2012 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

In a region where road deaths continue to be an alarming statistic (i.e over 450 people are killed yearly in road accidents in Abu Dhabi alone), BMW Group Middle East wants to position BMW as a serious ambassador of road safety. The campaign we developed therefore adopted a seriously grim tone in presenting the sad reality of untimely road deaths - involving the very people we hold most dear. The campaign message was simple - A daughter never got to celebrate her 8th birthday, a dad would have lived to see his newborn, a budding collegiate would have graduated this year - all sad "would have beens" that could have been avoided - if only seat belts were properly fastened.

Success of the Campaign

BMW Group Middle East has become an advocate of road safety having been quoted in numerous press articles after campaign roll-out. Over 85 press clippings were generated out of the core message presented in the campaign idea, equating to a media value of US$186,542. All national newspapers and radio news programmes in the UAE carried articles on the campaign launch. The campaign key visual and message was even featured on the front page of 7 Days, the most circulated daily in the UAE. Audience participation was even more overwhelming. More than 2,000 university students attended the four university events, pledging to fasten theirs and their loved ones' seat belts on massive commitment boards. 1486 data forms were collated during the university roadshow and importer events to ensure a mechanism to record measurement of the campaign’s success and to continue dialogue.

Describe how the campaign/entry was launched and executed across each channel in the order of implementation.

The campaign kicked off with radio spots saturating top radio stations in the Emirates. This was immediately followed by newspaper and magazine ads, featuring vivid illustrations of the spine tingling radio spots. A couple of magazine placements were done as special executions, the likes of a seatbelt used as a belly band. Online banners were strategically placed in key websites, all leading to a Facebook Application which acted as an online counter of individuals pledging to the cause of "buckling up to save lives." A university roadshow covering 4 campuses was kicked off simultaneously, allowing students to understand the nuances of road safety and to give them an opportunity to be counted as advocates of safety through a pledge wall. We tapped a famous regional band, Desert Heat, to write a tailor-made campaign song which they performed during the roadshow.