| Title | Damage: The Longer Term Effects of Seatbelt Advertising |
| Agency | LyleBailie International |
| Campaign | The longer term effects of road safety advertising - Dpt of the Environment |
| Advertiser | National Safety Council / Department of the Environment |
| Brand | Dpt Environment, N. Ireland & National Safety |
| Posted | June 2002 |
| Business Sector | Road Safety |
| Tagline | No seatbelt - No excuse |
| Story | Seatbelt wearing rates in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have historically been lower than their nearest neighbour, Great Britain, producing higher rates of road carnage. The challenge was to increase seatbelt compliance and thereby reduce road carnage with a consequent reduction in both its human tragedy and its economic cost to the taxpayer. The Longer Term Effects of Seatbelts Advertising shows how a £4 million advertising investment produced a £378 million economic saving, isolating an advertising payback of £15 for every £1 invested. Using psychological techniques to shock and encode emotional memory, influencing seatbelt wearing decisions, the cross-border campaign in Ireland, 2001 to 2007, achieved significant leaps in seatbelt wearing rates, with a reduction in death and serious injuries without seatbelts of 1132 people. The campaign moved Northern Irelands seatbelt wearing from the lowest to the highest in the UK, quadrupled rear seatbelt wearing in the Republic of Ireland and contributed to the lowest road death toll on record in 2008: 107 in Northern Ireland and 279 in the Republic of Ireland. Our latest 2009 influential factors surveys in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland reveal that, across the island of Ireland, TV Road safety advertising is perceived as the most influential factor in saving lives on Irelands roads. In Northern Ireland 52% and in the Republic of Ireland 55% of a representative sample of both populations stated that TV Road Safety Advertising was very influential in saving lives on Irelands roads. Independent research by Millward Brown compares all the factors perceived by the public as very influential in saving lives on the roads. Road safety TV ads are perceived as the most influential factors in saving lives in both NI and ROI, followed by police enforcement, penalties imposed by courts and road traffic laws. In Northern Ireland, an aggregated total of 86% of adults believe that DOE road safety ads are very influential in saving lives and in the Irish Republic an aggregated total of 80% of adults believe all road safety ads are very influential in saving lives |
| Philosophy | The approach was research-led, data-led and psychology-led. Between 1999 and 2007, 28,612 research interviews were independently conducted, North & South, into attitudes to seatbelts, using qualitative techniques for strategy development and quantitative techniques for pre-testing and tracking An extensive programme of qualitative research was launched as part of the strategy development pre Damage (29th January 1st February 2001). The research revealed that the target audience felt that the decision not to wear a seatbelt was a personal choice - an act of personal freedom. The key insight behind their dismissal of seatbelts was revealed as the acute sense of discomfort they felt with the physical and social exclusion which wearing a rear seatbelt generated. When restrained in the rear of a vehicle they had no control, no freedom and limited self-expression whilst being denied access to the social centre of the car - the front. They felt diminished and uncool because they were excluded from the action, consequently they rationalised their rejection of rear seatbelts by determining that it was their behaviour, their decision, their life which had no consequence beyond themselves. Enforcement of back seatbelt wearing was perceived as being weak and inconsistent. Even when detected it was felt you could talk your way out of any further action. This helped the target audience rationalise why back seatbelts were not really necessary and their own choice. The groups confirmed that their possible motivations for deciding to wear a seatbelt included the prospect of killing a family member or a friend, or the prospect of being seriously disabled for life. |
| Problem | 1. Achieve high levels of awareness, compared to industry norms. 2. Achieve high levels of influence, compared to industry norms. 3. Improve attitudes to seatbelt wearing, compared to pre-campaign benchmarks. 4. Increase seatbelt wearing rates overall and for key targets. 5. Reduce deaths and serious injuries, achieving both human and economic savings. Those objectives were informed by the overall Road Safety Strategies put in place by the governments in both Belfast and Dublin. Both governments were committed to the reduction of road deaths and serious injuries. Both governments identified higher seatbelt compliance as a major objective of their strategies through a combination of enforcement measures and education campaigns. The purpose of the education campaigns, through advertising, was to create increased awareness - translated via impact into engagement, involvement and internalisation, measured whether people are influenced or not influenced by the campaign. In wave after wave of tracking from 2001 to 2008, the seatbelts TV campaigns achieved awareness and influence scores which significantly outscored industry norms. Attitudinal improvements, led to observed behaviour changes the highest ever seatbelt wearing rates in both NI and ROI. Independent Observational Surveys conducted by NISRA show: - Wearing rates have continuously increased since the launch of Damage. - Overall wearing rates have increased to 96% in NI. - Driver wearing rates have increased to 96%, compared to GB driver wearing rate of 94% (Aug-07). - Backseat wearing rates in NI have increased to 91%. - Since the launch of Selfish (the campaign aimed at parents), backseat wearing rates of those aged under 1 to 13 years old have increased or maintained high levels. Under 1 year olds restrained increased to 99% from 96% in 2006. 1-4 year olds restrained increased to 96% from 92% in 2005. 5-9 year old wearing rates increase to 94% from 84% in 2006. 10-13 year old wearing rates increased to 93% from 86% in 2006. - Following the launch of Get it On, the highest ever wearing rates among young people have been observed. 14-26 year olds wearing seatbelts increased to 83% in 2007 from 75% in 2006. The biggest increases in NI seatbelt wearing rates are in: - Backseat 14-29 year olds up from 46% in April 2001 (before the launch of Damage) to 82% in April 2008. - All backseat wearing rates up from 67% in April 2001 (before the launch of Damage) to 91% in April 2008. NIs seatbelt wearing rates have continuously lagged behind GB rates until this year NI now has the highest driver, backseat and front seat published wearing rates in the UK. The biggest increases in ROI seatbelt wearing rates are in: - All backseat wearing rates up from 20% in 1999 (before the launch of Damage) to 84% in 2007. - Driver wearing rates up from 55% in 1999 (before the launch of Damage) to 88% in 2007. - Overall wearing rates 88%, up from 57% in 1999. The campaign resulted in a reduction in the number of deaths and serious injuries without seatbelts. Post-campaign deaths and serious injuries without seatbelts fell by 1132 people. Human Payback The campaign resulted in a reduction in the number of deaths and serious injuries without seatbelts. Post-campaign deaths and serious injuries without seatbelts fell by 29% in NI and 46% in ROI. NI During the six years pre-launch of the seatbelts campaigns, 1065 people were killed or seriously injured while not wearing a seatbelt. In the six years post-launch, the number of deaths and serious injuries fell to 755*. ROI During the six years pre-launch of the seatbelts campaigns 1775 people were killed or seriously injured while not wearing a seatbelt. In the six years post-launch, the number of deaths and serious injuries fell to 953**. Economic Payback The publics perception of the most influential factors in saving lives on the roads has been used to calculate the proportion of the £378.4 million economic saving (NI and ROI combined) which can be attributed to each of the influential factors. From this |
| Media Type | Television |
| Length | |
| Market | Ireland |
| Soundtrack | Body to Body |
| Creative Director | David Lyle |
| Creative Director | Julie Bailie |
| Copywriter | David Lyle |
| Copywriter | Julie Bailie |
| Art Director | David Lyle |
| Art Director | Julie Bailie |
| Director | Syd Macartney |
| Production Company | Rawi Macartney Cole |
| Agency Producer | Julie Bailie |
| Producer | Ruck Strauss |
| Recording Studio | Tape Gallery |
| Animation Effects | Tony Lawrence |
| Special Effects / VFX | Clear |
| Music | Toni Tenille |
| Music | David Bowie |
| Advertising Manager | Jim Rankin |
| Music | Samantha Mumba |
| Executive Creative Director | David Lyle |
| Chief Executive | David Lyle |
| Advertising Psychologist | Dawn Reid |
| Executive Creative Director | Julie Bailie |
| Media Director | Robert Lyle |
| Advertising Manager | Wesley Shannon |
| Account Manager | Pauline Kerr |