THINK! update - January 2007

In this feature we summarise recent and forthcoming THINK! campaign activity.

New THINK! website - on the way
Work is well underway on a new-look THINK! website, which will launch during spring 2007.

The navigation, language and overall structure of the site are being audited and revised. The redesign will make the site more accessible and inviting to users - and provide a platform for people to find out more about road safety, and how it affects them.

The password-protected section for RSOs will remain and, like the rest of the site, will be restructured and redesigned to make it easier to use. There will also be additional functionality including a search engine and new content features, which are currently in the planning stage.

Behind the scenes, the site will include a content management system, which will make keeping it up-to-date much easier.

Further information about the new THINK! website will be provided as the project develops over the next couple of months.

Christmas drink drive and drug drive campaigns
The 2006 festive drink drive campaign set out to inform young men of the dangers of drink driving - and highlight the fact that the police were out and about in force.

The launch on 1 December generated wide media coverage, and the message was reinforced through TV, cinema and radio advertising.

Due to increasing media fragmentation, the THINK! team looked beyond traditional media and employed 'new' communication channels to engage young men at all important decision making moments.

These included a series of online ads on male oriented and generic websites; ambient ads in pubs and pub washrooms including talking posters, mug shot toilet media visual, and in-pub TV advertising ('Crash') with Bluetooth messages incorporating a driving game for mobile phones.

The campaign also featured 'Christmas carollers' experiential advertising, Nuts/NME press sponsorship, partnership marketing, and two new radio ads ('Pep yourself' and 'Goodwill to all men').

The aim of the festive drug drive campaign, which also launched on 1 December, was to raise awareness of the dangers of drug driving among male clubbers typically aged 17-34 years.

The key message was: 'Drugs make you do stupid things. Make sure driving isn't one of them. Don't drug drive. THINK!'

Careful planning ensured that advertising was placed on media channels and in areas popular with young male clubbers. This included club ambient advertising and online advertising on clubbing websites.

The THINK! team is currently planning a new strategy for its summer 2007 drink drive campaign

Rural speed campaign
The new THINK! rural speed campaign, which launched on 1 November, is focusing on the dangers of driving at inappropriate speeds on rural roads.

The campaign aims to explain to motorists that the problem isn't simply speeding - but driving too fast for the conditions. The key message is: 'You're three times more likely to die in a car crash on a rural road'.

The primary target audience is male drivers aged 17-39 years who drive/speed on rural roads, and the secondary audience is all drivers and habitual speeders.

The campaign comprises national radio advertising ('Zipper' ad) during November, petrol pump ambient advertising (Nov 2006 - Mar 2007), a PR campaign and posters for RSOs to use/distribute.

National speed campaign
This campaign comprises the current national 'Lucky' speed commercial, which will continue to run throughout January and February 2007. The key message is: 'It's 30 for a reason'.

The commercial illustrates the logical reasons why speed limits (and more specifically the 30mph limit) exist, and the potentially fatal consequences of not abiding by them.

Driving for work campaign
This new campaign will launch nationally w/c 5 March, to inform vans drivers of the potential hazards of work related driving. The primary target audience is male van drivers aged 17-39 years.

In the last 10 years, the number of vans in the UK has increased by around a third, and van traffic by 40%. With internet connectivity and a growth in home shopping, this trend is set to grow. There are now three million vans on Britain's roads, and the annual volume of new registrations is around 320,000.

The campaign will focus on speed (due to time pressure), distractions (mobile phone use while eating, drinking, reading maps while driving), and journey planning.

The campaign will incorporate PR & press sponsorship (with The Sun newspaper); radio advertising (two ads) and radio sponsorship (with Talksport); ambient advertising (lunch bags and washroom posters); and partnership marketing.

The key campaign message is that 20 road deaths and 250 serious injuries each week involve people at work - which equates to an estimated one third of all crashes involving somebody who was at work at the time.  

Vulnerable Road Users

Children 7-10 years
The annual Be Safe Be Seen campaign was launched by transport secretary Douglas Alexander at the Nationwide's child road safety event at the House of Commons on 25 October. 

Nationwide has produced 10,000 Spike the Hedgehog reflectors (available from the THINK! website) and has pledged to provide a reflector for every new primary school child until 2010.

Douglas Alexander said: "The number of children killed or seriously injured on our roads is falling every year but we do need to be extra careful in the winter months. Over three quarters of children involved in traffic accidents last year were cycling or on foot, so we need to help them stay visible in the dark and bad weather."  

Transport minister Stephen Ladyman launched 3M's Streetwise initiative at a primary school in Pimlico on 31 October. Streetwise, a web-based road safety teaching resource, is distributed directly to primary schools across the country.  

Campaign activity includes a new sing-along version of the Hedgehogs cinema ad, new online advertising promoting Be Safe Be Seen messages and several new partnerships.

These partnerships include Millets (promoting Be Safe Be Seen messaging on labels across a range of school wear equipped with reflective elements); Whitbread (road safety activity books available in Brewers Fayre restaurants throughout October and November 2006); and Little Chef (reflective arm bands and road safety activity placemats in October 2006). Spike the Hedgehog will also appear on FUN Radio throughout the autumn and winter, to promote seasonal road safety messages.  

Teenagers aged 12-16 years
The 2006 campaign included two bursts of television advertising (in May and August/September) and two weeks of six-sheet poster advertising in the vicinity of secondary schools and youth clubs (in September). The poster campaign will be repeated for two weeks in January, and 50 of the posters will be produced as Ellumin8, which will light up the teenager featured in the poster sequentially as he crosses the road.  

The 'Camera Phone' commercial (above) ran in cinemas in conjunction with the film Superman, and also with teen films from 20 October to 2 November 2006.

The THINK! campaign team will be working with MTV and other youth media during 2007.

The team will also be establishing a youth panel in the near future to provide further insight into this group and their attitudes and behaviour, and how to reach them. Any information gleaned will be shared with the road safety community via the THINK! website.

Child Car Seats
The new regulations were launched on 17 July during GMTV 's Check it Fits campaign. Dr Ladyman, road safety minister, appeared on the programme to outline the new regulations. Although the timings of the law being announced made it difficult to manage local activity, the overall result of the campaign has been very effective and the THINK! team thanks RSOs for their efforts on a local level.

Advertising began week commencing 24 July and ran until the third week in September on radio, on-line, in Sunday newspapers, and in parenting and women's interest press.

Mothercare, Halfords and Toys R Us supported the campaign by carrying information about the new regulations in-store, in their promotional literature, in their advertising and on their websites. Car seat manufacturer Britax also carried information in its literature and on-line.

As a result, a significant amount of media coverage was gained, both nationally and regionally.

THINK! publicity materials were also in high demand - for example, 3.25m copies of the new LAW leaflet were produced. Pre campaign tracking research showed that 45% of people who carry children in cars were aware that new regulations were being introduced. This figure went up to 87% after the campaign. The full post campaign research will be available early in 2007.

Motorbikes
The 2006 THINK! sponsorship of the Superbikes championships came to an end in October. Renegotiations are currently taking place to determine the THINK! presence at the 2007 event.

A sports sponsorship audit will be conducted in the coming months to determine whether there are other areas in which the THINK! campaign could invest. Any new sponsorship arrangements will be shared with the road safety community via the LARSOA and THINK! websites.

Mobile phones

Phase One (15 Jan-27 Feb)
This will comprise awareness raising to inform the public of the change from a £30 fine to a £60 fine and three penalty points.

This phase will use a creative - derived out of research - to encourage drivers to get into the habit of switching off their mobiles before driving.  

The key messages in phase one are:

• The law is changing - using a mobile phone while driving now means three points on your licence and a £60 fine.
• Using a phone while driving is distracting - doing so puts yourself and others at risk. It is not OK to pick up the phone while driving.

Phase Two (post 27 February)
Raising awareness of the law will continue throughout March. This will be complimented by a second creative aimed at the caller rather than the driver, which will begin to build on the social unacceptability of calling a driver/answering a phone while driving.

The key message in phase two is that it's everyone's responsibility to ensure safety on the roads. Your call to a driver can wait until they have reached their destination - if they are driving, kill the conversation.

Phase Three (post 27 February)
The enforcement element of the campaign will continue, to raise awareness of the penalties and the likelihood of being stopped by the police.

This will be aimed initially at younger drivers who will be most likely to lose their licence as a result of the new penalties. A meeting with the police to develop this element of the campaign is planned for January.

The key message in phase three is: this is the law, and the police will stop you if you are seen to be using a mobile phone while driving.

Phase Four - case studies (spring/summer 07)
This phase will comprise case studies featuring people have been stopped and (possibly) penalised for using a mobile. This phase will rely on close liaison with the police service.