San Jose State University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

A brief description of the campaign (1st campaign) The Eco Pass Clipper Campaign is a combination of outreach events, social media activity, and the distribution of marketing material in support of the University’s transit pass: the Eco Pass Clipper Card. This is a unique pass to SJSU and allows students and employees to ride the local transit system for free. Outreach consists of approximately 50 campus events per school year including: Ride to School Day, Admitted Spartan Day, Freshman Orientation Special Interest Sessions, Employee Resource Fair, and Earth Day. These events give Transportation Solutions a chance to display their marketing material (Posters, banners, fliers) to convey the benefits of the Eco Pass and public transportation: Save Money, Sanity, and the Planet! On social media, students and employees have the opportunity to take part in #TransitTuesdaySJSU, an ongoing campaign where participants post transit selfies to Facebook and Instagram in order to get entered into various raffles throughout the semester. #TransitTuesdaySJSU is complimented by Transportation Solutions’ overall online presence, which can be seen in the multitude of informative, engaging, and humorous posts on the department’s social media accounts.

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (1st campaign) It is difficult to attribute changes in commute behavior to a single factor such as an outreach campaign. Rather, someone’s propensity to drive, take transit, bike, walk, or carpooling is often the result of a number of compounding factors. These can include the price of gas, weather conditions, efficiency of the transportation network, socioeconomic status, or a predisposed attitude towards sustainability. Thus, Transportation Solutions cannot solely link the Eco Pass Clipper Campaign to the rise in transit ridership we have seen over the last year. Nonetheless, data shows that of the ~10,500 students choosing to take public transportation to SJSU, 25.5% say it is because it’s free for them to use thanks to the Eco Pass. Whether or not these students picked up their Eco Pass because of attending one of Transportation Solutions’ outreach events is uncertain, however TS believes that without marketing the Eco Pass fewer students would know about its availability. 2015 TS Commute Survey: file:///C:/Users/tsassistant/Downloads/Fall%202015%20Survey%20Results1118151152%20(7).pdf

The Erase Waste Campaign for the Dining Commons started in spring of 2014 with the goal of reducing food waste by 5%. The campaign educates meal plan holders about the goal of reducing food waste with educational events geared towards healthy eating and portion control. There is an Erase Waste Display in the Dinning Commons with food waste infographics and weekly food waste updates.

Since the start of the campaign in spring of 2014, students surpassed the 5% goal each semester and there has been a reduction in food waste by 40%.

Take Back the Tap is a campaign working towards more installations of filtered water refill stations on the SJSU campus. The goal of the campaign is to educate students about campus tap water and refill stations. The students who started the campaign were successful in getting almost 40 refill stations installed in all the major buildings around campus and there are plans for more installations. The Mug Life campaign urges students and staff to bring their reusable mugs for coffee, tea, and other beverages on campus. Our eateries offer a $0.50 discount for bringing a reusable mug. Since the start of the campaign in the fall of 2014, reusable mug usage has increased by 70% in one of our most popular eateries, Just Below.