ROADS THAT HONK

Short List
TitleROADS THAT HONK
BrandHPCL
Product / ServiceHP LUBRICANTS
CategoryB01. Corporate Communication & Reputation Management
EntrantHINDUSTAN PETROLEUM CORPORATION LTD Mumbai, INDIA
Idea Creation LEO BURNETT INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Media Placement LEO BURNETT INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
PR LEO BURNETT INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Production LEO BURNETT INDIA Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Leo Burnett India Leo Burnett India Creative Agency

The Campaign

Our idea is 'Roads that Honk'. We created smart poles that communicates with each other on both sides of these hairpin turns, and alerts drivers with the sound of a horn. The radar on the smart poles reads the speed of the vehicles, and then communicates with the smart pole at the other end. These smart poles then alert the drivers on both sides by honking. Honking lets the drivers know about the approaching vehicle, so now, even if a driver is approaching a turn at 60 km/hr., he would have enough time to slow down. And cross safely. So, with this idea, we have eliminated any given chance of dependency, because sound is the one and only medium that a driver cannot ignore. Because at the end of the day, one car slowed down, is one life saved.

Execution

On hairpin bends, drivers are uncertain of whether a vehicle is approaching from the other side, which often leads to them over speeding, causing major accidents. We wanted to save these lives by getting drivers to slow down. Our idea is 'Roads that Honk.' The world's first ever road that honks at drivers to avoid head-on collisions and casualties. We created smart poles that communicates with each other on both sides of these hairpin turns, alerting drivers with the sound of a horn. The radar on the smartpoles reads the speed of the vehicles, and communicates with the smart pole at the other end. These smart poles then alert the drivers on both sides by honking. Roads that honk technology received an overwhelming response from the auto media as well as people across various social platforms. The biggest takeaway came when the petroleum minister of India spoke about the technology.

Over 3.8 million views on YouTube within a week. 50 million Media impressions were generated in the first 3 hours of the launch. 105 million media impressions since the release. Over 15 million social media reach. Roads that honk technology received an overwhelming response from the auto media as well as people across various social platforms. The biggest takeaway came when even Dharmendra Pradhan, the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas of India spoke about the technology innovation. National Highway Association of India is installing this technology across all major hairpin bends that were accident prone and were threat to drivers. Even the Saudi Ministry of Transportation is installing the smart life poles in their country Within 2 weeks, data suggested that over 8 out of 10 speeding drivers slowed down at these turns. And accidents were reduced by 45% on these hairpin bends.

The Situation

Nat Geo voted the Jammu-Srinagar highway in India as one of the deadliest roads in the world. It has over 150 deadly hairpin bends. With around 80% of accidents occurring at dangerous hairpin turns, we created “Roads that Honk” – the technology that honks at speeding drivers to avoid road accidents by indicating them to slow down. The technology received an overwhelming response from the auto media as well as people across various social platforms. The biggest takeaway came when even the petroleum minister of India spoke about the technology innovation. The PR received, made it reach other countries too.

The Strategy

On the hairpin bends, drivers are uncertain of whether or not a vehicle is approaching from the other side of the bend, which often leads to over speeding, causing major accidents and casualties. As drivers, it is humane to miss the signs, or ignore them entirely. Especially in extreme weather conditions such as rain, snow and heavy fog. Sometimes, drivers even choose not to honk at hairpin turns, thinking there wouldn’t be a vehicle approaching from the other end. So, with our idea of Roads that Honk, we have eliminated any given chance of dependency, because sound is the one and only medium that a driver cannot ignore. And our choice of amber LED lights will only reinforce the drivers on both sides to slow down and cross each other safely. Because at the end of the day, one car slowed down, is just as good as one life saved.

Links

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