• Communications and Branding Program
• Ad Series

Communications and Branding Program

The “clock is ticking.”

In less than 24 months, the U.S. Congress will decide the future of federal highway and public transit investment—today the source of almost 50 percent of all surface transportation capital expenditures by state and local governments.

For the U.S. transportation design and construction industry, there is a lot at stake.

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Unfortunately, here’s the “voting environment” in Washington as the debate begins:

• Editorial cartoons and articles in newspapers and magazines across the country regularly lampooning the federal highway program as “pork-barrel,” wasteful spending;
• The last federal highway bill defined on television and talk radio by the “Bridge to Nowhere”;
• Public opinion research showing the public seriously questioning their return on transportation investments.

We can—we must—take action to reframe the debate! It’s Our Future!

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) has a plan to refocus how our industry—and federal transportation investment—is viewed in the Nation’s Capital before the next highway/transit reauthorization bill takes the floor in Congress.

We’ve got a plan—developed by our membership—that will provide the vision necessary to significantly increase federal investment in highways.

And we’ve got a program designed to get new champions for federal transportation investment in Congress.

Administered by ARTBA’s Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF), “It’s Our Future!”™ is designed to quickly and dramatically:

• Elevate the importance of transportation infrastructure to a national priority by spotlighting the dire consequences to our economy, global competitiveness, and national security of inadequate investment;
• Position transportation design and construction as an industry that solves vexing problems with innovative solutions; and
• Demonstrate our industry’s work provides an outstanding return on the public’s investment—operating with a concern for communities and the environment, and utilizing state-of-the-art technologies and materials.

Ad Series

The December 4 launch included the first in a series of advertisements—featuring ARTBA members—that highlight ARTBA’s global vision of a modernized transportation system that has the capability to manage population growth and congestion, increase global competitiveness and provide safety and security to consumers. The first ad is appearing in “Roll Call” this week, and will be featured next week in “Congress Daily.” More information on the ad series.

Goals

ARTBA’s mission is not to change or shape the opinions of every American with this campaign. It is to develop and execute an intense and sustained education program strategically targeted at a relatively small, yet immensely group of decision-makers and shapers:

• Members of Congress
• Congressional staff
• Top Executive branch and federal agency personnel
• Washington “Think Tanks”
• Washington media

Our aim is to develop transportation investment advocates within their ranks!

Selling a New Federal Vision

China, the European Union and India have all embarked on ambitious and aggressive multi-billion dollar investments in transportation infrastructure development programs. What is America doing to respond? Where is the transportation vision for the future to ensure U.S. competitiveness and security?

ARTBA has the answer.

A special ARTBA member task force worked for 15 months to develop a new vision for the federal highway/ transit program that will keep America competitive in the decades ahead.

ARTBA is proposing a bold, new 25-year federal initiative focused exclusively on developing the surface transportation capacity necessary to facilitate the secure and efficient movement of freight.

This “Critical Commerce Corridors” (3C) program would be funded outside the federal gasoline excise by new freight-related user fees and potentially other mechanisms. Resulting revenues would be “fire-walled” for 3C projects.

The 3C program would complement the existing “core” highway and transit programs that are aimed primarily at state mobility issues. The “core” programs, however, would be reinvigorated with a significant increase and permanent indexation of the federal gasoline excise.

Implementation

Targeted “It’s Our Future!”™ campaign tactics include:

• Conducting polling and focus groups to develop winning messages;
• Developing and mount a creative print, internet and radio ad campaign “inside-the-Beltway” to deliver our messages to key audiences;
• Launching an aggressive media relations program targeted at editorial page writers, columnists and radio talk show hosts; and
• Publishing periodic economic and policy research publications that sell our arguments.