Empowering Better Choices in Highway Safety Messaging

1. EmpoweringBetter Choices inHighway SafetyMessaging August 14, 2019

5. The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO) is a state agency that aims to create and maintain an environment where Oklahoma roadways are safe for everyone.

6. The OHSO works to prevent risky driving behaviors in areas such as impaired driving, distracted driving, occupant protection and motorcycle safety. Oklahoma experienced 655 traffic fatalities in 2018, down slightly from the 2017 measure of 657.

7. One of the deadliest areas of focus for the OHSO is impaired driving. Campaigns combat the perception that when buzzed, there is still an ability to safely operate a vehicle. The more impaired they become, the lower their inhibitions. They are less capable of making safe decisions. Insight: While Uber’s Rideshare services provide a safe alternative for drivers to return home safely, many defer to driving to avoid the fees and inconvenience of leaving a car behind.

8. With this information, multiple campaigns were developed during holidays that typically involve heavy drinking. The Uber Events platform was utilized to target the audience and offer Uber codes of up to $10 in the days leading up to and on the holiday. The most recent Uber code campaign was developed for New Year’s Eve 2019.

9. We determined our audience for this campaign to be: Primary – Influencers of At-Risk Drunk Drivers • Skews Female • Age 18-45 • They have a maternal or protective instinct and want to take care of the ones around them. They will often go out of their way to protect someone and keep them safe.

10. The influencers of At-Risk Drunk Drivers were chosen as our primary target. Insight: Someone who consistently drives impaired or occasionally overdrinks and loses inhibitions can only be deterred from driving by the influence of another person. Research indicates At-Risk Drunk Drivers value their loved ones over themselves, so using this group to help affect behavior can be more effective than targeting the At-Risk Drunk Driver themselves.

11. We determined our audience for this campaign to be: Secondary – At-Risk Drunk Drivers • Male • Age 18-45 • Household Income: $20,000+ • Has vehicle • They drink alcohol at least once a week and rarely consider the risk they take getting behind the wheel after “a few” drinks.

12. Data shows that nearly 80% of driver fatalities in alcohol-related crashes were male. Alcohol-related crashes occurred more often between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., and more often on Saturday and Sunday.

14. Our objectives for this campaign were to: • Reduce the amount of impaired-driving related crashes in the New Year’s period, defined as the period from 6 p.m. Dec. 28 to midnight Jan. 03. • Increase the number of Uber code submissions compared to NYE 2018.

16. The strategies for the campaign were: Influencers (Primary) • Communicate that it is up to them to stop drinking and driving, andfor better or worse, they are often the last line of defense. • Use emotional appeals to motivate influencers to tackle impaired driving within their own sphere of influence. At-Risk Drunk Drivers (Secondary) • Educate target on potential outcomes of drinking and driving that go beyond the injury and death messaging. • Communicate alternative options to drinking and driving that consider common barriers the audience faces when planning for these alternatives.

18. Each tactic was chosen to target the primary audience solely or both the primary and secondary audiences together. Nearly all tactics led the viewer to an Uber code request form. By completing the form, they received a free $10 Uber code to use from Dec. 31-Jan. 1.

19. Facebook/Instagram Video • Social video functioned to provide awareness to both the preparation and prevention messages during New Year’s Eve. • Social video also worked to develop retargeting audiences who later received a lower funnel message to sign up for an Uber code.

20. Canvas Ad • The ad focused on educating the primary influencer audience on how they can help keep friends and family safe by securing a safe ride on New Year’s Eve. • Lead generation was embedded into the canvas in order to deliver Uber codes to the primary audience.

21. Media Press Release • To raise awareness around our Uber code offer, we sent press releases out to over 100 media outlets leading up to New Year’s Eve.

22. Snapchat Filter • To support the prevention message the night of New Year’s Eve, a Snapchat filter was deployed in high-risk areas such as bars and citywide celebrations. • This helped reinforce prevention messaging among both the primary and secondary audiences.

24. Our creative spoke to both target audiences and used emotional appeal. We included a mix of educational content to empower our audience. The creative aimed to make the Uber sign-up as easy as possible in order to change the behavior and make the benefit greater than the cost.

28. Our 2019 NYE Uber code form submission usage increased by 4,538% year-over-year. Uber Code Form Submissions • Canvas Ad 339 • Other 1,470 Total:1,809 Ultimately, no one wants to be the person on either end of an impaired driving crash. By adding one more incentive to keep impaired drivers off the road, we are keeping an entire state safer.

29. Greta Anglin Director of Behavior Change GAnglin@thevibrand.com