When riding Cy-Ride students often see their favorite businesses advertised on the sides of the red and yellow buses. However, Cy-Ride is now being awarded for its own advertisements.

The Ames Transit System, Cy-Ride, won its very first advertising awards. Cy-Ride could not be awarded in previous years for advertising because it did not have a marketing department.

Cy-Ride won two first place awards in the American Public Transit Association’s 1996 AdWheel Awards Program for marketing two promotionals which ran last year.

The American Transit Association gives awards to transit companies across the country each year for advertising gimmicks. Four awards are given in the small transit category, which includes the Ames Transit System.

Barb Neal, senior operations assistant is credited with creating the ads. The “Pog Wild” promotion that ran during the summer of 1995, was geared toward children to encourage them to ride Cy-Ride. Cy-Ride distributed nearly 35,000 of the colorful, kid-loving pogs in 45 days during the summer.

Neal said the campaign was awarded first place because of the entire campaign package, including content, radio and newspaper advertising.

The second marketing campaign that won a first place award was geared toward ISU students, and ran in the spring of 1996. Neal said six colored ads, which were ran in the Iowa State Daily, used humorous content and vertical positioning to attract students. The campaign was awarded for its visual appeal and structure.

Neal believes the advertisements helped increase ridership. “Our ridership was 2.7 million last year, and the year before that it was only 2.3 million.”

The AdWheel Convention will take place this month in Anaheim, Calif. Neal will represent the Ames Transit System and accept the awards at the convention.

Neal said, “You will continue to see more adds.”