Share

Kicking Off Cashless Tolling

If you’ve driven the Kansas Turnpike, you’ve seen billboards promoting the shift to a cashless toll payment system. For the Kansas Turnpike Authority and for the thousands of drivers who travel the toll road each day, there is far more to making that switch than meets the eye. 

Howerton+White partnered with the KTA from the beginning of the journey to enable a successful launch of cashless tolling and the new DriveKS online toll payment system. 

The Long Road to Cashless Tolling

The signs you see on the side of the road— and a long list of marketing materials most of the public has yet to see — were informed by reams of research and are only part of a full suite of solutions developed by our team in close collaboration with the KTA in a years-long process.

Research and Positioning

  • Comparable Research
  • Naming Conventions
  • Product Naming
  • Features and Benefits
  • Brand Architecture Studies
  • Brand Expression Studies
  • Tagline Development

KTA Deliverables

  • Message Development
  • Brand Refinement
  • Brand Atlas Development
  • Updating Internal Reports and Forms
  • Infographic Suite

KTAG Deliverables

  • Message Development
  • Brand Refinement
  • Brand Atlas Development
  • Infographic Suite
  • Transponder and Mailing Kit
  • Stationary System
  • Presentation Decks
  • Support Collateral
  • Statement/Invoicing Forms
  • Website UI/UX
  • Digital Communication Templates
  • Digital Display Templates
  • Video Templates

DriveKS Deliverables

  • Message Development
  • Brand Development
  • Brand Atlas Development
  • Infographic Suite
  • Billboards and Plaza Signage
  • Stationary System
  • Presentation Decks
  • Support Collateral
  • Statement/Invoicing Forms
  • Website and App UI/UX
  • Digital Communication Templates
  • Digital Display Templates
  • Video Templates

“Transitioning the Kansas Turnpike to cashless tolling was a huge lift,” said Craig Tomson, Creative Director at Howerton+White. “It was a truly collaborative relationship. Initial meetings with the KTA team to determine positioning, naming, messaging, and internal operationalization were key to the formation, and our team has loved every mile of the journey.”

Beyond informing travelers that change is coming, the KTA needed to communicate to drivers how to pay the tolls online at DriveKS.com, a brand name, website, and app developed by Howerton+White. We supported the effort with brand foundation language to help guide conversations about the change and drivers to the website. 

Other deliverables included support collateral, internal and external organization forms, templates for digital communications and display, signage, and much more. 

The Kansas Turnpike will become fully cashless on July 1, 2024. We look forward to sharing more of the strategic and creative work we have done for the Kansas Turnpike Authority to drive change.