Driver Distraction — Insurance Bureau of Canada
The Challenge: Drive home the dangers of distracted driving.
Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) wanted Canadians to understand the dangers of distracted driving and how it contributes to accidents and therefore insurance rates. Cell phone use is a major culprit. Now, texting while driving has compounded this serious problem. In fact, texting while driving is the new driving under the influence! Throw in other distractions such as eating or drinking coffee while driving, adjusting MP3 players and CD changers and responding to antsy children in the back seat, and you have a long list of items that can take drivers’ eyes off the road and lead to serious collisions.
The Solution:
The Gabor Group launched an innovative multi-platform Driver Distraction Campaign. The campaign involved community outreach programs, radio and television advertising, television and Internet promotions, media relations and social media.
Community outreach: Gabor created an engaging driving simulator dubbed The DUMB Car (DUMB is an acronym for Distractions Undermining Motorists Behaviour) that has been tried by thousands of Canadians visiting special events in Atlantic Canada, Ontario and Alberta.
The DUMB Car is a colourful simulator that puts the participant in a real driver's seat with a full-size cockpit, steering wheel, accelerator and brake, and sets him or her free to drive through winding roads and past obstacles represented on three large video screens.
As the participant drives, Gabor-trained Event Ambassadors offer distractions from cups of coffee to cell phones to illustrate how easy it is to lose concentration and control at the wheel.
The DUMB car is fun. It is also extremely effective – a hands-on reminder of how important it is to keep concentration at the wheel.
Gabor-trained event ambassadors manage the large display and deliver the key messages in a fun and friendly way. To facilitate the campaign's Internet component, they also gather email addresses for further updates from IBC and take “fotograbs” of contestants for the DUMB Car's microsite.
Simultaneously to the DUMB car community outreach program, Gabor also produced a radio and TV campaign about driver distraction.*
Clickonthis.ca showed the dangers of distracted driving and directed Canadians to IBC's website to learn more about the issue, play an interactive game and enter a contest.
The TV campaign also included a TV promotion in partnership with City TV that invited viewers to upload the most outrageous things they saw people do while driving. Winners of the online contest received prizes and their videos were shown on City TV.
Results:
The Driver Distraction Campaign succeeded in changing attitudes towards distracted driving across the country. It influenced opinion leaders and governments to bring in legislation banning hands-on cell-phone use, texting while driving and the use of other hand-held devices in most Canadian provinces.
Some 400 media hits and the paid advertising campaign on radio and TV highlighted the insurance industry as the leader and source of crucial information in this important issue.
