Western Australia road campaign a matter of life or death
A new road safety campaign shines a spotlight on the potentially lifesaving role of first aid-trained bystanders in car crash incidents.
In 2007, a woman named Nicole Tolhurst was driving along a road in Western Australia when her car careered into a wall after being struck by another vehicle. She was knocked unconscious, and sat slumped over the steering wheel.
A man named Rod Baltovich witnessed the crash, and his actions that followed saved Ms Tolhurst’s life.
Mr Baltovich went to the passenger side of Ms Tolhurst’s vehicle and lifted her head to clear her airway, which enabled her to breathe. He knew what to do because of first aid training, and before Ms Tolhurst’s crash he had recently completed a first aid refresher course.
A new commercial as part of a joint initiative between emergency response provider St John Western Australia and the Road Safety Commission has been based on this near-fatal accident and similar incidents. RSC also contributed $400,000 to the advertisement.
It is estimated that 15 per cent of WA road fatalities can be prevented by administering first aid, and the first four minutes after a crash are critical. This is the amount of time it can take for a person involved in a crash to die from a blocked airway.
Advertising agency 303 MullenLowe Perth was engaged to create the campaign, which aired before Easter and the peak holiday road travel period.
The campaign is titled “Anyone Can Save a Life” and makes a simple request of viewers – that they sign up to and complete St John WA’s new digital first aid course, First Aid for Drivers.
The campaign is primarily targeted at new and young drivers; however, it is intended to connect with and reach all drivers on WA roads. The creative approach and media channel selection reflect this intention, and the campaign includes ad spend on broadcast video-on-demand, radio, digital and social media platforms.
The ad’s script is simple, clear and concise, as is the scenario, but it is imbued with a potent message that this small action could be the difference between life and death in a situation like this one.
In the 30-second commercial, a young driver is shown pulling over, having noticed a crashed car on the side of the road.
The mood of the scenario, which begins with caution, quickly escalates to one of urgency, as the driver runs towards the crashed car and sees a man is unconscious.
Suspense builds in a few short seconds. Unable to open the passenger door, the bystander reaches in through the car window and gently lifts the unconscious driver’s head, opening their airways and, after a moment’s pause, the driver takes a breath. She then calls an ambulance.
The campaign comes as part of a new strategy adopted by the RSC to reduce the number of people fatally, severely and seriously injured on WA roads, in which post-crash responses had been identified as a key priority for the first time. St John WA joined forces with the RSC to assist with the endeavour.
The campaign differs from road safety campaigns many Australians would be accustomed to seeing over the decades, the majority of which focus on changing driver behaviour. The Anyone Can Save a Life campaign, however, focuses on the importance of being a first responder.
The story the commercial tells also marks a creative change from other campaign narratives for behaviour change, St John WA head of brand and marketing Smiljka Dimitrijevic explained.
“Campaigns like this are generally approached from a place of fear to elicit a strong emotional response and memorability. However, fear isn’t a great driver of action,” Ms Dimitrijevic said.
“This campaign is about genuine behaviour change, so our brief was to ensure the story was told from a place of empowerment. We think the agency and its creative and production partners have done a phenomenal job of achieving that.”
303 MullenLowe Perth’s managing director, Rene Migliore, said this narrative flip also added creative prowess and memorability to the commercial. But keeping the message simple and concise was also a critical part of the strategy.
“If you consider the thousands of messages we get hit with every day, (and) multiple messages within single advertising moments, when it is this critical, the message for us to get out there is really simple,” he said.
Mr Migliore explained a key moment in the commercial that he thinks will connect with viewers: “That powerful, simple image of her reaching in to lift his chin will, I think, stand the test of time. That’s a really simple, memorable image that will stick in their memories.
“We wanted the viewers to relate to that first responder, first and foremost. We want them to put themselves in the shoes of that first responder.”
There are some early signs of campaign success. The commercial had already started to drive engagement within the first two weeks since the campaign was launched on March 15.
Approximately 745 people have registered for St John’s First Aid for Me program, and 476 have completed one of the 15-minute courses available.
Eighty-three of these individuals have also completed the First Aid for Drivers course launched as part of this campaign.
Ms Dimitrijevic added: “Most people who have seen this campaign have had a physical response at the end of the 30 seconds – goosebumps, exhalation and even some tears. The story is emotional and deeply relatable. The part that resonates most is the innate human feeling of relief, mixed with a rush of emotions when a life is saved before our eyes.”
Since 2011, more than 170,000 people have learned first aid skills via St John WA’s digital first aid courses.
This campaign has been created with the goal of making lasting change on WA roads.
“We are conducting research to demonstrate the effectiveness of this campaign to drive an uptake of first aid training, increase confidence to use first aid in emergencies, improve outcomes for road crash victims and ultimately lower casualties on our roads,” Ms Dimitrijevic said.
“Given the strength of the feedback we’ve had so far, we are confident the campaign has longevity and have already had preliminary conversations with the Road Safety Commission about seeing it continue.”
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