DRINK DRIVING: SCOTLAND’S JOURNEY TOWARDS ZERO TOLERANCE CATEGORY: 3.4 Integrated Marketing
AUTHORS: Claire Wood
WORD COUNT: 1,532
DRINK DRIVING: SCOTLAND’S JOURNEY TOWARDS ZERO TOLERANCE “THE ADS ARE ALL THE SAME, CAN’T SPEED, CAN’T DRINK OR DRIVE OR YOU WILL CRASH – SO WHAT? EVERYONE KNOWS THAT – THEY DON’T STOP ME.” 1
They assume that after a few drinks, they’re not very drunk and, as they’re good drivers, won’t cause any problems. ‘People who are completely wasted and driving – now these are people who are going to get sent to prison.’ 8 It was clear that we needed to remove the room for doubt. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that most respondents expected not to get caught by the Police if they drove after drinking.
Meantime, the Scottish Government seeks zero tolerance. To normalise the idea of not drinking anything before you drive.
Understanding the serial offenders Christmas (alongside summer) is a flashpoint in the drink drive calendar. The Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland support Police Scotland’s enforcement activity in December with a social marketing campaign. Quantitative research4 showed that those most likely to have a drink and drive were: • Male5 • More affluent (35% of ABs drove after drinking versus 18% of C2DEs) • Middle-aged (35 – 59 year olds)6
Research highlighted a ‘grey area’ within drink driving. These drivers see the amount you can safely drink before driving as very different to the amount you can legally drink. “You’ve had a drink so technically, you’re drink driving – but it’s that word, ‘technically’, isn’t it?” 7 Those most predisposed to drink and drive bury their heads in the sand when it comes to the law and take refuge in their own personal (subjective) self-audit based on past experience, gender, size, tiredness etc.
‘I thought there would be a grey area. I think if it’s your first offence, you might just get a fine, to be honest.’ 9 So we needed to demonstrate unequivocally that: • Drinking and driving is illegal, however little you’re over the limit • Every time you drink and drive, there’s a real chance you’ll get caught.
EXPLORING DETERRENTS
Over forty years of drink driving advertising means that most people know you shouldn’t drink and drive. 96% of adults agree that drink driving is dangerous.2 But as ever with social marketing, the theory and practice are quite different. In the year to March 2013, 4,730 people were convicted of drink driving in Scotland.3 People know that drinking and driving is wrong but some continue to do it.
If they were ‘unlucky’, they expected leniency as they were ‘only one or two over’ (the limit).
To shape our proposition, we explored potential deterrents in qualitative research. The minimum twenty year criminal record attached to a conviction proved most effective. Apparently new news (some asked if it was a new penalty – it wasn’t), this fact invited respondents to consider all the repercussions. Crucially, it would be a source of enduring shame.
‘Twenty years? I’d be so ashamed.’10 We had our communications proposition: “Even if you’re just over the limit, you’re still a drunk driver and a criminal in the eyes of the law.” To bring this to life, we used the new news identified in research as support: the minimum twenty year criminal record.
Verbatim from 18 year old male, taken from research conducted by Gerard Hastings, quoted in Social Marketing: why should the devil have all the best tunes? By Gerard Hastings, 2007. RITS: Driver Attitudes and Behaviour Tracking, TNS-BMRB, Scotland, July 2013. 3 http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/dundee/fife-and-tayside-among-the-highest-drink-drive-convictionrates-1.159443 4 Drink Drive campaign evaluation tracking research, TNS-BMRB, January 2013. 5 27% of men would drink and drive as opposed to 22% of women, Drink Drive campaign evaluation tracking research, TNS-BMRB, January 2013. 6 Collins et al, 2008b; 2007 Drink Driving Campaign, TNS System 3, Anderson and Ingram, 2001, Qualitative Study of Drinking and Driving: report on the Literature Review, Road Safety Report 113, DFT. 7 Respondent verbatim, TNS-BMRB Qualitative Research, March 2013. 8 Respondents in Drink Drive insight gathering research, TNS-BMRB, April 2013. 9 Respondents in Drink Drive insight gathering research, TNS-BMRB, April 2013. 10 Newhaven qualitative research, August 2013. 1
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DRAMATISING THE DETERRENT Several creative routes were tested in research. The route that performed best with our core audience featured a flashing blue ‘police’ light shining on the protagonist’s face for the twenty years following their conviction. “Powerfully disruptive”, the visual metaphor refuted the notion that a conviction causes only short-term inconvenience.11
TV ‘Blue Light’ In this ad we see a middle-aged man lying awake in bed in the middle of the night. A blue flashing light plays across his face even though there is no light source in the room. We cut and see him in the morning, standing in his kitchen. The blue light is still on him as his wife stresses over some bills. We can feel a real atmosphere between them. He asks “You ok?” She walks out and slams the door. He walks his daughter to her dance class. The light is still there and we can see other parents glancing at him. We then see different scenes of job interviews. Interviewers shake their heads sadly or look at him disapprovingly. One interviewer asks “Em, I don’t have any references, why have I not….” Our man replies “Sorry about that, I don’t know why I didn’t put them in” Another interviewer asks “Don’t you feel you’re over qualified for this?” Our man replies “I’m available to start so just let me know when…’ The interviewer replies “Let me think about it” Everywhere he goes the blue light flashes over his face. A voice says: VO:
EVEN IF YOU’RE JUST OVER THE DRINK DRIVE LIMIT YOU GET A MINIMUM TWENTY YEAR CRIMINAL RECORD.
We cut back in time and see him younger and happier driving home in his car. Suddenly that flickering blue light of a police car appears in his mirror and reflects on to his face. VO:
WITH OVER 20,000 DRIVERS STOPPED EVERY MONTH, ARE YOU READY TO LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES?
SUPER:
Source: Police Scotland
Finally type appears on screen that says: DON’T RISK IT. DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE. The Don’t Risk It and Safer Scotland logos come up.
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Drink Driving Creative Development: Research Findings, TNS-BMRB, September 2013.
Radio ‘Lesson’ A jolly little music track plays in the background. The voice is quite happy go lucky as we hear cars stalling, engines revving etc. VO:
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET THESE DRIVING LESSONS.
THE EMERGENCY STOP.
THE HILL START.
THE TRICKY THREE POINT TURN.
THE DREADED PARALLEL PARK.
THE FLASHING BLUE LIGHT IN YOUR MIRROR.
Our voice is suddenly more serious.
EVEN BEING JUST OVER THE DRINK DRIVE LIMIT WILL GET YOU A MINIMUM TWENTY YEAR CRIMINAL RECORD.
WITH OVER 20,000 DRIVERS STOPPED BY POLICE IN SCOTLAND EVERY MONTH, HOPEFULLY THAT’S A LESSON YOU’LL NEVER HAVE TO LEARN.
DON’T RISK IT. DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE.
‘Twenty’ VO:
IMAGINE A YEAR IS A SECOND.
ONE. TWO. THREE. FOUR. FIVE. SIX. SEVEN. EIGHT. NINE. TEN. ELEVEN. TWELVE. THIRTEEN. FOURTEEN. FIFTEEN. SIXTEEN. SEVENTEEN. EIGHTEEN. NINETEEN. TWENTY YEARS.
FEELS FOREVER DOESN’T IT?
THAT’S THE MINIMUM YOU’LL HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD IF YOU DRINK AND DRIVE.
DON’T RISK IT. DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE.
CHOOSING CHANNELS THAT DISRUPT INGRAINED BEHAVIOUR The campaign launched on 6 December 2013. TV, VOD and radio spot times were weighted towards likely drinking occasions: mid-week weekdays, evening drive time and weekends. The message that 20,000 people are stopped every month by the police was central to the activity. Online display advertising targeted high-readership sites for our audience; The Telegraph, Guardian, The Herald and Facebook, all signposting the campaign website. Here, visitors could: • watch a film depicting a driver’s experience if pulled over • play a game demonstrating the effect of alcohol on reaction times • watch an interactive animation about the consequences of drink driving • investigate transport alternatives in their area. Posters and vinyls in pub toilets interrupted the decision-making moment and tackled the “grey area” head on, reminding drinkers that even “just” over the limit, you face the same
legal consequences. Ambient media communicated the messaging at point of decision: blue lights with campaign messaging shone onto pavements outside bars for the campaign duration as a further interruption. Field marketing proved invaluable for intercepting more would-be drinkers. Multiple teams worked simultaneously in the run-up to Christmas, visiting shopping centres and large workplaces at lunchtimes, a deciding moment for that evening’s socialising. One team member wore a sandwich board, reminding visitors that drink driving ‘carried’ a minimum twenty year criminal record. The teams also visited busy bars in the evenings, handing out collateral including crackers with drink drive messages and ‘get home safely’ z-cards. We partnered with 7,000 public and private sector organisations to share the message in workplaces and to extend our reach further, through their social channels. With some partners, like Halfords, we provided guidance notes for staff discussions with customers.
RSC26988 A3 Posters.indd 3
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Online display
Field Marketing
Campaign website
Circulation: 256,845
SGU Partnership
PR coverage
Daily Record, 31 December 2013 Circulation: 256,845
Daily Record, 31 December 2013 Circulation: 256,845
CHANGING MINDS Almost three-quarters (74%) of Scotland’s drivers saw the campaign in some form. Amongst our core age group (45 to 54 year olds), awareness peaked at 83%.
Motivation to change behaviour amongst who’d seen the campaign was extremely high at 83%. This rose to 88% amongst those who’d seen the campaign in more than 2 media channels – a neat demonstration of the effectiveness of the channel integration.
“I ALWAYS THOUGHT I’D BE FINE HAVING TWO PINTS. I’M NOT GOING TO BOTHER ANYMORE. THAT TV AD REALLY MAKES YOU THINK.” 12 Engagement with online activity confirmed audience interest. The click through rate (CTR) for VOD was well above average, sometimes substantially so, ranging from 0.88% for Channel 5 OD through to an astounding 6.98% on Sky GO.13 Sky routinely suggest a CTR of 0.6% for VOD. A tribute to smart programme placement from Carat. Online display also proved engaging with an impressive volume of clicks across sites. Standout performer was the Billboard format on the Scotsman website which delivered a CTR of 0.21% versus an industry average of 0.03%. Thanks to Whitespace, web traffic during the campaign period increased by over 4,000%. The most popular game on the website allowed you to test your reaction times. This was played 1,061 times by 978 people; a site interaction rate of 8.27%.
Union Connect secured 7,200 partnerships that delivered 25,487 overall engagements, almost double the original target. Focusing on work and leisure environments (such as NHS National Services Scotland, the Road Haulage Association Scotland and the Scottish Golf Union) gave us an unrivalled opportunity to talk to our audience on their territory, on their terms. Partner activity in social channels reached an estimated further 248,380 people.
“Thanks for the crackers, this really hit home an important message. I never thought a criminal record was attached to a ban.”14 From a PR point of view, the campaign was a tremendous success. Using spokespeople from the Scottish Government, Road Safety Scotland, Police Scotland and COPFS, Stripe netted 138 pieces of press coverage, almost three times more than the 2012 campaign. Overall, Scottish drivers had over 25 million opportunities to see / hear the PR coverage.15
Daily Express, 7 December 2013 Circulation: 527,855
Unusually for PR coverage, the activity showed up unprompted in the tracking research with 18% of drivers having seen newspaper coverage, 11% coverage on the news and 6% having heard a radio feature or discussion. The value of this coverage equated to £824,634 and delivered a staggering ROI of £1: £38.16
The Herald, 7 December 2013 Circulation: 43,157
Overall, 36% of our audience claimed they’d seen the social media, field marketing or PR coverage associated with this campaign. An extraordinarily high figure in a cluttered pre-Christmas month.
The collateral provided by the field team also proved popular. Across 20 field dates, 6,000 crackers (with a “nothing funny about a 20 year criminal record” ‘joke’) and 26,279 z-cards offering regionalised transport information were distributed.
Verbatim from field marketing activity, Glasgow, December 2013. Average CTR for VOD is 0.6%. Verbatim from field marketing activity, Edinburgh, December 2013. 15 Number of opportunities to see / hear press coverage delivered by PR campaign: 25,646,554. As estimated by Stripe Communications, January 2014. 16 All figures represent the coverage led by Stripe only. 12
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NORMALISING BEHAVIOUR The Department for Transport conclude that because drink driving is such an entrenched behaviour and because so many people are already compliant with the law, any shifts in attitudes, after 40+ years of campaigning, are likely to be minimal.17
We are therefore particularly pleased, given the Scottish Government’s endgame (normalising not drinking before driving), that the number of people feeling it’s not socially acceptable to drink and drive increased in the post wave from 86% to 90%.
“OUR MESSAGE HAS ALWAYS BEEN CLEAR – DON’T EVER DRINK AND DRIVE. EVEN IF YOU ARE JUST OVER THE LIMIT, IN THE EYES OF THE LAW YOU ARE STILL A DRUNK DRIVER AND A CRIMINAL.” 18 Kenny MacAskill, Justice Secretary.
SAVING LIVES The number of people stopped for drink-driving over the festive period in Scotland fell by almost 70.19
prove that we reduced the number of deaths on Scotland’s roads with this campaign.
Police convicted 394 drivers in the month-long campaign compared to 462 over the same period in 2012-2013.
But we estimate that the campaign prevented 31 accidents. This represents a saving to the economy of £2.68m and a Return on Social Marketing Investment figure of £6.43 for every £1 spent.20
Every time you have a drink and drive, you’re three times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident. We can’t
How 30 years of drink drive communications saved almost 2,000 lives. IPA Effectiveness Award 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-25261629 http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/news/home-news/drink-drive-crackdown-catches-70-fewer-people-thanlast-year.23116901?_=5a8f221dea3923d526855b0139968a60c81eace6 20 This was calculated amongst both the ‘at risk’ audience (defined as those driving adults who have ever driven within a few hours of having something alcoholic to drink in last 12 months) and amongst the target male ABC1 aged 30-59 audience. The ROSMI figure is the same when looking at either audience – i.e. £6.43. 17
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