Greater Portland Metro had long served the city of Portland. In 2016, it set its sights considerably farther: a first-of-its-kind commuter express connecting Portland to Falmouth, Yarmouth, Freeport, and eventually Brunswick, along a 30-mile corridor GPM had never served.
The service had no precedent and no established ridership. GPM needed to build community support across multiple towns, create awareness among commuters who had never considered public transit, and give the new service an identity strong enough to earn their trust.
Solutions
Scott Kirk, then with Texas-based PAVLOV Advertising, served as brand strategy and account lead. He partnered with Shay Bellas and 19 Oaks to help GPM brand and launch the service.
19 Oaks led the grassroots effort — town hall meetings and community surveys across the municipalities the route would serve. Shay brought a nuanced understanding of these communities: who the prospective riders were, what motivated them, and what it would take to move them. That perspective informed both the outreach strategy and the creative work. Shay reviewed all advertising, social, and PR materials to ensure they rang true to a Maine audience.
PAVLOV and 19 Oaks developed the name BREEZ and the full brand identity, then launched an integrated advertising, social, and PR campaign to introduce the service to the communities it would connect.
Result
BREEZ launched on June 16, 2016. Greater Portland Metro achieved a 15% increase in overall ridership — its highest system ridership in 30 years. Pilot-phase ridership exceeded projections by wide margins: GPM had targeted 42,800 and 45,000 riders in years one and two; actual ridership came in at 52,899 and 64,646.
The response drove rapid expansion. The route extended to Brunswick in August 2017 (and now serves Portland, Yarmouth, Freeport, and Brunswick). PAVLOV and 19 Oaks were engaged for follow-on work: additional specialty shuttle launches and a full rebrand of the Greater Portland Metro agency, including a new logo and bus designs. In 2022, GPM used federal funding to replace its original BREEZ shuttle fleet with new full-size buses, a direct consequence of the demand BREEZ had created.
