Case Study: Inattention is implicated in a phenomenal 46% off all serious injuries and deaths on Australian roads. Despite this, there was very little awareness, research or media coverage on the subject.
So inattention was identified as the perfect platform to demonstrate the RAC's new positioning, 'For The Better.'
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The vehicle - both literal and figurative - created by its agency JWT to
promote the issue was the world's first Attention Powered Car.
Using
a neuro-sensory headset, custom software and the first ever algorithm
to calculate what a moment of inattention looks like, the car goes when
the driver is 
paying attention, and slows when he or she isn't.
The
innovation alone promoted awareness, but the neuro-technology developed
meant it also became the RAC's very own mobile laboratory.
With
the help of Western Australians, it would be capable of testing
distractions in all their forms, different drivers and even different
emotions.
To share this unique story with Western Australians
and involve them in the learnings, JWT devised a multi-phase,
multi-channel approach.
Press and TV set up the problem of
inattention in an impactful way in the Perth metropolitan area as well
as badly affected WA regional areas.
The microsite, forthebetter.com.au, was the central content hub, with all other channels linking back to it.
Webisodes were shared via YouTube and the newsfeeds of the RAC's Facebook followers.
Owned social media - Facebook, Twitter and YouTube - garnered intrigue in the campaign and drove people back to the microsite.
Online display advertising was used as an awareness driver.
Direct
communications to RAC members via member events, eDM, the member
magazine, posters and flyers in Member Service Centres gave the RAC
direct means of communicating with their members throughout the
campaign.
A world-first idea such as this also had huge PR potential, so earned media was one of the campaign's most important channels.
JWT
and RAC took the car on a road trip around some of WA's worst affected
areas. This was the first ever, live road study of its kind. Members of
the public were invited to help drive the car and learn more about the
problem, with the journey filmed and released online for people to
follow and engage with.
The aim of the road trip was to prove
that inattention affects everyone, every time they get into the car. The
road trip was followed up with a series of closed circuit experiments
to further explore the problem of inattention.
The findings were shared through a further series of webisodes, paid media and PR.
The
results-in-progress suggest the campaign has been a major success. The
launch of the Attention Powered Car alone received global media
coverage, with more than 55 million earned media impressions. Locally,
major TV networks picked up the story and followed the campaign's
progress, and webisodes have gained well over 330,000 views.
Even more significantly, a solution may have been found for the problem of inattention.
After
looking at all the data collected from the Attention Powered Car, it
was discovered that the longer drivers spent in the car with real-time
feedback (the penalty of slowing down), the higher their base attention
levels became and the better they were at blocking out distractions -
proving that attentive driving is a learnt skill. As a result, work has
begun on developing a simplified, wearable version of the technology
that can easily be implemented in driver education and training programs
- one of the RAC's services - as well as for everyday use.
The
Attention Powered Car is a world-class idea that tackled a very real
problem in road safety. The ambitious, multi-level integrated campaign
around it was very well executed, delivering great awareness of the
specific issue and more broadly promoting the 'new' RAC in a unique and
compelling way.
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