Longreach joins with Aboriginal Elders to make country driving safer

With up to 40,000 local, national and international tourists expected to travel WA’s country roads to witness a total solar eclipse in Exmouth later this month, the Road Safety Commission sought Longreach’s assistance to develop an integrated media strategy to help make these journeys safe.

Longreach’s MD, John Driscoll said the challenge was: “The very large divergence of country driving experience of this cohort, and the requirement to incorporate up to 17 different road safety proof points in our messaging – from fatigue, to driving on the left, overtaking, speed, and of course awareness of wildlife.” The sheer number of messages posed a unique challenge for an integrated media brief which would typically call on the media to generate much of their own creative content.

To provide some structure to this, the campaign draws on the fact that for thousands of years the traditional Custodians of this Country have travelled safely along the same journey lines that many of our now major highways follow.

Drawing on this inspiration and the recognised custom of “Welcoming people to Country,” Creative Director, Andrew Tinning developed the “Welcome to Country Roads” concept. This umbrella concept captures the essence of safe passage wished by Aboriginal Elders while delivering practical road safety messages to make the journey physically safe.

Tinning said: “It has been an honour to be involved in this campaign and work closely with the traditional owners of the lands our visitors will be travelling through to witness the Exmouth eclipse. Hearing our Aboriginal Elders welcome them to country roads and express their genuine desire for their journey to be safe is a powerful message and a unique way of delivering road safety messages.”

To help inform the campaign Longreach worked with Dr Richard Walley, OAM who provided insight into the Noongar philosophy of a continuous circle of safety embracing cultural/spiritual, emotional, physical and collective safety, elements that connect directly with the concept of making every journey safe.

A practical aspect of the campaign was that a journey from Perth to Exmouth begins on Noongar Country but very quickly moves across Yamatji Country, providing the opportunity for different Elders to extend their message of welcome and safety as the journey continues across different country.

An immediate response to the campaign has come from Hazel… a Baiyungu woman who appears in the campaig. She says: “I have received so many calls and messages from the mobs all over Ningaloo… Carnarvon… Geraldton saying it is the best ad they have seen and it was good for them to see respected members of our mob promoting the message of road safety. This is important because a lot of the mob have lost loved ones to road crashes too.”

The integrated media strategy developed by Longreach provided the opportunity for engagement by Aboriginal Elders involved in the campaign to provide their own take on making every journey safe, encouraging the media to extend their involvement beyond paid advertising. The campaign covers a range of media including television, radio, press, outdoor, and digital.

Campaign Manager for the Road Safety Commission, Carolyn Monaghan said: “It is only very early days for this campaign however we have been overwhelmed by the reaction to date, and believe that the campaign connects with road users in a genuine and sincere way that underscores our desire to make every journey safe.”

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Credits
Aboriginal Elders
Dr Richard Walley OAM, Nyungar Man, Noongar Land
Hazel Walgar, Baiyungu Woman, Baiyungu Country
Derek Councillor, Yamatji Man, Yamatji Country
Tracey Tonga, Yinggarda, Wadjarri & Banjima Woman, Yamatji Land
Client: Road Safety Commission
Carolyn Monaghan, Manager Corporate Relations
Simone Steele, Director, Government and Strategic Relations
Alisia Mumby, Campaigns Officer
Agency: Longreach Media
Managing Director: John Driscoll
Account Director: Kylie Pougnault
Creative Director / Writer: Andrew Tinning
Finished Artist: David Pigott
Media and Channel Strategist: Angela Nutton
Media and Channel Planner: Sarah Hua
Media Partners:
SevenWest Media
SBS
JC Deceaux
Southern Cross Austereo
Production: Zac Creative
Producer: Troy Zafer
Director: Martin Wilson
Director of Photography: Torstein Dyrting
Editing: Sandbox
Editor/Colourist: Joel Taylor
Music: MDS Sound
Sound Engineer: Tim Count