Executive Summary
This campaign is aimed at reducing the rate at which accidents are caused by the youth. It has come to the attention of the public and the New Zealand transport agency that most of these accidents have been caused by the youth are while they are under the influence of drugs (NZTA, 2012). This has cost so many lives and in the end the people who end up hurting the most are the parents and friends who are left behind grieving (NZTA, 2012). In this campaign, I intend to use specific strategies that will target the youth. The strategies will aim at reaching out to the youth where they are, especially in the learning institutions. I also intend to use billboards along the roads close to their institutions so that the young generation can have the relevant information regarding drinking and driving. Another method will be the used of television advertisements that discourage the habit of drinking and driving. This is while offering advice on how to avoid such situation by having a designated driver, or boarding a taxi all together. The last method, which is the most efficient, is the use of the internet (Chia & Synnott, 2009, p. 347).
The campaign will cost roughly 10% to 20% of the current budget by the agency. After all this, the rate at which these accidents are happening is expected to drop by a whopping 60%. The time taken for the whole procedure will be roughly five to six months. It may seem like a long time but eventually it is a win-win situation for the society and the agency at large. The means I intend to use to evaluate the performance of the strategies that I will employ is by use of the data collected by the agency. I will use the data about accidents caused by the youth after the six-month period. This will give me a general picture of the rate at which the accidents are reducing and if the campaign was a success or not.
Situation analysis:
Drunk driving by the youth in New Zealand is one of the largest causes of accidents, injuries, and death on the roads (Youth Stats, 2012). Young drivers have been estimated to cause nearly half of the alcohol related accidents each year. This situation has put the New Zealand transport agency on the spot for a long time. Many of the people who end up hurting are the family and the friends who are left behind to deal with the scars of losing loved ones (Youth Stats, 2012). In other cases most of these young people end up with injuries that are going to affect them for the rest of their lives. This campaign is aimed at changing the mentality of these young drivers. The aim is to show them the consequences of drunk driving. By showing them images, effects and stories of people who were involved in accidents while drunk, I hope that the young drivers will be influenced positively to avoid such situations (NZTA, 2012).
This campaign will help make a connection between drunk driving and the after effects of the accidents. It will aim at showing the young people that it is not always that they will survive. The whole concept is to give the young people a clear vivid picture of the events following an accident caused by drunk driving. According to the New Zealand Transport Agency (2012) “Each year, young drivers cause nearly half of all alcohol-related road crashes.” This calls for the urgent action on the part of the agency and the other relevant bodies in the government (NZTA, 2012).
Key Public:
According to the New Zealand Transport Agency (2012), “Our campaign aims to change the behavior of these young drivers. It shows the instant and chilling consequences of drink-driving”. Such a campaign would help since it would help create awareness on the dangers of drinking and driving. It will help explain to the youth that in the event of an accident they might end up being seriously injured or worse still losing their lives. The key target of this campaign is the youth who are located in the different learning institutions. I also intend to target the young working members of the society who are also most likely to participate in drunk driving. This is the most appropriate target group of the public relations campaign.
Goal
The primary goal is to reduce the number of accidents that are caused by young drunk drivers by half. This goal is to be achieved in six months. This will be achieved through secondary goals, which include creating awareness among the youth on the dangers of drunk driving. This can be achieved by presenting the target population with information on the dangers of drunk driving.
Strategy
The strategy is to use billboards, adverts, online presence and forums involving the youth. The billboards will have pictures of the aftermath of the said accidents so that the young people can have the relevant knowledge. The most effective and effective will be the use of the internet. This is mainly because social networking websites such as Facebook and twitter can help target a large number of youth. This is mainly because a large number of the target population has an online presence (Chia & Synnott, 2009, p. 347). In addition, internet campaigns tend to go viral if well executed.
Objectives
Our objectives are to reach the young people as soon as possible. We intend to impart the knowledge about the disadvantage of drunk driving. We also hope to help improve the decision-making ability of the youth against drunk driving.
Tactics
Tactics to be used are those of employing forums where we will encourage the youth to talk about such accidents that they know about. We also intend to make use of pictures of such accidents. We also want to find an ambassador for this campaign. The ideal ambassador is person who has experienced such an accident and can relate with the youth. The internet will also be used as a channel that will help the campaign pass its message to the youth (Chia & Synnott, 2009, p. 347).
Evaluation
After employing the various strategies and methods that I have mentioned in this document, I intend to evaluate the performance of this campaign. I will mostly rely on the data collected by the agency about the accidents that have been caused by the youth. I will also be looking to employ a questionnaire that will target the youth seeking to find out how the campaign has influenced them.
Rationale
The importance of this campaign is to reduce these accidents hence reducing the massive cost incurred during treatment of survivors. It also aims at reducing the random avoidable loss of lives that were at their prime, lives that would help build this country to the next level. Most of all it aims at shaping the culture of the youth so that they automatically view drunk driving as unacceptable, therefore preventing the hurt and pain experienced by people who care for an love them.
References:
Chia, J., & Synnott, G. (2009). An introduction to public relations: from theory to practice. Australia: Oxford university press.
NZTA. (2012). Advertising: drink – driving. Retrieved from http://www.nzta.govt.nz/about/advertising/drink-driving/index.html
SADD. (2012). Health: Students Against Drunk Driving. Retrieved from http://www.sadd.org.nz/
Youth Stats. (2012). Health: drink-driving. Retrieved from http://www.youthstats.myd.govt.nz/indicator/healthy/drink-driving/index.html
