A recent community and media relations effort to take a bite out of the Big Apple crime scene and announce the arrival of a cellular company was a proven success, with the pilot program moving ahead to help maintain safety in Gotham City. Hired by Sprint PCS and working closely with the non-profit Cab Watch organization, Kratz & Company Inc. answered this wireless company's call in July 1998 to establish a presence in the New York market.
Showing how cellular phones are a useful tool and a growing part of people's everyday life was the catalyst behind the campaign's success.
Ringing digitally clear, the message was: Sprint PCS phones are a dependable mode of wireless communication. To make a splash, Sprint PCS rode the coattails of the crime prevention Cab Watch program and made its mark in the area. (Eventually the program will roll into other cities.)
The Cab Watch program supplies taxi drivers with digital 911-only wireless phones from Sprint PCS so they can report crimes and emergencies they witness while on duty. The initial pilot transformed 50 yellow cabs into crime-fighting vehicles. That move resulted in two arrests and nine accidents being reported, according to Taxi & Limousine Commission.
The Bright Idea
Jason Diaz, a management consultant and president of Cab Watch, came up with the idea for the organization three years ago after a friend of his was shot and mugged in Philadelphia.
Diaz wanted to create a program that would enlist private resources to combat street crime. To do so, he sought the support of the New York City government; the John A. Reisenback Foundation, a network of more than 50 volunteers from a variety of professions; and, of course, Sprint PCS. Not wanting to merely capitalize on a national trend, Sprint PCS selected a community-based project that would give them product recognition as well as a neighborly voice.
Part of that was achieved through coverage from local press outlets.
"The New York Times, New York Post and channel NY1 all ran feature stories," says David Strauss, director of marketing for Sprint PCS for the New York area. Generally, the media coverage surrounding the Cab Watch program and Sprint PCS's involvement was positive. But some of the stories combined the program with the new taxi regulations passed in 1997, which caused a negative stir among New York cabbies. "This clouded the program's success a little," says Diaz.
Considering the program is ongoing, Sprint PCS or K&C don't have final measurements, but estimates are that the pilot yielded more than 5 million consumer impressions, says Kevin Cavanaugh, senior account executive with K&C.
Nonetheless, the power of this program to reach a wide audience is obvious: The Taxi & Limousine Commission estimates nearly 1 million people ride in a cab and 20,000 see one on city streets each day. Throughout the pilot, 63,000 passengers rode in a Cab Watch cab covering 210,000 miles.
The Core of the Project
In 1996, Sprint PCS was starting service in the tri-state area and needed publicity. At the same time, Cab Watch was trying to get off the ground and searching for a wireless sponsor.
Bell Atlantic [BEL] and AT&T [T] were among the contenders, but Diaz selected Sprint PCS because he felt the technology (CDMA Digital Technology) was superior - they offered the most extensive coverage. "With Sprint PCS being the new kid in town, we couldn't think of a better way to get its name out than connecting them with New York's icon: cab drivers," says Cavanaugh.
Each driver was given a phone, a hat embroidered with the Sprint PCS and Cab Watch logos and two stickers also displaying the logos. "It was great really, considering one has little to do while riding in a cab. We had a captive audience with our logo staring them back," says Strauss.
The success of this campaign is due in part to the way it was executed, with an integrated approach that placed more emphasis on marketing than advertising. Sprint PCS looked for an alternative PR venue beyond brand recognition coming from traditional avenues such as billboards, paper and TV advertisements handled by Sprint PCS's advertising agency of record, Hale Riney and Associates. Agency of record for Sprint PCS, K&C designed the literature for passengers as well as stickers for the cabbies to promote Sprint PCS's services.
According to Strauss, the whole project stayed within its undisclosed budget. The yearly maintenance cost for Sprint PCS is relatively low, $50 per driver.
In the end, it was patience - more than funding - that staffers needed. Considering they were working with the local government, K&C and Cab Watch had to wait for the mayor's approval, hold training sessions for the drivers and make sure everyone involved understood the seriousness behind the project.
"NYPD was concerned drivers would not know what constitutes a 911 emergency; the drivers were concerned with passenger issues such as: Does the meter keep running while the emergency call is made? Do they let their customers out? - things like that," says Cavanaugh.
Overall crime was down in New York when the program was launched and hopes are high it will continue being successful. "We would like to have 1,000 yellow cabs this year and by early '99 we want to launch a pilot program with 50 delivery service cars and grow that as well," says Diaz. (K&C, 212/979-2700; David Strauss, 212/642-7143; Jason Diaz, 212/940-6060)
"One thing we will do differently in the next phase is promote more individual success stories with the program. New York media loves street-level human interest stories."
- Kevin Cavanaugh, senior account executive, Kratz&Co.
Kratz & Company
Founded: 1984
Headquarters: New York
Billings: 1997, $5 million
Clients: Samuel Adams, Kenneth Cole, Condenet