2014 started with more deaths on Australian roads than ever before and followed a year when the road toll reached 2,000 people. As the country’s largest insurer we wanted to change consumer behaviour and get people to start thinking about car safety before it was too late.

Using custom-built digital platforms we got people to reappraise the safety of the cars they drive and buy based on safety ratings, rather than cosmetic features (like colour) which our research found determines a majority of purchases.

We opened the Crashed Car Showroom, a digital experience demonstrating the importance of car safety ratings. Crashed cars fitted with custom-built interactive technology delivered our message. Each experience was powered by data from decades of crash tests, 50 million insurance claims and commissioned research.

An Oculus Rift simulator let people crash test different cars.

A dissected car and NFC chips explained essential safety features.

Projection mapping showed collision damage.

Eye-tracking technology demonstrated braking systems.

A hail gun tested car materials.

The entire experience was recreated online to reach a wider audience.

PR launched the showroom, drove visits and delivered our safety message. On the opening morning we released our research to media and invited them to experience the unique use of technology.

This use of digital and the safety message it delivered earned 46,000,000 media impressions, appearing on national news for over 11 minutes, on 127 radio stations and in every national newspaper – triggering media discussion on car safety and putting safety firmly in consumer’s minds.

To get Australians to think more about car safety, and change their reasons for buying cars, we opened the Crashed Car Showroom in Sydney’s CBD.

Having mined claims data and commissioned consumer research into the nations knowledge of car safety, we used our findings to turn crashed cars into interactive safety experiences.

On the opening morning, we released our research to media. At an exclusive preview we invited a cross section from news, motoring, technology and parenting titles to experience the showroom and conduct interviews.

We provided TV crews with footage of each installation and press packs containing the statistical results, fact sheets and background information.

Following this preview the showroom was open to the public.

After the initial coverage, more media outlets wanted to cover the showroom. As a result we changed our plan from a single media event to running exclusive events while the showroom was open.

The content and the branded safety message it delivered saw 930,000 people in foot traffic. It earned 46,000,000 media impressions, appearing on 7 national news shows for over 11 minutes. It was discussed on 127 radio stations, written about in every national newspaper and appeared online around the world. Visitors from the showroom also shared the live content experience on social media reaching a further 5.2 million people.

The experience delivered a return on investment of over 450%.

Using the brands own data to create the content also made people think differently about them. Getting positive national media coverage for a large insurance company usually targeted for rate hikes was amazing. Nothing could have done an insurance brand more good than showing it's looking out for everyone’s safety.