Kris Rietmann Abrudan, Communications DirectorTransComm 2021

Washington State Ferries: Mukilteo Ferry Terminal Grand Opening

5c: Video Product ion: Externa l – Muki l teo fer ry termina l grand opening

WSF: Opening first new ferry terminal in 40 years

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Dilemma: How to celebrate a new terminal with COVID restrictions in place? • State’s busiest ferry route, carrying an

average of 2.3 million vehicles and 4.1 million riders annually.

• Marine highway connecting the greater Seattle area to Whidbey Island via the Clinton terminal.

• $187.3 million ferry terminal, decades in the planning, to open fall 2020.

How to celebrate a grand opening in COVID times?

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Ferry captains, terminal staff, elected officials, and Mukilteo residents told the story of the project, capturing the many features and benefits:

– Improved passenger safety, multimodal connections between ferries, commuter rail and buses, economic opportunities for commuters traveling to thriving Seattle metro area, integrated environmental stewardship with LEED Gold standards, Tribal cooperation and influence in the design and construction, and enhanced livability for local community.

Captain John Brooke, left, and terminal staff Jason Black welcome the long-awaited new terminal with many safety features that the 63-year-old former facility lacked.

Producing a video during COVID-19

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SITUATION:7:33 a.m. Dec. 18, 2017 Amtrak Cascades train derails and falls onto I-5 below

• Selected 18 people to speak about the project and its importance to them.

• Began the virtual ribbon cutting with Gov. Inslee and the head of Washington State Ferries, Amy Scarton.

• Speakers held ribbon aloft and “handed off” to each other before Gov. Inslee and Scarton cut the ribbon to celebratory music.

• End with tribal welcome and staff dancing in celebration.

Clockwise from bottom left: U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, Tulalip master carver Joe Gobin, WSF Tribal Liaison Phillip Narte, and Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson.

Video highlights Tribal history and passenger safety

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• Video highlights state, local, federal, and Tribal cooperation and honors the site’s history as the place where Puget Sound tribes gathered for thousands of years. And in 1855 the site of the Point Elliott Treaty signing.

• Terminal’s design is based on tribal longhouse model achieved with tribal cooperation.• Video shows how the new terminal improves comfort and efficiency for passengers.

Video thanks our partners…

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SITUATION:7:33 a.m. Dec. 18, 2017 Amtrak Cascades train derails and falls onto I-5 below

• 11 tribal governments • Federal and state elected

officials• Federal Transit Administration • Governor and state Legislators• Local elected officials • Local transit agencies • City of Mukilteo, city council,

mayor, and residents• Ferry advisory committee• Engineers, designers,

contractors

… and reaches our target audiences

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• A wide mix of stakeholders: – Federal, state and local elected officials – Ferry riders (vehicles, transit, freight, walk-on, and bicycles)– Surrounding neighbors who had made it through nearly four years of construction– Members of the local ferry advisory committee– WSDOT and WSF employees (6,000 total, with 1,600 from WSF)

Measurable results: social media

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WSF partners and elected officials shared the video on their social media sites and in their communications.

WSF Facebook livestreamed the arrival of the first ferry at the Mukilteo ferry terminal following the grand opening video’s release.

• Facebook Live reached 2,401,456 people, with 342,758 engagements

*Video was reposted to fix a logo; original video had 7,024 YouTube views and the second, posted days later, had 2,818 for the combined total of 9,842.

Facebook Twitter YouTube

41,030 people reached 45,523 impressions 9,842 views*4,252 engagements 69 media views 81 likes

340 total engagements

Media use of video

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SITUATION:7:33 a.m. Dec. 18, 2017 Amtrak Cascades train derails and falls onto I-5 below

• Media used b-roll clips of the video for preview stories and linked to the full video in opening day stories.

• Local television stations, newspapers, and bloggers covered the opening and linked to the video in their stories.

• WSF sent the video to all participants and project partners in advance of its public release.

The new Mukilteo ferry terminal opens!

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SITUATION:7:33 a.m. Dec. 18, 2017 Amtrak Cascades train derails and falls onto I-5 below

“As we recover from COVID-19, it is a symbol of the bright future we’re building here in Washington state.” – Gov. Jay Inslee

See the virtual ribbon-cutting video.

Gov. Inslee, left, and WSF head Amy Scarton cut the ribbon on the new Mukilteo ferry terminal to open it on Dec. 29, 2020.