Summer 2010 | Vol. 12 | No. 4
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New Report Reviews Effectiveness of Highway Safety Mass Media Campaigns
The Australian University of Adelaide’s Centre for Automotive Safety Research recently published a report on the value of mass media campaigns in promoting highway safety. The publication – Best practice in road safety mass media campaigns: A literature review – looked at international advertising literature published from 2001 to 2009 to determine what elements of road safety advertising are most effective and for which road user groups.
This report provides an update of the current level of knowledge for road safety advertising (a similar review was conducted in 2001), and it covers the following topics:
- Theories of behavior change: Current psychological theories of behavior change and social persuasion relevant to road safety advertising.
- Campaign design and development: Factors that can improve campaign effectiveness, such as: integrating advertising with enforcement, tailoring message and means of communication for the target audience, and using new technology and multiple forms of media.
- Threat appeals: The efficacy of threat appeals and alternatives (i.e. positive emotional appeals)
- Exposure: The effects of different levels of advertising exposure.
- Evaluations: The difficulties in establishing the effectiveness of a mass media campaign, different evaluation methods, and the value of different campaign evaluation measures.
The review concludes with a variety of best practice recommendations for effective highway safety mass media campaign for each of these topics.