Results and Effectiveness

The conversation grew as thousands of people shared the long table’s message through blogs, comments and news stories. Over 270,000 people visited the long table. It was seen by a TV audience of over one and a half million. All of those via news reports. Most importantly the conversation had begun. The message of 'Please drive safely was being shared. The Long Table helped Victoria achieve its lowest road toll on record.

Creative Execution

We needed road safety to become a shared responsibility amongst all drivers. The road toll is just another statistic and unless it effects you personally it is easy to ignore.
So three weeks before Christmas, amongst the hullabaloo of Christmas shopping and office parties we built a table, and set a place for everyone who had died on our roads in 2012. The 67m long table was a very physical, graphic and poignant representation of the road toll. It represented the people who wouldn't make it to Christmas lunch. Victims of the road toll gathered at the table to share their stories. Our message then became personal as we encouraged people to leave written tributes at the table. Hundreds of images of the table were shared along with comments, feelings and experiences.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Three weeks before Christmas, a 67m long table was assembled in a high foot-traffic area of Melbourne (Southbank). The hashtag #aplacetoremember was displayed at the table and people used this on twitter and instagram. Hundreds of photographs, countless blogs, stories and comments were shared. Tributes were left at the table as people encouraged one and other to drive safely over the holiday period. The Long Table's message was spread by news services who ran the story nationally.