The Brief

The target audience was young drivers aged 18-25. Research showed that not only are young drivers over-represented in road crashes, but also have grown up with mobile-phones and are more reliant on them. Traditional messaging had time and again failed to attract their attention, and VicRoads was perceived by these drivers to be ‘old hat’ and out of touch with them. A generation of drivers who’ve grown up relying on technology, our strategy was to connect with them the way they connect with each other. To engage with them through a medium they were interested in and familiar with.

Creative Execution

Void of any VicRoads branding, CityGT was launched via an installation at Melbourne’s FedSquare. People could play the game wirelessly on the bigscreen, using world-first technology developed for CityGT. The game is hijacked by an unexpected call. If the call's ignored, the player continues playing, if answered, a pre-recorded message is delivered highlighting the dangers. Research showed: VicRoads was considered positively as a result of communicating in this way. Users felt CityGT would bring the safety issue to mind while they were driving. Users used the game to “trick” their friends, thus creating a viral element to the campaign.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

We developed an iPhone driving game called CityGT. Within it, we embedded a hidden safe driving message under the guise of the iPhones functionality. While driving, the game is hijacked by an unexpected phone call, and a pre-recorded message is delivered highlighting the dangers of talking on mobile phones will driving. The goal of CityGT was to reach young drivers and communicate the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving in a way that is more likely to resonate with this group. To achieve 20,000 downloads and be in the ‘Top 25’ free Apps on the iTunes store.

Results

CityGT was: • downloaded more than 30,000 times in its first month • ranked in the top three hottest Apps on iTunes • featured for six weeks on iTunes as one of the hottest Apps • ranked as the second top free racing App • one of 2009’s most popular free-Apps in the Australian iTunes store. Media analysis: • CityGT made headlines on major television networks, online newspapers (nationally and internationally) and thousands of social-media sites. • An estimated circulation of over 22.5 million people, far exceeding what would have been expected using traditional media with the same budget.