Covid-19 Communications for New York City Transit
My goal at the MTA was to inject as much humanity as I could into everything I worked on.
"Mask Man" was my way of bringing some humanity to the ask: Tell people masks are required on public transit.
So, instead of another sign telling you what to do, we turned it into a fun, non-abrasive guide that assumes the best from riders.
Both the press and industry trades took notice, with the agency receiving a PRWeek nomination in 2021.
Like our other COVID-19 communications, other transit agencies picked up on what we were doing and made it their own.
John Franco, legendary Mets reliever and NYC native, offered to record subway announcements encouraging riders to wear their masks.