Northeast Corridor (or, here in bow and arrow country, which means anywhere west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and south of Washington, D.C.) as unimportant. At best, Amtrak has paid lip service to marketing the national system, but the bulk of the marketing and advertising dollars have gone into trying to bolster the sagging NEC.

   Some Amtrak apologists will quickly point out that 54% of fare box revenues come from the NEC. (Yawn) Big deal. It takes more than 54% of the expenses to keep running the NEC, so it doesn’t matter how much revenue comes from there as long as it takes even more money to run the services.

   There was once a shining moment in Amtrak marketing in 1999 and 2000 in the old Gulf Coast Business Group, which at the time controlled the Sunset Limited, City of New Orleans, and Crescent.

   At the same time, the Amtrak marketing department was undergoing some upheaval and changes, so two independent entities were formed with outside contractors, the Crescent Promotional Office and the Sunset Limited and City of New Orleans Promotional Office.

   Both of these ventures were successful in zeroing in on specific trains and routes and drawing local business to those trains.

   The budgets were small by marketing standards, because a lot of guerilla marketing took place that produced results.

   As an example, in the Sunset and City office, we (this writer) used a lot of barter and public relations techniques. We would go to a radio station in a city such as Daytona Beach, and create a program where a station DJ would host a trip on the Sunset Limited from Daytona to New Orleans.

   We gave the station free trips for the DJ host, the station manager, and several pairs of tickets to give away as prizes. In exchange, the station heavily promoted the trip, and listeners were allowed to purchase trips in the group in order to travel with their favorite DJ and have a group trip to New Orleans.

   The bottom line? Lots of air time advertising Amtrak and the Sunset Limited, new passengers who paid to travel with the group, and much of the external cost for the specific project included giving away coach and sleeping car space on the train which would have run empty anyway, so it was turned into a valuable commodity for barter.

3. Other similar programs were put together for group travel for what are known as affinity groups (people traveling together who have something in common) such as credit union members, church members, and any other type of organization. Other programs included working with television stations on the same basis as radio stations (travel with your favorite weatherman), and also working with local governments to jointly promote Amtrak and local tourism.The possibilities were, and are, endless. It takes a fertile mind that is willing to think outside the standard marketing box, not be afraid to advance ideas, and be able to do some horse trading.

   Amtrak has a longtime policy of using empty seats and sleeping car space for promotions, and the use of this space is not charged to anyone’s budget. Therefore, a lot can be accomplished without yet another budget item to fight over at the end of the fiscal year.

4. For too long, Amtrak has been America’s best kept secret. For those of you outside Washington and the NEC reading this space, conduct your own field test. Talk to 20 of your friends, co-workers, or neighbors who don’t know you have an interest in rail. Ask them if they know Amtrak serves your town or city. Ask them if they have ever ridden on a passenger train. Ask them if they have any idea of how to contact Amtrak if the thought did strike them to want to ride a train. The results shouldn’t be shocking. Anyone who is a road warrior for business knows every good hotel has a services directory in each room. In almost every instance, there are telephone numbers for all of the local airlines, but not a single number for Amtrak. Many hotels provide a shuttle service to local airports, often miles away. Ask if you can get a shuttle ride to the local Amtrak station. “Where? What? No, we don’t go there.” “But, it’s on the way to the airport!” “Sorry, we don’t go there.”
5. These are the types of problems that are best solved with an aggressive promotional office program. These are the details that often get left behind by marketing people who are usually thinking more globally than on a local level. These are the “in fill” jobs that don’t cost much to do, but over a period of time can make a huge difference in visibility and on an institutional scale, so that when marketing dollars are spent in traditional venues, those dollars will have a greater impact.
6. The art public relations means many different things to many people. It can be a combination of damage control, warm and fuzzy creations, factual presentations, and image building. All of it is something Amtrak has failed to do on any regular basis. Amtrak spends less than $100 million a year on marketing and advertising, a small amount. A good promotional office and educational program could be had for probably less than five percent of that figure, a small investment which has proven to bring big results.
7. One resource that Amtrak often ignores is the excitement and willingness of its own people to speak and make presentations of the company’s behalf. From conductors to ticket agents to office clerks, there are thousands of Amtrak employees who are comfortable speaking in front of groups and like promoting the work of their employer. Another similar area is an Amtrak speakers bureau. Most large corporations have corporate spokespersons who are available as professional speakers for gatherings of all sizes and interests. This is another relatively small budget area that provides large amounts of goodwill for the company.
8. Amtrak, as it moves forward under the board of directors and new president and chief executive officer, needs to strongly examine its options to stop being the best kept secret in America.