Brightline

Analysis
472274
 Central Issues
Facing Brightline
•Brightline built the first Electric High Speed Rail
System in North America, running from Miami to
Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach
•Attempts to do this in both Texas and Southern
California have (so far) come to naught.
•The Miami-Orlando Line presents opportunity
for Brightline to become the industry leader in
high-speed rail and re-shape the current
landscape of domestic travel in the USA, that is
currently dominated by the airlines.
•Sluggish Consumer adoption of rail in the US
and high operating costs stand in the way.
 Recommendation: Multi-Pronged Strategy
1. Brightline’s primary targets: International +
Business Commute.
Spend $4mm to Target International Market.
Legacy Strategy in international markets: direct
marketing to Travel Agencies; Inflight Print
advertisements; advertisements in/around luxury
department stores.
Priority Segments: European & Northeast Asian
Travelers.
2. Upper middle class and high-income individuals who
prioritize convenience and status (environmental
consciousness) over speed alone.
Seek partnership with credit card companies & banks to
get rewards points/miles to be worth more when spent
on Brightline
Lyft’s partnership with Chase Sapphire is a good model
for this. Spend $2mm for this campaign.
Spend $1mm to Target underserved Commuter
demographic.
Use a Semi-Freemium Model  “Kids Ride Free to
Disney World”; “First Ride Free”
 Basis for Prioritizing International Tourism Market

• Domestically, rail has been an unpopular mode of transportation for Americans (most prefer to fly or drive.)
• However, in Europe and Northeast Asia rail travel is preferred for cultural, economic, and environmental reasons.
• Targeting these demographics makes sense because they are already comfortable and accustomed to traveling by rail and
should demonstrate a higher willingness to pay for high-speed rail than domestic travelers.
• Use legacy advertising approach as high income segments in Europe & Asia are more attracted to brick/mortar + print than domestic
customers.
• $2 mm figure is justified because international travelers represents ~$200 mm Market to Brightline (68 million visitors per
year * .25 (assuming 25% of those would like to try the Brightline if appropriately marketed towards) * $45 = $192,796,000
Basis for Recommendation #2
• Target upper middleclass and high-income individuals as well as
lower income consumers from underserved demographics.
• Upper Middle Class and Wealthy commuters are more
likely to support environmentally conscious businesses for
ideological reasons.
• Emphasize Environmentally friendly aspects of Brightline in
advertisements.
• Marketing should highlight the comfort and convenience of
traveling by Brightline.
• Increase consumer switching costs by partnering with
reward partners (credit cards and banks.)
• As gas prices increase the underserved segment will likely
need more options of alternate transportation.
• Offer “freemium” model that allows (well behaved,
accompanied) children to ride free to Disney World
or special introductory pricing to drive traffic and
consumer knowledge of Brightline.
• Ensure adequate money is spent on security +
custodial workers to ensure “free rider problem” does
not materialize.
 Assumptions, Risks,
and/or Uncertainties
• Assumptions: 25% of international travelers will want to purchase a ticket on Brightline because they
often travel by rail in home country.
• Risk: It could be that they want to adopt American customs when they come to America and
would rather rent a F-150 or Corvette when they visit.

• Assumption: Banks & Financial institutions can partner with Brightline to offer extra rewards for
customers riding Brightline.
• Risk: it could be that these entities are in binding contracts with uber/lyft and airlines and will
not be able to offer Brightline the same deal.

• Uncertainties: Politics.
• Rail has become politicized.
• The environmental aspect garners love from many consumers and ambivalence or
even hostility from others.
• In 2019 Brightline lost over $1.75 billion dollars when President Trump Administration’s
DOT revoked authorization for the funding.
• Possible funding avenues through President Biden’s Infrastructure bill and
(possibly) the Green New Deal.
• Bottom Line: Nothing is guaranteed, make the most out of the current
administration’s legislative agenda.

Uncertainty: little visibility on internal financials of Brightline. Hard to make concrete financial
recommendations on their marketing strategy without knowing exact financial picture.