We discovered there was a clear disconnect between the way drivers knew they should behave around construction sites and the way they actually behaved. Despite all the publicity, they still viewed road construction as a nuisance. To change driver behavior we needed to get them to view road construction sites differently. Our idea was to make them realize that a road construction zone is also someone’s workplace, one that deserves the same level of respect and safety as their own. We took a humorous approach to break through the clutter and juxtaposed construction sites with more “traditional” office work environments, sparking an “A-HA!” moment amongst drivers. By inserting typical driver behaviours such as speeding, road rage, and failure to merge into an office setting we were able to hammer home one simple message “If it wouldn’t happen at your work, it shouldn’t happen at ours.”

We executed a fully integrated communications campaign that leveraged research, creative content development, social media, and media relations. Working to a tight budget and timeline, the best course of action was to lead the charge on social, relying on the strength of our insight and the quality of our films to drive engagement and views. We created further buzz by releasing survey results through media relations, government and law enforcement stakeholders, and produced toolkits for ORBA members. We tied all elements into the first long weekend of the summer, which is notorious for heavy traffic and the beginning of road construction season. Encouraged by the compelling message and strong initial performance of the films, additional funds were contributed to the campaign, allowing us to broadcast the content as a PSA, develop an original radio spot, and produce print ads using original photography, further extending the reach of the program.

Tier 1: Our regional campaign covering a province of just 13 million people, generated coverage normally expected of a national program.

Traditional paid media resulted in 15,000,000 TV and radio impressions. By negotiating a placement of the creative as PSAs rather than a regular buy we tripled the value of our media spend, giving us an additional $100,000 in exposure.

Sharability of social content led to:

• 3.3 million video views

• 33,000 likes, comments and shares

• 4.9 million people reached

The campaign films and view numbers can be seen at:

The Speeder:

https://www.facebook.com/338431372847670/posts/1175028742521258

The Road Rager:

https://www.facebook.com/338431372847670/posts/1240289179328547

The Failure to Merge:

https://www.facebook.com/338431372847670/posts/1213128692044596

In terms of paid promotion, the level of community engagement inspired by the creative on social platforms resulted in a significant decrease in cost per view over the duration of the campaign.

• 525% increase in the value of Facebook paid promotion

• Reduction in cost per impression from $0.05 to $0.008

Quality of earned media resulted in:

• 13 million impressions

• $0.009 cost per contact

Tier 2: Overall the campaign was well received by our audience and had overwhelmingly positive sentiment online but, most importantly we achieved astounding behavioral change.

A survey conducted jointly by ORBA and Ipsos revealed that of drivers who recalled the campaign, 92% said it made them drive more safely through construction zones and road worker injuries were reduced by 45% during the same period year on year.