In Transit was an original earned-first creative idea.

Despite NYC’s progressive landscape, transgender people continue to face discrimination, harassment, and violence across the country. An NYC Comptroller survey revealed the subway as a location that evokes anxiety among transgender people due to the potential for discrimination and harassment.

Studies show that people who personally know transgender individuals are more likely to be accepting and supportive of trans people in general. Turns out every New Yorker already knows someone: Bernie Wagenblast. Our campaign aimed to leverage her well-known and familiar voice to show that transgender people are already a part of everyday life—even guiding their daily commutes.

The objective was twofold. Bernie's voice can serve as a beacon of acceptance and reassurance that helps transgender people feel seen. For all subway riders, Bernie’s familiar voice can foster empathy and understanding.

For the week surrounding Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, IN TRANSIT transformed a New York City subway ride into a recognition of the contributions of transgender people. At the center of the campaign is the iconic voice of the subway, Bernie Wagenblast who recently came out as a transgender woman. Leveraging Bernie’s recognizable voice from subway announcements, IN TRANSIT delivered an unforgettable reminder that transgender people are all around and a part of our everyday lives.

Across the city, riders heard rerecorded subway announcements from Bernie in her new authentic voice, along with a personal message about her transition, promoting acceptance. This was supported by a multichannel subway station takeover all driving to a 6-part podcast series hosted by Bernie. This marked a historic moment, the first time an openly transgender person made MTA announcements, bringing visibility to daily commutes.

We used Bernie Wagenblast’s voice, the most famous voice in New York, to increase visibility for transgender people. The key message was to recognize and normalize that transgender people are a part of everyday life, including their daily subway rides.

Our strategy included media outreach for earned media and social media posts to generate viral discussion. The only paid media was in station signage to drive riders to listen to the podcast and explore the website.

Our objective and target audience was twofold, focusing on both transgender individuals and all subway riders. For transgender people it was to affirm their significance and make them feel ‘seen’. Studies show that people who personally know transgender individuals are more likely to be accepting and supportive. Therefore, for all commuters, the familiarity of Bernie’s voice, one they hear every day, could foster empathy and understanding.

IN TRANSIT was implemented in New York City in the week surrounding Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31. Bernie rerecorded her iconic announcements in her new voice along with a personal message promoting awareness. This marked the first time an openly transgender person made the MTA subway announcements, showing New Yorkers that transgender people are part of everyday life.

A subway station takeover occurred at numbered line stations including a press conference at Christopher Street station, a location with deep significance to the community, where posters raised awareness of Transgender Day of Visibility and directed riders to explore the campaign's website and podcast.

We created a virtual T Line subway map, highlighting historical landmarks significant to NYC's transgender community.

And finally, Bernie hosted a 6-part podcast mini-series called IN TRANSIT discussing gender identity, inclusive language, transgender health issues, and LGBT history, each episode the length of a typical subway ride.

At a time when press coverage is dominated by anti-trans laws and negative anti-woke stories, this campaign injects positive trans visibility into the news cycle. We prepared a full crisis management communication plan in the event of negative coverage as part of the anti-woke movement. We were pleasantly surprised to receive 100% positive sentiment in news coverage.

3.2 million subway riders directly

600k social media impressions

14.5m+ media impressions

10.7% engagement rate per social impression

Bernie's story has been featured in many media outlets including the New York Times, New York Post, ABC, BBC, CBS, Good Morning America, Globo, USA Today, amNY and more.

The MTA's social media was flooded with positive messages (instead of the usual complaints), and Bernie received an outpouring of support.

Beyond numbers and impressions, we created a platform for transgender issues and generated significant conversation and celebration, the ultimate goal of Transgender Day of Visibility.