Public Service Communications

The latest NZTA campaign is perhaps not as exciting as eggs driving around like lunatics and cracking their heads open (Eggs Campaign). It is, however, a fine example of spreading an important message to as wide an audience as possible and making it seem simple enough for all of us to understand.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the pecularities of driving in New Zealand, we can summarise it like this: just like the eccentric Brits, we drive on the wrong side of the road and have spent the last few decades thinking up odd rules to relieve non-existent traffic congestion that puzzles the hell out of everyone (tourists and residents alike) and often leads to much arm-waving and swearing. All that is about to change, because on the 25th March, those same puzzling "right of way" rules will be banished, to be replaced with....another set of puzzling rules.

This is where the collective efforts of NZTA, Clemenger BBDO and OMD have come into play with a short, sharp mass media blitz to educate Kiwi road users about two changes to the country’s give way rules (that kick in on March 25 at 5am).

The campaign itself may lack the pizzazz and glitz of a more sexy product or service, but the $1.2 million campaign will certainly help save a few insurance claims and hospital bills by getting everybody confused in the same kind of way....

Clemenger’s managing director Andrew Holt says the big challenge was making something fairly complicated as simple as possible. And they appear to have done a good job of it, with a focus on the date the law changes and drawings and animations explaining what drivers, riders, cyclists or walkers will have to do when the two new rules are introduced.






Another challenge was reaching as wide an audience as possible, which is where traditional channels still work best.

OMD’s business director Annabelle Wilkinson says there’s a heavy TV component to the campaign, with two ads explaining each rule change that went to air on March 15. Print is also being used heavily, with a countdown to the 25th that’s running across the major newspapers, as is radio (in a variety of different languages. The final "roadblock" to get everyone's attention is planned across 16 channels the day before the rule comes into effect).

Using a familiar "highway code" style for the online and print questionnaire, the campaign has also used a leaflet drop (into the postboxes of over 1.7 million homes), and, in an effort to ensure people understand the rules, all of the advertising directs people to more detailed explanations on www.giveway.govt.nz or the NZTA contact centre.

Wilkinson says many have questioned the proximity of the campaign’s launch to the date the rules change, but starting 10 days beforehand and running for one week after was based on research conducted in Victoria when their laws changed. This way it ensures maximum awareness of the changes within the budget, while at the same time stopping "thickos" from applying the new rules too early.

(additional data sourced from an original article appearing in StopPress published by Idealog)