Portfolio: The ATM Coalition

Business and labor groups don’t often agree on policies affecting the economy or workers. But the need to rebuild America’s crumbling transportation network is a shared interest that brought corporate and labor organizations together when they formed the Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) Coalition in 2001.

For nearly seven years, Tobin Communications, Inc. (TCI) managed the public face of the ATM. That effort resulted in a historic win at the end of 2021 when Congress passed, and President Biden signed, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

During the campaign, TCI directed the rebuild of ATM’s website, launched an e-mail newsletter, circulated a grassroots petition, and reached out to staffers and legislators on Capitol Hill. Our team worked with American communities needing transportation investment and told their stories. We produced over 100 human-interest and news pieces, graphics and imagery, and videos and podcasts that were used on the ATM’s website, in targeted digital advertising, and on social media.

Here are some of the videos that helped put the infrastructure issue squarely at the center of the public dialogue and spurred Senators and Representatives to support the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA):

‘We are America’ – The Message to Congress

America’s Economy & Future Count on Federal Investment in Modern, Safer & Faster Transportation

Note to Policymakers: We Must Ensure that U.S. Infrastructure is Globally Competitive

Elected Leaders Need to Do More Than Just Talk About Transportation

Ohio Transit Agency is Modernizing its Bus Fleet & is Generating a ‘Buzz’ in the Community

America Continues to Dream Big & Do Big As it Overhauls the Nation’s Infrastructure

We crafted dozens of written stories that were promoted via ATM’s e-mail newsletter and through its social media channels. The stories helped increase online traffic to the Coalition’s branded website, including page views, click-throughs, unique visits and engagements. Some of these stories included:

America’s New Approach to Infrastructure … Moving from Reactive to Proactive

Politicians Want to Fix Our Aging Transportation System … But Now Some Are Asking for a Halt to the Taxes that Pay for It

Just-Out Video: America Cannot Be the Shining Hill on the Horizon Without Investment in Transportation

ATM & TCC Release New Video Ad Calling on House to Pass Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill

TCI secured dozens of radio interviews for members of the Coalition to garner support for the legislation. One of the syndicated interviews was picked up by The Howard Stern show.

Listen to it.

Here are four of the podcasts we produced for the ATM:

Kentucky’s Brent Spence Bridge Eyed for Replacement; Sign of Opportunities With New Infrastructure Vision – Interview with Kate Shanks of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and Chad LaRue of the Kentucky Association of Highway Contractors (KAHC)

Podcast: Gas Tax Holiday Is A Mirage for Consumers & Will Weaken American Infrastructure – Interview with Brian Turmail of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)

Less Transportation Revenue Forces Kentucky DOT to Cancel Projects & AASHTO Says U.S. Needs Recovery & Federal Infrastructure Bills – Interview with Jim Tymon of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

Coming Soon: Big Boost in Federal Investment for West Virginia Infrastructure, Bridges – Interview with Dave Meadows of the West Virginia Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)