Voluntary sector: Viral drives biker safety awareness

Campaign: Crashproof: video to promote biker safety training
Client: Safer Roads (Road Safety Analysis)
PR team: ST16 and in-house
Timescale: March-October 2011
Budget: £11,000
 
Objectives

• To raise awareness of biker safety issues

•  To encourage social media dialogue

• To drive traffic to beabetterbiker.co.uk.

The in-house team examined road casualty data and identified that 35- to 55-year-old male bikers were most at risk. ST16 targeted them with an unbranded hoax video of a German news report that goes wrong when a biker is knocked over by a lorry. The video was uploaded to YouTube, forums, blogs and video sharing sites.
 
Local and motorcycling press were then targeted to reveal the campaign, with a supporting website and Facebook page.
 
Measurement and evaluation
 
The campaign was featured in local, national and international press, including Motorcycle News, The Oxford Times, Police Oracle, LA Times and Chicago Tribune.
 
Results
 
The video received more than five million views and was the most discussed global autos and vehicles video on YouTube during launch week. Traffic on beabetterbiker.co.uk increased by 1,200 per cent and saferrider.org's forum generated 171 users.

This article was first published on prweek.com