PR to Save Young Lives (Case study courtesy of MarComms News)

Target market: The primary target market is young Australians aged 15-25, however we have been also targeting, as a secondary audience, parents and the general public to raise awareness of this issue as well as to attract funding to the Forum.

Objective: We have been working on this project to educate young people about the dangers of risk taking  behaviour on the roads. In 2010, among people aged 15-24 years in NSW:

- 73 people were killed. This equates to more than one person per week; and - 14,842 people suffered at least one injury. This equates to just over 40 people per day. Of these:- 1,771 were hospitalised for more than one day; - 865 were hospitalised but were discharged the same day; and - 12,206 suffered injuries but were not hospitalised, instead receiving out-of hospital care.

Research has shown that education is a key factor in reducing car crashes resulting in serious injury and even death on our roads. The cost also to our economy is huge.

A recent Access Economics Report showed there is a massive personal, economic and social cost associated with road traffic accidents among young people in NSW. The report estimates the total cost to be $1.5 billion in 2010.

The government would be able to save money if they put funds in to youth road safety programs like the Youth and Road Trauma Forum. So many people also forget how the impact of a serious road accident can radiate through the community. Parents often quit jobs, sell and move house to care for their children post car crash when they are going through years of rehabilitation. Friends, girlfriends and the community are deeply impacted by these events and this is usually not measured or even considered by the community at large.

Strategy and Plan: Our PR strategy has involved using young car crash stories to depict the consequences of risk taking behaviour on the road (pictured). Research conducted on the Forum shows that young students who attend are moved by the stories of young crash survivors who share their stories of life before and after their crash. Due to limited budget resources, we have focused on mainstream media. Through our media connections, in 2010 we secured $150,000 for the Forum from the Keneally government.

This was bettered in 2011, again through media connections, with the securing of $1 million in funding to ensure the continuance of the program for four years from 2011-2013.

Finally a government has realised the importance of this issue and is prepared to put money in to funding education around road safety issues. But the campaign doesn’t stop there and we are looking at longer term strategies to seriously grow this event in to something even bigger and better than what it already is.

Success: Without PR the program could have been in great jeopardy. This is a wonderful opportunity to see PR for good – that is to leverage the wonderful support of media to secure positive outcomes like funding for the next four years. Each year 12,000 people attend the Forum – that’s 48,000 over the next four years. There are 48,000 wonderful young, developing minds that will be influenced by the messages they receive at the Forum. More importantly than media coverage or funding, hopefully we will help save young lives. These people are our future and we need to protect and guide them to achieve great things – not losing their lives through a small careless distraction from a friend inside the car or a meaningless text message. No life is worth this small mistake.