CELEBRATING GREYHOUND’S CENTENNIAL
When Greyhound turned 100 years old in 2014, the company held a year-long celebration to commemorate an occasion that many brands never see. For three years, we planned all of the details leading up to the anniversary, including employee celebrations, Congressional proclamations, a press conference at the U.S. Department of Transportation, publishing a coffee table book and many other events. This included a 40-city mobile museum tour, featuring two converted buses that had a full display of memorabilia inside and eight vintage Greyhound buses that were transported on flatbed tractor-trailers. We created two separate tours to cover all of the markets and arranged for both tours to end up in Dallas in time for the State Fair of Texas in late September, where a large exhibit on the fair grounds was built.
More than 150 positive news stories ran about the 100th anniversary, including details on Greyhound’s transformation into a modern company. Here is a sampling of the coverage:
Forbes: “Celebrating 100 years of intercity bus travel”
Dallas Morning News: “A sleek new 100-year-old Greyhound hits the road”
ABC News: “Greyhound bus fleet revamps, but can a 100-year-old dog learn new tricks?”
Washington Post: “Greyhound: 100 years old and acting younger than ever”
USA Today: “Greyhound remakes itself for a new generation”
Fast Company: “How Greyhound is trying to stay relevant at 100 years old”
When the mobile museum tour stopped in Washington, DC, I worked with the government affairs team to coordinate a press conference at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s headquarters. On display were the four vintage Greyhound vehicles, the museum bus and a new Greyhound bus. A reception with members of Congress followed that evening, and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) presented Greyhound’s CEO Dave Leach with a copy of House Resolution 625, honoring Greyhound’s 100th anniversary.
From commemorative pins and personal notes from the CEO, to special edition newsletters and private events at the terminals where employees could see the mobile museum bus, every effort was made to ensure employees were a part of the 100th anniversary celebration.
While a separate advertising campaign wasn’t created solely for the 100th anniversary, we did create a new campaign that showcased all of the modern upgrades to the travel experience, which was the key message point in all of our anniversary communications. The :60 spot “Tour in Style” (below) not only ran on premium streaming channels like Hulu but also in hundreds of movie theaters across the country just before the previews. It also was supported by display and social media ads.