KIWIRAIL - NEAR MISS MEMORIALS

Bronze Spike

Case Film

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TitleKIWIRAIL - NEAR MISS MEMORIALS
BrandKIWIRAIL NEW ZEALAND AND TRACKSAFE
Product / ServiceRAIL SAFETY AWARENESS
CategoryB01. Use of Ambient Media: Small Scale
EntrantDDB NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Idea Creation DDB NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Media Placement OMD NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Production DDB NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND

Credits

Name Company Position
Damon Stapleton DDB Group New Zealand Chief Creative Officer
Gary Steele DDB Group New Zealand Executive Creative Director
Brett Colliver DDB Group New Zealand Creative Director
Mike Felix DDB Group New Zealand Creative Director
Adam Barnes DDB Group New Zealand Senior Creative
James O’Sullivan DDB Group New Zealand Senior Creative
James Blair DDB Group New Zealand Account Service
Rebecca Farlow DDB Group New Zealand Account Manager
Anna Hall DDB Group New Zealand Senior Business Director
Annika Fyfe DDB Group New Zealand Planner
Julz Lane DDB Group New Zealand Print Production
Johannes Gertz DDB Group New Zealand Digital Production
Jason Vertongen DDB Group New Zealand Head of design
Danillo Castilho DDB Group New Zealand Lead Front End Developer
James Li DDB Group New Zealand Designer
Judy Thompson DDB Group New Zealand Agency Executive Producer
Amanda Summersby DDB Group New Zealand Post Production Producer
Dan Cummings DDB Group New Zealand Editor
Milon Williams DDB Group New Zealand Audio Engineer
Mark Tretheway DDB Group New Zealand Video Production
Mat Baker DDB Group New Zealand Photographer
Carl Baker DDB Group New Zealand Retoucher
OMD New Zealand OMD New Zealand OMD New Zealand Media
Kate Thompson KiwiRai Community Engagement Manager
Megan Drayton TrackSAFE NZ Foundation Manager

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

As people commute to work they are completely unaware of the jaw-dropping near accidents that occur every day at rail crossings but go unreported because no one died. But these near misses torment train drivers. So we designed a memorial to be placed where these near misses occurred that allowed commuters to actually see the near miss, right there where it happened so they could feel the impact the drivers felt. By design, the half cross is a stark and visually arresting symbol. When hundreds were places at railway crossing where near misses had occurred they were impossible to ignore.

Background

The brief asked for a fresh way to remind pedestrians and drivers to be safe at trains crossings. Strategy highlighted that near misses with trains were on the rise. Speaking with train drivers who had witnessed near misses on the job, they found the train drivers were dealing with the phycological impact alone. This insight informed the creative thinking behind the campaign.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

It’s impossible to look away from the footage of these near misses captured on CCTV cameras. We created a way for people to see the real near misses where they occurred. Inspired by the white road side crosses marking fatal car accidents, the half-cross symbol represents how close each near miss was to tragedy. The campaign launched this new symbol as an on-going reminder to be safe around trains.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Research told us that near misses with trains were on the rise. But train users and car drivers couldn't see the impact their risk taking was having on others. Speaking with train drivers who had experienced near misses on the job, we found they were dealing with the traumatic phycological impact alone. It was as if they experienced them over and over every shift. The strategy behind the creative execution became to make people feel empathy for train drivers who witness these near misses almost daily.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

To launch Rail Safety Week, hundreds of individually engraved half-crosses were installed at railway crossings around the country where near misses had occurred, including large-scale activations at the busiest train stations in the country. Real world activations were supported by a nationwide print and outdoor campaign featuring the new symbol and a 3D interactive web experience let people dive deeper into train drivers' near miss encounters.

List the results (30% of vote)

An incident that was only witnessed by one person was suddenly being seen by the whole country through prime time broadcasts, and shared by authorities and individuals on social media. Near Miss Memorials became more than just another train safety campaign. Now in its second year, it's been picked up by rail networks in other parts of the world, notably Denver who released footage of their own near misses. Hundreds of half crosses still remain installed at the sites of near misses, serving as constant reminders for drivers and pedestrians.