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Ad Council, UR the Spokesperson
How do you reach an audience with critical messages about their safety when they feel invincible? Develop a grasstoots campaign that is compelling, fun, edgy, empowering and interactive. That's exactly what Hager Sharp did for the Ad Council around the issue of youth reckless driving.
Our Client's Challenge:
In 2006, the Ad Council tapped Hager Sharp to promote its new public service announcement (PSA) campaign addressing the number one killer of American teens—car crashes. Since the target audience was teens ages 15 to 21, the campaign needed to be fun and edgy, but at the same drive home the seriousness and dangers of youth reckless driving.
The Difference:
Research behind the campaign showed that, while teens feel invincible, they also value their friendships and fear damaging them. As a result, if teen passengers speak up when they feel threatened by a friend's driving, teen drivers will listen. Taking into account the strength of teens' social connections and the benefits of positive peer pressure, Hager Sharp worked with the Ad Council to develop the UR the Spokesperson campaign, aimed at empowering teens to be the "spokesperson" and "speak up."
We provided strategic counsel to inform campaign planning, developed background and press materials, conducted media outreach and developed key partnerships with national organizations. Hager Sharp also led the development of a Web site and implementation of viral elements, including an online video/essay contest and customizable eCards designed for teen passengers to send to friends who drive recklessly.
Hager Sharp created meaningful partnerships with SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), a peer leadership organization with more than 350,000 student members, and AAA, the nation's leading motorist and traffic safety advocate. We also helped generate more than 40 million media impressions for the campaign's launch, with placements in The New York Times, USA Today and the Philadelphia Inquirer and on Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, CNN Radio and Washington Post Radio.
During the time Hager Sharp worked on the UR the Spokesperson campaign, it was one of the top five Ad Council campaigns in terms of audience impressions and PSA airtime.
