Safetyville

Target Audience: The target audience for this campaign was comprised of three rider segments: current riders that use Metro Rail, new riders/visitors that will ride Metro and drivers who encounter Metro Rail in their daily commute around LA County. The goal was (and always is) to create a rail safety culture for everyone who lives, works and plays in Los Angeles.

Strategy Objective:The strategy was to reduce the level of unsafe behavior around Metro trains and stations by linking the static safety signage and icons that people see around the system with vivid and memorable stories that force recall of the safety rules. Research has shown that message context--when and where a message is delivered--is critical to nudging behavior change. We made this idea core to the campaign and then developed stories and characters that played off the tropes of a traditional government PSA, but added unexpected twists that allowed the videos to break through the noise of social media feeds.

Situation Challenge: Metro continuously promotes safety around trains by educating riders on how to behave while walking, riding and or driving near rail. However, behavior stagnation had become an issue that needed to be addressed, especially during the year Metro extended two of its busiest rail lines. Metro was now operating rail services in new areas of LA County and serving communities that were new to the light rail system. Train safety education became even more important on Metro Expo, Blue and Gold Lines, which have street-running segment (Non-gated crossings) that operate within less than a half-mile from houses, schools and local businesses. The safety videos were created as a way to remind our target segments that taking even small chances around trains can have dangerous consequences.

Results Impact: This campaign is one of Metro's most successful. It generated high public awareness on the safety issues around trains. The campaign posted the six videos to YouTube and Facebook and, to date, those videos have generated over 10 million views. The videos garnered millions of dollars in earned media on local and national outlets like Today, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, LA Magazine and @Midnight, to name a few.

Why Submit: This entry should win the AdWheel Award because it created greater awareness amongst riders and non-riders of rail-related accidents on Metro. Other transportation agencies have also been able to use the videos as a learning experience. Since the videos were released, the number of rail related accidents has decreased by about 45%. The videos have also been a hit during school presentations, capturing the attention of students between the ages of 11-18 who typically are a very hard audience to engage.