Charities, Public Health, Safety & Awareness Messages
Entrant Company
MEMAC OGILVY Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Advertising Agency
MEMAC OGILVY Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Advertising Agency 2
GEOMETRY GLOBAL Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production Company
MAGNET Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Brief Explanation
'Back Off Radio' is a road safety campaign aimed at reducing tailgating accidents by targeting motorists directly at the time when they're committing the offense. As soon as a car starts tailgating by breaching the safety zone of the car in front, the driver of the offending vehicle receives a message directly through their cars audio system. Back Off Radio is a device fitted to the RTA Taxi fleet. Sensors mounted to the front and rear bumper are triggered when either the taxi or motorist drive to close to the car in front. This direct message is triggered when it is needed most and does not stop until the offending car increases the gap between the car in front of them.
Creative Execution
We installed devices across the RTA's franchised taxi fleet, by partnering with the regions largest radio network, ARN we managed to get access to multiple channels targeting the broad demographic of the UAE from Westerners, Arabs and Asians alike. The campaign targeted drivers at the precise moment when they were causing the offence delivering our message when it was needed most. The campaign is ongoing and plans are being made to role the device out to public buses and school transport, which is all under the regulation of the Roads and Transport Authority.
Results
The campaign not only raised awareness of the problem, it has actually started to change the behavior of taxi drivers and motorists across the Country. Taxi driver tailgating incidents fell from an average of 264 to 62 per day, resulting in a 426% reduction in tailgating occurrences. Recorded public motorist tailgating incidents fell from an average of 58 per day to 16, resulting in a 363% reduction in tailgating occurrences. Back off radio has successfully delivered 32 440 warning messages to date. This has lead to an overall reduction of tailgating related accidents of 14.8% in the first quarter of 2015. The story quickly spread and was a major talking point across all mediums – radio, news sites, motoring publications and major news channels. Creating 416 million media impressions generating over $1million of earned media spend.