RideFinders Wins Two Awards from the Richmond Chapter of PRSA

Jun 12, 2024

Recently, RideFinders won two awards from the Richmond Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). The first was an Award of Excellence (Capital Award - recognizes outstanding public relations tactics) in the Social Media: Organic category for the “Second Annual Caring Commutes Challenge” and the second was an Award of Merit (Commonwealth Award - recognizes exceptional public relations programs or campaigns) in the Shoe String Budget category for Be the CEO of Your Commute and Vanpool Campaign.

"Our success is driven by the people who engage with us daily, ensuring that our initiatives resonate and thrive. The financial commitment to RideFinders has enabled us to innovate and expand our services, directly impacting the quality of our programs," said RideFinders Interim Executive Director, Cherika Ruffin, "This recognition is a testament to our team's hard work, creativity, and dedication. Thank you to everyone who supported us on this journey!"

RideFinders Second Annual Caring Commutes Challenge was a month-long challenge that encouraged commuters to show love for the environment by recording their “green” trips in February 2023 and to participate in their social media week leading up to Valentine’s Day. They provided daily prompts during social media week that related to an organizational program or service such as Mobile App Monday. Through employing a creative video and engaging social media content, the result was a success with 45,258 in reduced vehicle miles traveled - a 9% increase over January 2023 and over 7,500 in impressions across their social media platforms.

The Be the CEO of Your Commute and Vanpool Campaign regarded commuters as the chief executive officers in charge of when and how they decided to vanpool. We served as the COO – chief operating officer - providing them with the tools and tips needed to vanpool. Through a multifaceted approach of a paid media campaign and organic vanpool education and awareness that resonated with a diverse audience, the campaign theme used insightful, effective and creative marketing and social media content to build awareness, encourage engagement and motivate program participation. The result - a 655% increase in organic website traffic to our vanpooling page, four new vanpools being formed and a 45% increase in the number of vanpool trips being recorded by vanpoolers.