2016 Winners & Shortlists

BACK OFF RADIO

Short List
BrandROADS AND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY
Product/ServicePUBLIC TRANSPORT
EntrantMEMAC OGILVY Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryUse of Integrated Media
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

Tailgating is a global problem, but in the UAE it is the major cause of road accidents and it's on the rise. Aggressive driving is a common occurrence on UAE roads. Dubai Police records show that in the last year, more than 43,200 accidents took place due to drivers not keeping a safe distance between vehicles. 'In Dubai, there was a 40% rise in the number of deaths resulting from tailgating last year' – Colonel Saif Al Mazrouei, May 2014. With over 30% involving taxis, the Roads and Transport Authority briefed us to come up with a solution

Results and Effectiveness

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 campaign has creating 360 million media impressions generating over $1million of earned media spend.

Creative Execution

We installed Back Off Radio devices across the RTA's franchised taxi fleet, ARN gave us access to multiple radio channels targeting the multiple nationalities living in the UAE. Sensors mounted to the front and rear bumper are triggered when either the taxi or motorist drive to close to the car in front. Our safety message is triggered and activates the driver of the offending car to slow down and give more space between them and the car in front. Translated and broadcast in the main languages spoken in the UAE we targeted all drivers when it was needed most.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

The RTA's primary concerns are the safety of their driver's and the public on the roads of UAE. There have been many traditional communication campaigns to tackle road safety but these have had very little effect in changing driver behavior.There are two sets of target audience in this campaign: 1. The taxi drivers themselves. 2. Motorist's in general. There are many different Nationalities living in the UAE who we needed to connect with. The Arabian Radio Network owns stations across all of them all so by partnering with them we were able to deliver our message in the main languages spoken in the country. By communicating our message to offending taxi drivers as well as motorists we were able to be relevant to both when it mattered most.

Credits

Name Company Role
Ben Knight Geometry Global Dubai Executive Creative Director
Logan Allanson Geometry Global Dubai Creative Director
Michael Widgery/Logan Allanson Geometry Global Dubai Art Director
Michael Widgery/Logan Allanson Geometry Global Dubai Copywriter
Viko Ferrari Geometry Global Dubai Designer
Muhammed Omer Geometry Global Dubai Designer
Nick Walsh Geometry Global Dubai General Manager
Kate Bevan Geometry Global Dubai Client Services
Sami Moutran OgilvyPR Public Relations Team
Sophie Wordley OgilvyPR Public Relations Team
Dr. Yousif Al Ali Roads and Transport Authority Chief Executive Officer
Mahmoud Al Rasheed Arabian Radio Network General Manager
Luke Morris Alchemy Films General Manager
Erin Gilchrist Alchemy Films Producer
Juan Cernadas Alchemy Films Director Of Photography
Ghassan Naji Alchemy Films Graphics
Paul Emos Mouse Media Technical Director
Souheil Zahreddine Freelance Editor
Zainab M. AlKassab Dubai Taxi Corporation Marketing And Sales Manager
Ralph van Dijk Eardrum Director