The Towns of Cohasset, Hingham, Hull and Scituate teamed up to launch the “Save the Greenbush-Save the Boat” campaign in opposition to proposed cuts to transit services on the South Shore. The campaign had three main goals: To inform the public of the cuts and encourage residents to attend hearings and write letters to the state voicing their concerns; to organize press events that promoted the campaign in the local media; and to create a social media presence that documents the campaign and brought residents, community leaders, state legislators and business owners together for the cause.
A public hearing on the proposed cuts was viewed online by more than 400 people, many of whom said they learned of the meeting through the campaign. We also encouraged public comment through a series of photo testimonials, and created a social media toolkit to encourage interested parties to engage and share the message.
Press events included a public demonstration with concerned citizens, a formal press conference with community leaders, and a “Ride the Ferry Day,” all of which received extensive coverage by print and broadcast media throughout the region.
The campaign website posted more than a dozen press releases in the three weeks after it launched. The Facebook page featured 70 posts in the first 25 days (nearly three posts per day) that featured testimonials, infographics, important links, news coverage and more, with some posts reaching as many as 9,000 viewers. The campaign also produced a two-and-a-half minute video documenting the harm cutting ferry service would do to the South Shore region.