SGI launches new drinking and driving ad campaign
Choices Choices Choices
Young people have so many choices facing them.
Stay at home or move out, what career to choose, a serious relationship
or a casual one and the list goes on. But one of the most serious
choices they frequently make is whether or not to drink and then
drive.
SGI’s newest advertising campaign - being launched this
holiday weekend - will focus on making the choice to live! With
an original soundtrack, composed by former
Watchmen lead singer Danny Greaves, we hope to
capture the attention of young men aged 19 to 24.
Now you’re probably wondering a few things…like why
are we targeting young men, who makes these ads and what is SGI
trying to accomplish? Well, here’s some answers.
How does SGI decide what traffic safety ads to produce?
Simply put, it’s all about the research. And the first bit
of information needed is the most recent traffic collision statistics.
Currently, SGI statistics indicate that drinking and driving is
still the number one killer on Saskatchewan roads. In 2004, alcohol
was a factor in 44 fatal collisions and contributed to 786 injuries.
While these numbers have been decreasing
over the years, there’s still
much work to be done and that’s why we devote most of our
advertising dollars to drinking and driving
campaigns.
Why are the ads targeted mainly at young men?
Unfortunately, young men aged 19 - 24 continue to be involved in
more incidents of drinking and driving than any other demographic.
This is a difficult audience to reach.
They're on their iPods, downloading music, chatting online and
not impacted by regular media. Also, they're not moved to change
their behaviours easily.
However, research tells us public education that focuses on the
tough consequences of drinking
and drinking together with enforcement
has proven to be the best way to tackle the issue. That's our overall
plan.
Does SGI do anything else to promote traffic safety besides ads?
Yes we do. SGI contributes close to $1 million
a year to various
traffic safety awareness and enforcement initiatives across the province.
Law Enforcement
Each year, the Enforcement Overdrive
program, results in tens of thousands of vehicles checked by law
enforcement, taking additional drinking drivers off the road. The
program started in Regina in 2001 and has since started up in Saskatoon,
Prince Albert and Estevan.
The SGI Safety Squad
The Safety Squad consists of two teams of summer students who attend
events and festivals around the province teaching kids about
traffic safety.
Last summer the Safety Squad attended 95
community events, held
13 child restraint clinics where they checked close to 200
car seats, as well as helping at a number of other clinics. The Safety
Squad covered over 40,000 km of Saskatchewan during their travels.
Aboriginal Community Relations
SGI also puts great emphasis on identifying traffic safety issues
in Aboriginal communities.
Currently, SGI has two Community Relations Coordinators, with
plans to add a third this year, that travel to all corners of the
province to promote traffic safety and injury prevention.
In 2005, there were 28 child restraint workshops as well as six
re-licensing workshops over the past year. Twenty-three schools
had traffic safety presentations and SGI set up 29
displays at
various Aboriginal special events. We also worked with Northern
Inter-tribal Health Authority to train 66
people from 33 First
Nation communities from Prince Albert and the North as child restraint
technicians.
Operational Grants
SGI provides funding to various organizations in the province that
raise awareness about traffic safety issues and help SGI in reducing
the number of people killed or injured on our roads and highways.
- Saskatchewan
Safety Council
- Students Against Drinking and Driving
- Community Grants
Where will this new ad appear?
Look for the ad to appear where young people are and when young
people are watching:
- Television commercials during shows like The
Simpsons, the NHL playoffs and selected primetime programs.
- Movie
theatre trailers
- Web ads on MSN, mysask.com, hotmail.com and SGI’s
customer website
- Radio commercials will air on major stations in
the province, including on SGI’s popular Safety Tips
feature heard on Rawlco radio stations.
And there's more. . .
You'll also see messaging on the harsh consequences of drinking
and driving in bar washrooms and on static cinema (that's the pre-movie
advertising that usually includes trivia at the theatre).
The Always Plan a Safe Ride Home message will appear at the point
of sale too as we're advertising in most liquor stores across the
province and in alternative newspapers.
We’re working hard to get these important messages out and
we'll keep you posted as we rollout new advertising initiatives.
If you have any questions call Toni Ennis at (306) 751-1319.
|
