TransLink received the Marketing and Communications Award at the 2023 CUTA Awards Ceremony.

To enhance awareness of our initiatives and engage our audience, we embraced new digital channels to reach customers, stakeholders, and taxpayers. Our objective was to foster trust, reinforce brand affinity, showcase transit’s value, and encapsulate our priorities in concise narratives. This led to the creation of “What’s the T: the TransLink Podcast with Jawn Jang,” aligning with CUTA’s Transit 2040 Vision, which emphasizes customer-centric information delivery and knowledge sharing within the transit industry.

Our podcast caters to the “practical mindset” rider, aged 25-34, who commutes via public transit. Knowing that many of them already use headphones during their journey, we saw an opportunity to connect with them through a podcast format. Hosted by Jawn Jang, a former radio personality, the podcast offers an immersive experience across themed 10-episode seasons. The first season addresses frequently asked questions about transit, weaving compelling stories and creative audio production into an entertaining and educational narrative. It’s an integral component of our Social Media and Digital Content strategy, fostering a knowledge-sharing community across various platforms.

The podcast represents a significant shift in our communication approach, encompassing written, photo, video, and audio content to humanize our organization and personalize the commuting experience. Produced internally, it incurs no ongoing production costs.
“What’s the T” surpassed our goal of 450 listens per episode in the first season, with over 1,300 average downloads and more than 13,000 total downloads across 10 episodes and a trailer. Our launch strategy, including media releases, social media, out-of-home advertising, and word-of-mouth, earned us media coverage in prominent Metro Vancouver publications. As the only active major transit agency podcast in Canada, our success underscores the demand for this niche podcast format.