On track to make an impact with Drive Smart Virginia

We zoomed through the inaugural year of Who’s Your Driver, a racing season-long driver education program sponsored by DRIVE SMART Virginia. Let’s take a pit stop to reflect on where we’ve been and, like all good drivers, take a look at where we’re heading.

According to recent statistics, there is one group in particular that makes up most of the DUI convictions in the Commonwealth – 21-35 year-old men.  To better educate this demographic about the dangers of drinking and driving, as well as the risks of not wearing seatbelts, DRIVE SMART Virginia and the Highway Safety Office of the DMV combined forces as the presenting sponsors of the 2016 NASCAR season at Richmond International Raceway. The sponsorship gave the organizations a highly visible and strategic platform for reaching young men, reinforcing its dual message about driving sober and wearing seatbelts. To capture the spirit of NASCAR and project a planning-ahead message, the campaign was named Who’s Your Driver.

It’s no surprise that a core part of NASCAR’s fan base includes that target 21-35-year-old demographic, and so the campaign sought to connect with NASCAR fans’ love of particular drivers.   By asking these fans “who’s your driver,” the campaign got them to thinking not only about their favorite NASCAR driver, but about who their driver would be, if they had been drinking at the race (or any other event, for that matter). The question sought to build a bridge between the fun experience of the race and the important need to get home safely. Given this approach, the tone of the campaign was not “preachy,” but came across as a buddy concerned for a friend’s safety.  And so through signage, social media and other marketing materials, the campaign got the race crowd asking, “who’s your driver?”

Because the Millennial target audience doesn’t watch live TV (as a rule), rarely picks up a magazine or turns on the radio, reaching the core demographic meant picking platforms and viral approaches that would best reach young men, and with a tone that would best resonate with them. Toward that end, the “Who’s Your Driver” team creates monthly digital content on social platforms that is not only educational but delivered in a fun, creative spirit.  The monthly content calendar shares news about campaign events (including the NASCAR race back in April and the upcoming one in September at RIR).  Over the past four months, the “Who’s Your Driver?” Facebook and Twitter audiences have grown to nearly 3,000.

As the presenting sponsor, “Who’s Your Driver?” also had a large presence at September’s big race weekend at RIR.   Amid the experiential activities were a photo booth, live music, driving simulators and giveaways like koozies and tote bags.  “Who’s Your Driver?” awarded VIP experiences to fans selected by “Who’s Your Driver?” from social media contests promoting sober driving and buckling up. Our group of VIPs had the weekend of a lifetime with access to the pre-race driver meeting, driver introductions and attendance to the post-race victory lane celebration.

Aidan Newbold

With almost ten years of experience in the design space, Aidan Newbold is The Hodges Partnership’s Director of Creative Services. She has a multidisciplinary background with experience in graphic design, fine art, illustration, writing, advertising and photography.

Read more by Aidan

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up to receive our blog posts by email