The SEPTA Store Marketing Design
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Overview
In 2024, I worked as a designer for the SEPTA Store during my six month co-op, which specializes in selling branded merchandise ranging from t-shirts to collectible model trains. SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, operates Philadelphia's bus, train, trolley, and subway systems. The store reopened in 2021 after being closed during the pandemic and is a source of revenue for the authority.
My Role(s)
During these six months, I got to wear a lot of hats including photographer, designer, marketing strategist, and coordinator. This diverse set of responsibilities allowed me to gain hands-on experience in several aspects of the project, from concept to completion.
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Objective
Given the niche nature of the merchandise, I was tasked with finding innovative and cost-effective ways to boost sales. My role was to develop creative solutions that would not only support the store in profit, but also help promote the broader mission of SEPTA—serving the community through public transportation.
Challenges
SEPTA relies heavily on federal grants and state funding, leaving limited resources for costly advertising campaigns. This financial constraint significantly impacted our budget, particularly for photography equipment, meaning I had to rely primarily on my personal iPhone 13 to capture both product and lifestyle images. Additionally, the tight budget restricted our access to premium distribution channels, so we focused on more cost-effective options such as internal company platforms, “free space” on subway platform digital screens, and social media.
Solution
One conclusion I came to was expanding the current market of the SEPTA store to bring in a new supply of customers in drive up sales and also promote SEPTA as the way to go in and around Philadelphia.
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Market Research
The SEPTA store lacked formal documentation regarding its customer demographics. To gain insights, I took the initiative to gather qualitative data by consulting with the store's two full-time sales associates while assisting with tasks such as transporting promotional posters and sale signage to the brick-and-mortar location. I inquired about the types of customers they encountered most frequently. Additionally, I spoke with the store's e-commerce specialist, who handles online orders and customer inquiries, to gather her observations on the common characteristics of the store's online customers.
Using those methods, I identified the three largest customer groups.
SEPTA Employees
Upon starting my position in April 2024, I was informed that the majority of customers were SEPTA employees, as the brick-and-mortar store is located on the first floor of headquarters. While having a loyal customer base with close ties to the company was beneficial, I saw this as an opportunity to broaden the market. Expanding to a new demographic could address the limitations of relying heavily on an employee-based customer base as listed below.
Limited Market Size
Relying on SEPTA employees limits growth since the customer base is small and not expanding at a fast rate
Low External Visibility
Focusing on internal sales reduces brand exposure to the general public, including regular SEPTA transit users.
Potential Saturation
Employees may already own many products, leading to declining sales without attracting new customers.
Market Opportunity - College Students
College students offered several advantages as a target market. Their large, diverse population brought new sales opportunities and their frequent use of public transit made them a natural fit for SEPTA merchandise.
Flexible schedules
Students have the ability to come to the in-person school during its 10-4 weekdays-only hours due to their class schedules.
Familiarity with SEPTA
Students, both commuters and those living on campus typically use SEPTA ranging from on occasion to daily.
Continuously Renewing
With most students attending college for around four years, there's a constant flow of new individuals entering and exiting the market.
Next Steps
Now that my team and I have selected a primary market, it was time to take action and form a plan. My next steps involved capturing additional marketing material through photography, which I would later incorporate into marketing graphics for use across various online platforms and on digital signage throughout Philadelphia.
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Photography
The two primarily subjects of my photography shoots were lifestyle shoots with models wearing SEPTA merchandise in either Philadelphia landmarks, or on SEPTA platforms and properties or product photography. To create marketing material, a wide variety of new merchandise had to be photographed to add to the existing library.
Metro Photoshoots
SEPTA Metro merch was much newer and in order to spread awareness about the newly publicized initiative to unify serval networks with more cohesive wayfinding signage, this merchandise was promoted and sold by the SEPTA store. SEPTA Metro merch had a uniquely more modern design compared to much of SEPTA's more vintage styled apparel so targeting university students to adopt it was much more crucial.
College Students as Models
Photographing college students wearing the merchandise helped create a relatable and authentic connection with the target audience. By showcasing peers in the products, it made the merchandise more appealing and relevant to their lifestyle, increasing the likelihood of engagement. This approach helped establish the brand within the college demographic, fostering a sense of belonging and driving interest in both the products and the SEPTA brand.
Product Photography
I cataloged all products in SEPTA's brick-and-mortar store that weren't yet online, while also accounting for new items that needed to be photographed. In total, I photographed over 100 products for the online store, with many of these images later used in marketing graphics.
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Final Designs
All of the market research, photoshoots, and coordination led to the creation of marketing graphics across different platforms. By understanding the audience and capturing relevant imagery, I designed visuals tailored to each channel—social media, internal communications, and digital screens—ensuring the messaging appealed to the target market while staying consistent with the brand.
Social Media
I designed Instagram posts that were featured on SEPTA's primary account, @SEPTAPhilly, resulting in a 75% increase in store-related content compared to the same six-month period the year prior. These posts played a key role in keeping the store visible to both current customers and potential new audiences.
Internal Newsletters
The SEPTA store received prominent attention in the weekly internal employee newsletter, being featured several weeks in a row. For three consecutive weeks, it was even given a full-page spotlight, showcasing new merchandise and encouraging employees to visit the store. This consistent internal promotion helped raise awareness and boost store visibility among SEPTA employees, driving traffic to both the physical and online stores.
Digital Screen Ads
Ads for the SEPTA store were featured on digital screens located on train platforms both above ground and in subway stations. These high-traffic areas captured the attention of daily commuters and passersby, promoting the online store to a broad audience of regular transit users.
Designing Merchandise
In addition to creating marketing graphics, I designed imagery and graphics for various merchandise items, including t-shirts, bags, and other products for the SEPTA store. Many of these designs were focused on bringing awareness to SEPTA Metro and enhancing the store's overall branding. Check them out here!
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Key Takeaways
Over these six months, I gained invaluable skills in navigating a creative role with limited resources, managing my own projects, and learning to advocate for my interests. Each experience pushed me to develop a greater sense of independence and resourcefulness, which became instrumental in the success of my work.
Creativity in Constraints
One of the most significant lessons was learning to think outside the box creatively within the limitations I faced. With limited equipment and budgets, I had to find new ways to make each design and marketing campaign impactful, which pushed me to experiment with more resourceful techniques to make the most of what was available.
Self-Management and Structure
Without a predefined structure or project plan, I learned to be my own project manager. I created timelines, set personal deadlines, and developed a structured workflow to meet goals on time. This experience taught me to build strong time-management skills and showed me the value of creating my own organizational framework.
Advocating for Opportunities
Another key takeaway was learning to advocate for myself by requesting to work on projects that matched my interests. By proactively seeking these opportunities, I was able to contribute to exciting projects like merchandise design, which enriched my overall experience and allowed me to make a meaningful impact.