THINK! campaign update - November 2006

In this feature THINK! team member Gemma Regniez presents an overview of recent, current and forthcoming THINK! campaign activity.

Campaigns aimed at primary school children
Be Safe, Be Seen
Douglas Alexander, transport secretary, launched the 2006 Be Safe Be Seen campaign at the Nationwide Building Society child road safety event at the House of Commons on 25 October.

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

At the launch, 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."

Streetwise
Stephen Ladyman, transport minister, launched the 3M Streetwise initiative at a primary school in Pimlico on 31 October.

Streetwise, a web-based road safety teaching resource, is being distributed directly to primary schools across the country.  

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

These partnerships include: Millets, where the Be Safe Be Seen message is being promoted on labels across a range of school wear featuring reflective elements; Whitbread, who are making road safety activity books available at its Brewers Fayre restaurants throughout October and November; and Little Chef restaurants, where reflective arm bands and road safety activity placemats featured during October.  

Spike the Hedgehog is also appearing on FUN Radio throughout the autumn and winter to promote seasonal road safety messages.

Teenage pedestrian campaign (aged 12-16 years)
To date, this campaign has included two bursts of television advertising, in May and August/September, and two weeks of six-sheet poster advertising during September in the vicinity of secondary schools and youth clubs.  

This TV and poster campaign will be repeated in January.

The Camera Phone commercial ran in cinemas alongside the Superman film, and also ran recently alongside other films suitable for teenagers screened between 20 October and 2 November.

The THINK! team will also be setting up a youth panel in the near future to gain insight into attitudes and behaviour among this age group - and how they can be reached with road safety messages. Findings from this initiative will be shared with road safety professionals via the THINK! website.

Child car seats
The new child restraint regulations were launched on 17 July during GMTV's Check it Fits campaign. Dr Ladyman appeared on the programme to outline the new regulations.

Although the timings of the new law coming into effect made it difficult for those managing local activity, the overall campaign has been very effective and the THINK! team thanks RSOs for their efforts on a local level.

Advertising began w/commencing 24 July and ran until the third week in September. The campaign ran 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. Britax also carried information in their literature and on-line.

The campaign gained significant national and regional media coverage, and THINK! publicity materials were in high demand - 3.25m copies of the new LAW leaflet were printed and distributed.

Pre campaign research showed that just 45% of people who carry children in cars were aware that new regulations were being introduced. This figure rose to 87% after the campaign. The full post campaign research will be available at the end of the month from the THINK! website.

Sports sponsorship
THINK! sponsorship of the 2006 Superbikes Championships ended at the beginning of October, and negotiations are currently underway to determine the THINK! presence at next year's event.

A sports sponsorship audit will also be conducted in the coming months to determine whether there are other areas suitable for THINK! involvement. Any new sponsorship initiatives will be shared with road safety professionals via the LARSOA and THINK! websites.

New mobile phone legislation
A strategy is currently being developed to determine how best to inform the public of likely changes to the laws relating to the use of mobile phones in cars.The changes are likely to come into force in February 2007, and the awareness campaign will run from early January through February and possibly into March.

Leaflets and posters will be available to order from the THINK! website before Christmas.

2006 Christmas drink drive campaign
The 2006 THINK! Christmas drink drive campaign is provisionally scheduled to launch nationally on 1 December. The campaign will target young men by informing them of the dangers and consequences of drink driving.

The campaign will comprise: TV and cinema advertising featuring the Crash commercial; cinema and in-pub ambient advertising; online advertising; partnership marketing; and PR.

Supporting activities currently in planning include a new radio commercial on the theme of enforcement.

At this stage there are no new posters planned for Christmas 2006 - there are already nine drink drive posters currently available for RSOs to order.

Confirmed THINK! Christmas drink drive campaign dates include:

• TV campaign - from Friday 1 Dec to w/c 18 Dec.
• Radio campaign - from Friday 1 Dec to w/c 25 Dec.
• Cinema campaign - w/c 13 Nov to w/c 11 Dec.

Partnership marketing
To reinforce and extend the Christmas drink drive message, the campaign will again be supported by a wide range of organisations including pubs, bars and retailers.

These organisations will help deliver drink drive messages to potential drink drivers at crucial decision making moments. A full list of partners supporting the campaign will be published in late November.

Posters and leaflets
Drink drive posters and leaflets explaining that you cannot calculate your alcohol limit are available to order from the THINK! catalogue.

Rural speed campaign
As part of the overall THINK! speed campaign, the new 'rural speed' campaign, which focuses on the dangers of driving at inappropriate speeds on rural roads, was launched on 1 November.

The campaign aims to explain to motorists that the problem isn't simply speeding, but driving too fast for the conditions. The primary target audience is male drivers aged between 17-39 years who drive/speed on rural roads.

Inappropriate driving can include:

• Approaching a bend or junction too fast and without caution.
• Not negotiating narrow roads properly.
• Overtaking on an approach to a bend, or where forward visibility is restricted.

The campaign's strap line is: You're three times more likely to die in a car crash on a rural road.

Campaign activity includes:

• National radio advertising ('Zipper' radio ad) - w/c 6 Nov to w/c 26 Nov.
• National petrol pump ambient advertising - Nov 2006 to Mar 2007
• A PR campaign and posters (available for RSOs to order from the THINK! catalogue).

National speed campaign
The national Lucky speed campaign will continue to run throughout 2006/7.

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

The campaign concludes with the line: It's 30 for a reason.

RSOs are advised to continue checking the calendar on the THINK! website for confirmed media dates for the period January/February 2007.

For further information
For further information about any of these campaigns contact the appropriate campaign manager. Click here* to download THINK! team details.