The Challenge
Coloradans do a lot of things well, but when it comes to wearing seat belts, statistics show we have plenty of room for improvement. In 2017, unbuckled deaths accounted for half of the 383 total passenger vehicle fatalities in Colorado. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) estimates that, in 2018, one in every 33 Colorado drivers will be in a crash. CDOT’s Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign had seen several iterations, but the data showed messages weren’t resonating with Colorado drivers, and unbuckled fatalities were up 14% since 2014.
CDOT and CIG’s challenge was clear: How do you change the behavior of the more than 16% of Coloradans that neglect to wear their seat belts?
Unbuckled fatalities were up 14% since 2014.
Our Solution
In 2018, CIG took a fresh, creative approach to improving seat belt use. The aim was to deliver CDOT’s seat belt safety message in a way that resonated with audiences on a more emotional level. We interviewed people across the state to understand their stories and the emotions behind why they choose to buckle up. We wanted to give a voice to people that ordinary Coloradans look up to or can relate to — respected figures, guardians, protectors and heroes in their own right. These weren’t paid actors, but everyday Coloradans. The interviewees were authentic in sharing their personal reasons for buckling up.
With a limited budget and just three months to deliver, CIG executed 10 videos (eight in English, two in Spanish) to create a powerful, personal campaign that shared real Coloradans’ reasons for buckling up. The videos were shown on YouTube, gas station TVs and Facebook. To extend the campaign in rural counties where seat belt use is historically among the lowest in the state, CIG created ads used on high school event tickets, which are often popular gatherings in rural communities.
In 2019, CIG took off on The Reasons Road Trip, shooting video that engaged Coloradans in Adams, El Paso and Weld Counties. These are the counties with the highest number of unbuckled fatalities in 2017. This travel-blog style video series captured the stories from locals on why they choose to buckle up.
The Results
In total, the campaign generated more than 20.3 million impressions across all platforms. Digital ads generated 11,920 total clicks, with Facebook generating 67% of those. CIG’s earned media outreach for the campaign also produced 26 internet stories, 40 TV stories and 64 external social media posts.
For The Reasons Road Trip portion of the campaign, videos were distributed to statewide and county-specific stakeholders and traffic safety partners. They were also used in paid advertisements on CDOT’s Facebook page with audience-targeting parameters to reach our target counties. Full-video views hit 31,946 and social media impressions came in at 403,613.
In total, the campaign generated more than 20.3 million impressions across all platforms.
TransComm Award
Video Production Series (2020)
TransComm Award
Video Production Series (2020)
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