As the old saw goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s the message coming out of Arizona Shuttle, whose Sedona-Phoenix Shuttle brand is being retired to make room for new company branding statewide.
According to Arizona Shuttle Marketing Director Fred Gould, “What we want to say to the loyal customers of Sedona-Phoenix Shuttle is that we’re the same well-run company we were last week, last month, or last year. The only thing that’s changed is the name, and the look of the vehicles”.
Arizona Shuttle acquired Sedona-Phoenix Shuttle approximately two years ago, and since then has upgraded the vehicles on the route, put in place new scheduled maintenance and safety procedures, and in general has “tuned up” the service’s operations. The service now operates nine round-trips daily between Sedona and Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport.
As part of a fresh marketing initiative for 2013 and 2014, the company has embarked on a new look and feel for the brand, as well as bringing divisions with different names under the Arizona Shuttle umbrella. The other service affected is Prescott’s ShuttleU, which was acquired by Arizona Shuttle in 2011.
The Arizona Shuttle name is already well known to Flagstaff residents, since the company handles the bulk of ground transportation from Flagstaff to Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport. NAU students, in particular, know the service well, as they form a core of Arizona Shuttle’s customer base in the northland. Twelve trips daily are offered between Flagstaff and Phoenix.
According to Jeff Colson, Arizona Shuttle general manager, “Not only will the re-branding allow us to unify and consolidate our marketing efforts, it will allow us to build a consistent brand statewide, with all the positive attributes we’ve become known for. At the same time, we’re also unifying and consolidating our operations statewide, to make it easier for our customers to plan their routes, book their travel, and know what to expect on any route we serve.”
The re-branding effort is being handled by Sedona marketing firm Flesch, Pritchard & Peebler (fp2), which also developed the company’s new tag line, “Getting you from A to Z.”
“We’re very happy with the bold new look of our vans, as part of the re-brand”, said Colson. “These vehicles are moving billboards for us, so we wanted to make sure that they stood out from the rest of the traffic out there and made a positive impression.”
In Northern Arizona, Arizona Shuttle serves Flagstaff and surrounding communities, including service to and from the Grand Canyon. Heading further south, the company serves Sedona, Cottonwood and Camp Verde. Previously, this route was under the Sedona-Phoenix brand.
One of the company’s fastest-growing routes is from Prescott and Prescott Valley to Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, where the prior brand they were operating under was ShuttleU.
Gould added, “We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to grow even during the recession, so, with the economy slowly improving, and tourism on the rise again, we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to sustain and even accelerate our growth under our new branding, and with the new marketing plan of which it is a part.” FBN
Arizona Shuttle is based in Tucson with offices in Flagstaff, Sedona/Cottonwood, Prescott and Phoenix. Anthony Flesch is a principal at Flesch, Pritchard & Peebler, Inc. (“fp²”), an integrated marketing communications firm based in Sedona.