Most rural road deaths are caused by older, male country drivers. But their ‘ability’ to drive is a direct reflection of the role/status achieved in their family and community. They are employing denial but in reality, their excuses have no place on the road. We needed to gain acceptance into their communities to help them understand they are in denial, without affronting their ego and sense of self. But try telling a regional middle-aged Aussie he’s wrong…
To reduce road fatalities in regional NSW by positioning these drivers as community heroes. No mean feat.
PHASE 1 – Yeah...BUT
Establishing awareness of the issue
The launch of the campaign established awareness of the issues to our audience who were in active denial about their dangerous driving habits. This was brought to life in our campaign; ‘the road is no place for excuses’ which demonstrated the excuses that are made on the road and readily justified with a ‘Yeah...BUT’.
PHASE 2 – Yeah...NAH
Encouraging new behaviour
The follow-up campaign highlighted the potential consequences involved in everyday driving decisions and the ability of individuals to influence those consequences with their actions. This was summed up in the line ‘everyday decisions matter’. We flipped ‘Yeah...BUT’ to ‘Yeah...NAH’ with this phase encouraging a new, more empowering vernacular around making the ‘right choice’.
Message consideration hit an all-time high of 98%. In 2018, there were 27 fewer fatalities than the previous year and campaign recognition reached 72% in 2019 (10% higher than the research benchmark).