Self-employed is unemployed until you have a client…
Shortly after my Collins Street meeting, Jude resigned her job too: defeated by the interference of an entrepreneurial founder in the rational decision-making of what was now a publicly-listed company (he’d got the cheque, but missed the memo).
Now we really were living on air…(credit cards, more like). I was fumbling my way into self-employment—a referral was maybe morphing into opportunity—but we were a long way from paying the rent.
And then Bob stepped in. Bob’s one of those people Malcolm Gladwell wrote about in Tipping Point: people who are extremely well connected. He was a consultant to the company Jude had just left and he and she had got on well. But he was also closely involved in public transport. Where he opened a door for us and helped us in…
Back in the nineties, if you recall, the solution to every government’s problems was privatisation. In New Zealand, the bank, the railway, Telecom and others were all sold. In Victoria, the Kennett government took the same approach: digging out of a hole by selling off the electricity and gas companies, and even hospitals and prisons… as well as public transport. Which was not just sold, but—because competition was considered an essential oil—broken up and sold: two tram franchises and two train franchises (the buses were already privately owned). That’s the way you do it.
Two problems soon became apparent. The first was that the multinational transport operators involved came to realise that—in their rush for the spoils—they had paid too much: the significant revenue growth in their forecasts was not being achieved. And the second problem was that competition wasn’t fixing the first problem. For public transport to work, the system has to be integrated, seamless. Instead of heading off every which way, the operators needed to get over themselves and work together. Cooperate, not compete.
But that would require putting aside corporate rivalry and mistrust, and so Bob had proposed a solution: create a jointly-owned, jointly-governed independent entity, to be called, ‘The Melbourne Passenger Growth Initiative’ (MPGI): charged with growing system-wide patronage and revenue. Bids were sought from various advertising agencies and others to fulfil this role and—thanks to Bob’s patronage—we were appointed1, on a twelve month contract.
It's always who you know.
We leased an office, installed a fancy phone system and hired some people. It was a new beginning. And, as we would soon discover, a political minefield...
This heresy, from Massey University Professor of Marketing, Richard Buchanan, was our starting point:
Marketing can’t make people buy anything
All it can do is take away the barriers that prevent them from buyingI can think of no industry in the world that erects as many barriers to customers as public transport. Even today, nearly twenty-five years on, to understand the public transport system in some city or other, you’re better off going to YouTube for an explanation than to the actual service provider’s website.
From our industry interviews, user focus groups and our own first-timers’ experience, we identified the barriers—signage, way-finding, fares, ticketing, access, personal safety—that repelled customers, including the intangibles: when people were asked how they viewed The Met (as it was known), they would say things like a creepy-looking guy in a dirty green cardigan.
The ancient trams and trains were an obvious barrier. The operators of course knew this and had all committed to upgrades, but it would be months to years before they arrived.
We created and presented a comprehensive strategic marketing plan. And we used this television commercial to focus attention on the real competition: cars. Car manufacturers were way past explaining how to use the darned thing and instead celebrating how it feels:
Of course, we are in the future now, so the cars look too old and the people in them too young. But hey: You [still] got the music in you!
Our plan was well-received. Approved! Nevertheless, what the operators were most keen to know was what we were going to do about fare evasion? It had become common practice to ride the trams without paying and to simply jump the turnstiles at the train stations. We argued this was another symptom of lost respect; a protest; civil disobedience. Not easy to quickly fix. Desperate for cash, however, the operators wanted nothing less than lynching.
And the marketing teams each of the operators had appointed were horrified: if all of this was to be undertaken by these…these interlopers, what was to be left for them to play with? Shouldn’t we, at least, be required to report to them, rather than to their chief executives? Were they being side-lined??
And the Bus guy was furious, because he’d promised his brother that public transport would sponsor his basketball team. And we could see no value in that, so we wouldn’t.
Everything begins only to end. The moment you were born you began to die. That's how it is with everything2 .
We got on with the job. We appointed one of Melbourne’s top design agencies, and developed a new name for the system, a complete signage and way-finding system. We commissioned an audit of all of the existing signage: the network was an archaeological dig of signage; layer upon layer had accumulated over the years. We attempted to engage with the company with the contract to provide and manage the ticketing machines, hoping we could at least achieve some intelligible instructions (a forlorn hope).
Lived the Melbourne life. Shopped at the market; went to the tennis, cricket, F1; the Arts Centre; the Botanic Garden. Adelaide’s Clare Valley for Christmas, and then across the desert by train. Bookshops and bakeries. Nearly bought a house.
Upgrading the signage across the entire network was going to cost millions. Way beyond the budget we’d been given. And so it was agreed we should present to the Minister…suggest that perhaps this might be a suitable project to help the government prepare the city for hosting the (2006) Commonwealth Games?
As things progressed, board meetings became increasingly gladiatorial. I don’t think we really understood how far from their expectations some of the operators were. One CEO complained about the financial reports. Couldn’t understand them. Why don’t we present them differently? Next meeting, he was furious: why have you changed the format of the financials? These are incomprehensible! Accused us of ripping them off. The designers were ripping them off. The signage contractor was ripping them off!
Our year of involvement was approaching its end. We had long conversations about whether to seek an extension. We were proud of, and passionate about, the work we were doing. Believed we were actually making a dent in the universe. But the environment was brutal (See Episode 2, Questions 4 and 5). In the end, we decided we would: for the money. They decided otherwise: for the money. Our work was passed to the team of accountants who managed the distribution of ticket revenue.
A year later, one of the operators (you can guess the CEO) pulled out: they had a tram and a train franchise and they put both companies into receivership. Their franchises were passed to the two remaining operators, and higher subsidies and lower service commitments were approved.
In 2003, the government and operators joined forces to create an agency to provide ‘integrated signage, consumer information and advertising’ (MPGI, Version 2!).
And—just last year—the Department of Transport and Planning was created, responsible for integrating ‘Victoria’s transport, land and planning system to create an inclusive, successful, and sustainable state’.
Everything begins only to end. That's how it is with everything.
Perhaps we’ll go home…
In partnership with a Public Relations firm that Bob also championed
Janne Teller, Nothing
Phew! Goodness me as Nisbo would say…
It was brutal. I remember. Hard to be reminded of that. Thank goodness for dinners and vino.