Dumb Ways to Die

Shock value campaigns seem to be a thing of the past. Even cigarette marketing companies are beginning to sway from the idea that scaring people with horrific images isn't as effective as one would have hoped. 

A new campaign was released this year by the Metro group who campaigned for higher awareness of train accidents and aimed to generate a change in behaviour around the train tracks that would lead to a decrease in 'dumb ways to die'.

The campaign used fun, family-friendly characters that sent across the message of being safe on the train tracks and offered individuals the chance to 'pledge' that they would be safer around the tracks, as a PR and marketing tool of measuring obtainable goals- In this situation the goal was to change behaviour.

The campaign was successful and did use a variety of intertwined and linked tools such as social media, print media, social networking sights, music and radio and smartphone applications.

This video sums up the whole campaign, it's well worth the watch and is only 2 minutes long.

Watch Media

From the Case study, the key success factors I drew from the campaign are;

• The fun, cartoon-like characters
  
  These characters still portrayed stupid actions and death, but in a way that people would relate to and be drawn in by as a public/ community initiative. Most people won't stop and look at a cancerous lung image for a cigarette campaign let alone share it to others, which brings me to my next point.
• It was social media friendly
  
  The campaign group thought of ways to increase the presence of their campaign and get the biggest bang for their buck through mass media by letting media do the work for them. People stood next to the painted wall and posted it across Instagram. Radio stations freely played the song and Iphone users made most of a quality and fun Itunes game.
• The name
  
  Dumb Ways to Die, of course you're going to take a double look at that, maybe that's why you clicked into this blog. Dumb ways to die sounds a hundred times better then, 'Death on Railroad Tracks,' or 'Are you at risk on a train track?'. I don't know about you, but dumb ways to die seems a little left of center, thought filled and creative. Word of mouth is the most powerful tool, and I think personally, I would rather link someone to a video that said 'Dumb Ways to Die' then 'You Might be Killed doing idiotic things at a railway track because a big powerful machine might come and run you over or you will fall asleep mid jog and fall onto the lines and get crushed...oh and please share ;) '

 Thanks for reading my blog :)
Sarah