Social campaign “Driving without reading”

Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska, the manager of the concession section of the A4, treats the safety of road users as a priority. At the same time, it observes the disturbing behaviour of drivers who use smartphones while driving. The expressway provides a unique context here – on the motorway the time to react is shorter than on other roads, and even a momentary inattention of the driver can have tragic consequences. Responsible attitudes are not encouraged by drivers noticing the analogy between phones and the equally engaging touch screens that modern vehicles are equipped with. The concessionaire’s experience inspired the design of a campaign that took up the subject of responsibility on the road in an engaging way, making it the subject of a discussion that increases awareness of threats, encourages reflection and changes in habits.

Conclusions from the analysis of domestic and foreign reports and studies, ITS data, and interviews with experts leave no doubt – using a smartphone and driving safely are mutually exclusive. Even every fourth accident on Polish roads may be caused by the fact that the driver, instead of the road, was staring at the phone screen. Stalexport, as the motorway manager, has a special legitimacy to raise the issue of driver safety and as such – its message reaches the target group perfectly.

Changing an established habit requires a strong impulse. Rational arguments for putting away a smartphone while driving are widely known and equally widely ignored. That is why the form of the message and its sender were at the heart of the campaign. Cartoon satire, as an attractive, condensed form of expression, allowed the message to be delivered precisely to the place where the problem arises: smartphones. Thanks to the use of satire, moralizing was avoided, and the space for bluntness was expanded. The persuasive power increased without risk to the brand. Cartoonists known from the media were invited to cooperate, who draw attention to socially important issues, surprise with the accuracy of observations and clarity at the level of drawing and copy, and communicate efficiently on social media. It was assumed that the cartoons would have a chance to gain, thanks to the popularity of the authors and sympathy for them, a wide audience for the campaign, including media interest. In addition to the SoMe channels and with the intention of reaching them via RTV channels, the authors acquired a voice of calm and reason known to everyone for the campaign: the voice of Krystyna Czubówna.

the creation was derived from the slogan – a parody of “a ride without a handlebar”. “Czytanka” was interpreted by: Andrzej Mleczko, Andrzej Rysuje (A. Milewski), Marta Frej, Magda Danaj [Porysunki] and Janek Koza. “Czytanka”, placed in the centre, was inspired by the invitation to collaborate with the narrator Krystyna Czubówna – the spot with her participation ended with the perverse phrase: “Nie czytała Krystyna Czubówna”. Content for the concessionaire’s own channels and for communication with the media was additionally provided by statistics from available reports and data. Intensive campaign activities were conducted in the period January-March, with an extra period in April. To inaugurate the campaign, a landing page with a gallery of drawings was launched, and a press kit was sent to over 500 journalists from national, local, industry, lifestyle and cultural media. The posting of the artists’ works in SoMe was preceded by engaging teasers with fragments of drawings. Complete works were revealed on the given dates. At the same time, the artists involved in the collaboration did so on their channels. “Riding without a reader” implicitly and in the works of the cartoonists expressed a broader context, encompassing not only reading, but also texting. It was also referred to in the April extra part of the campaign – “Riding without an Easter egg”, as part of which Andrzej Milewski prepared an Easter card, sent to journalists and posted on SoMe.

The campaign moved drivers and passengers. Many people declared a change in their behavior behind the wheel. Media relations activities resulted in 120 quality publications, providing the main message with a reach of 57.6 million. “Driving without a reader” was featured in Fakty TVN and Wydarzenia Polsat, on TVN24, TVN Turbo, Polsat News and on TVP websites. Mainstream media addressed the problem from many perspectives, referring to statistics, good practices, opinions of experts and drivers themselves, without losing the context of the motorway along the way. Kuba Wojewódzki mentioned “Driving without a reader” in Polityka. The campaign inspired discussion on IG, among others, by activist Maja Staśko. The organic reach of posts in the cartoonists’ channels is over 720 thousand, with almost 26 thousand reactions. Posts in the concessionaire’s FB channel generated a reach of over 3 million. The content on SoMe inspired internet users – the most popular posts had around 200 comments. The discussions that were launched were full of expressions of disapproval of the disastrous practice, and also focused on the issue of the impact of extensive on-board control and entertainment systems on driving safety.