My Alerts 
The STM, has unveiled a major communications campaign, Arrêt de service (Service Shutdown), designed to further improve customer experience for public transit users in Montréal. The campaign, which marks the beginning of the STM's collaboration with the agency, Publicis Montréal, aims to raise awareness of the fact that frequent service shutdowns can be attributable not only to the STM, but also to its customers.
Montréal, Tuesday, October 23, 2018 - The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) has unveiled a major communications campaign, Arrêt de service (Service Shutdown), designed to further improve customer experience for public transit users in Montréal. The campaign, which marks the beginning of the STM's collaboration with the agency, Publicis Montréal, aims to raise awareness of the fact that frequent service shutdowns can be attributable not only to the STM, but also to its customers. The campaign highlights five main reasons for service shutdowns or slowdowns caused by customers: proximity to the tracks, malaise in the métro cars, objects dropped on the tracks, people on the tracks, and blocked doors.
As part of this initiative, the STM and Publicis have called upon the talents of Michèle Deslauriers, who, for the past 15 years, has provided the métro with its official voice, communicating messages to the commuters. Weary of her neutral-toned announcing of métro stops after all these years, the actor with an infectious laugh has emerged from the underground with a series of audio and video clips entitled, Les conseils de Michèle. Through the series, Michèle addresses frequent situations that occur in the métro and offers tips to avoid them in a simple, comedic, and non-moralizing tone.
The objective of the Arrêt de service campaign is to raise awareness of the main causes of métro shutdowns and to invite customers to contribute to the efficiency of the service. With Michèle’s unique and jovial voice, the clips aim to reach users in a playful and friendly manner.
"Last year, over 5,653 minutes of customer-related service shutdowns (in addition to the causes for which the STM is responsible) affected the commutes of over 4 million users and had a significant impact on the performance of our transportation system. We chose to tackle this issue head-on with a major campaign," explained Luc Tremblay, Chief Executive Officer of the STM.
"These service shutdowns could be avoided by adopting the right habits. That's why our campaign, which is intended to be positive and friendly, aims to raise awareness that we are all part of the solution to making public transit use an even more enjoyable experience. For this collective experience to run smoothly, a multitude of individual actions are necessary!" said Philippe Schnobb, Chairman of the STM's Board of Directors.
Publicis Montréal has developed an eye-catching visual concept bearing the tagline, Faisons tous notre part pour diminuer les arrêts de service (Let’s all do our part to reduce service shutdowns). The posters, to be displayed at métro platforms, will refer to Michèle’s tips, illustrating them with wit and derision. The actor will also be sharing her wisdom through audio clips. For the first time, messages other than STM service announcements will be broadcast on the métro platforms and in the trains.
The new campaign implemented by Publicis is part of its commitment to being a good corporate citizen by projecting a positive image and striving to reduce métro service shutdowns to make transportation more pleasant for customers.
About the STM
The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) develops and operates an integrated bus and metro system, as well as paratransit service, for the benefit of its customers. The metro system comprises four lines serving 68 stations, while the bus network covers the island of Montréal, an operating area of 500 km2.
About Publicis
Publicis Canada is one of the largest and leading communications groups in the country with more than 500 employees. Publicis Canada is part of Publicis Worldwide, one of three leading advertising groups within the Publicis Groupe, and is one of the most digitally integrated agencies in Canada.
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Contact
Publicis
Marilyne Levesque
Relations avec les médias
marilyne.levesque@publicisna.com
514-884-6351
STM
Philippe Déry
Affaires publiques
Philippe.dery@stm.info
514 350-0800 #87346
