Think Safety
With 201 active construction zones on Utah’s roads in Summer 2011, UDOT proactively planned ongoing outreach to ensure the safety of work crews and Utah families throughout the construction season. To accomplish this goal, UDOT implemented its “Think Safety” program to reach out to elementary school-age children to drive home the message. In June, UDOT used a targeted media pitch to garner a leading 10 p.m. news story on Utah’s top-rated TV station about the program. The exclusive successfully communicated several key messages while providing a great visual and insight into what UDOT is doing to keep Utahns safe during road construction.
Objectives
Target audiences: Motorists, children, families and the recreating public
Goal: Reduce the occurrence of safety incidents in construction zones
Strategy: Inform the public about the dangers of recreating and driving recklessly in work zones and persuade them to adopt specific safety behaviors around work zones
Measurable objectives:
- Generate at least one news story on Utah’s top TV station, KSL
- Get top key messages incorporated into story (See messaging below)
Messaging:
- UDOT is reaching out to elementary schools in and near construction zones to educate children about the dangers of playing in or around construction with a “Think Safety” program
- There are 201 active work zones this summer; be aware and plan ahead for delays, impacts, etc.
- Adults are reminded to slow down, buckle up, adhere to construction signs and not recreate in work zones
Solution
Too often, organizations send a blanket press release to multiple news agencies, only to receive little or no coverage in return. Because the safety message was too important to be buried in the newscast or not picked up at all, we approached this pitch with an exclusive offer to one station. This unique approach was the best for this tactic because it delivered better coverage, generated stronger impressions and successfully communicated the program’s key messages than could have been done through a standard press release. In addition to the 10 p.m. broadcast news story, the story was also covered in the No. 2 daily newspaper and No. 1 news radio station.
Results
This tactic successfully accomplished the goal of generating awareness of the Think Safety program and the active work zones throughout Utah. This tactic utilized existing tools and resources—the Think Safety program was already implemented in several schools and had received a tremendous response; active communication with residents and motorists near work zones was being done. The team used these resources to its favor to make for a better news story, with hard facts and statistics, plus children engaged to provide a great visual.
Evaluation
The media coverage exceeded initial expectations and accomplished the goal and objectives. The client deemed the effort a success and was extremely happy with the end result.
Objectives:
- Generate at least one news story on Utah’s top TV station, KSL
Result: One broadcast story in the A-block of the 10 p.m. news, plus a radio story on KSL Newsradio and an article in the No. 2 daily paper, The Deseret News
- Get top three key messages incorporated into story
Result: All key messages included in story
Other Notable Achievements:
- More than 1,300 impressions on the Mountain View Corridor Facebook page
- Incredible reach achieved:
- 800,000+ daily hits to KSL.com (Utah’s most-visited website)
- 73,075 daily circulation in The Deseret News (plus 130,000 website hits)
