As outlined in the TRAC Program Research and Evaluation Plan, the purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of, and solicit ideas for potential improvements to Arlington Transportation Partners’ (ATP) newsletter – Solutions – that is distributed four times a year.
KEY FINDINGS
ATP Awareness:
- 80% knew who published Solutions without prompting (unaided awareness). 16% additional were aware of ATP when asked (aided awareness) totaling 96% awareness.
- 45% of Residential and 57% of Employer respondents said they use ATP services.
- 66% have been prompted to call ATP or visit the Web site (or both) by the newsletter.
Newsletter Use:
- 68% of respondents prefer the paper format, 16% prefer email, 7% prefer both, and 9% have no preference.
- 54% prefer to receive the newsletter quarterly, 30% prefer monthly, and 16% have no preference.
- 67% have read all three of the past three issues they received. Only 8% have not read any.
- 42% keep the newsletter for at least a month. 7% keep it longer than 4 months and 23% keep it for less than a week.
- 46% pass the newsletter along, 29% throw it away or recycle it, and 25% save it for future reference. 23% say that 20 or more people read their copy of the newsletter. Only 14% say that only one person reads the newsletter.
- 82% of those who wanted the letter in email format would forward the newsletter to friends or coworkers.
- Upcoming Events and Bicycle Commuting are the most read topics. All 23 topics appeared in readers’ top choices.
Added Value Items:
- 71% rated the brochures at least a 7 (on a scale of 0 to 10) on value, 50% rated the Giveaways at least a 7 on value, 79% rated the maps at least a 7 on value, and 54% rated the posters at least a 7 on value.
- 66% display the map; 57% display the poster.
- Satisfaction and Net Promoter Score:
- 67% rated the Solutions newsletter at least a 7 on helpfulness.
- The Net Promoter Score is -13.
Newsletter Impact:
- 15% said the newsletter prompted them to change personal commute/transportation habits.
- All but 3 Residential respondents and all but 13 Employer respondents say that Solutions prompted them to implement ATP offered benefits.t Coffee Card incentive for online survey completion
METHODOLOGY
- Mode of Data Collection – Store intercepts (5-question pre-survey; Follow-up online survey in store with ability to finish in another location if necessary; $5 Gourmet Coffee Card incentive for online survey completion)
- Completed Surveys – 87 Total Respondents (81 via telephone and 6 via email link to online survey; 33 Residential and 54 Employers)
- Survey Population – ATP’s newsletter client list of 685 companies in Arlington County
- Survey Instrument – Telephone/Online Questionnaire
DOCUMENTS FOR DOWNLOAD
Technical Summary (PDF): SUMMARY – 2009 ATP Solutions Newsletter
Survey Questionnaire (PDF): 2009 ATP Solution Newsletter QUESTIONNAIRE
Data Tables (PDF): 2009 ATP Solutions Newsletter DATA TABLES
Contact the TRAC Research Team for more information.