Tried and true messaging that works for transportation communicators

Communicating the benefits of transportation to the general public is a constant challenge. Now halfway through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provided a historic level of federal investment in surface transportation across the country, it is more important than ever for us as communications professionals to talk about what our state DOT projects are doing to better our communities-especially if we don’t want this to be a once-in-a-lifetime investment. This session focused on a National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) report (“Assessing and Communicating the Economic and Quality of Life Benefits of Transportation Infrastructure Investment”) and will gave concrete examples of messages that resonate with the public and discussed why they’re effective. Speakers also gave attendees practical examples of how to use those effective messages within their day-to-day communications plan. [Note: This session but on the discussion held at the 2023 TransComm Annual Meeting in Portland, ME, that also discussed this report.]