Why is this work relevant for Direct?

The objective is to protect the endangered Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) living in Amami Oshima, a resort island in Japan, from roadkill. Roadkill by tourists is the main reason for the death of the Amami Rabbits. Amami Island was registered as a World Natural Heritage site in 2021, which will further increase the number of tourists. The number of roadkill accidents last year was the worst ever recorded. Amami Yui Rent-a-car operates a car rental business on the island, conducted an impactful awareness campaign by transforming a car rental store into a driving school.

Background

The issue of roadkill by the tourists has been gaining attention and is more pronounced with the increase of tourists after the being registered as the World Natural Heritage site. Last year saw the worst number of roadkill ever recorded. Amami Yui Rent-a-car, which operates a car rental business on the island, wanted to protect the island's tourism resources and at the same time fulfill the responsibilities of its own business. However, conventional methods such as posters and appeal were ineffective, and an impactful measure was needed.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

Changing from, Rental Car shop to a Driving School, Island Driving to On-the-Road Driving, Tourist to Learner Driver. These ideas gave a strong impact on the tourists that driving on Amami Island is an on-the-road driving lesson. Learning how to drive without accidents with the Amami rabbits. *In Japan, an on-the-road driving lesson at a driving school is mandatory to receive a driver’s license.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Tourists visit the island to enjoy, so instead of giving a negative announcement, the project is designed to be more entertaining and to encourage people to drive safely at all times while having fun.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

-Transformed the interior and exterior of the car rental shop into a driving school. -Rental car redesigned to look like a training car. -Install a cute rabbit instructor to help navigate the tourists, with data based on past accident records. -Tourists without accidents received an original driver’s license with their photo printed on it.

List the results (30% of vote)

-Campaign participation among tourists: 87% -Issue awareness: Improved to 100% -Number of roadkill during the campaign: 0

Please tell us how the work was designed / adapted for a single country / region / market

Regarding most of the customers who rent cars in Amami Island are tourists, the accident awareness activities are designed to be entertaining. The idea was not to impose but to encourage people to drive safely at all times while enjoying their trip.