Cultural / Context information for the jury

The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and the Australian Football League Victoria (AFLV), have shared a partnered sponsorship agreement for over 11 years. With the road toll up 13% compared to the previous year, the TAC needed to continue the conversation in local rural communities, vastly overrepresented in road accidents. Here, community members are four times more likely to die or be seriously injured on regional roads than other drivers. The brief was to target male road users in these rural areas–the most vulnerable to road accidents and fatalities–so that they understand the responsibility they have in driving safely and protecting their families, friends, teammates and the community on the roads. The objective was to galvanise local communities to take a stand against unsafe driving behaviours and understand the importance of looking out for each other on the roads.

Please outline how the work was adapted, modified or was innovative

The TAC's ‘Band Together’ campaign, developed in partnership with the AFLV, was activated across 1,200 clubs in Victoria. The campaign called on sportspeople, spokespeople and the community such as AFL icon, Brett Ratten and local club captain, Harry Hill, to wear an interactive bespoke armband–inspired by black armbands worn to honour a death in the community–where they could scan the band’s QR code and record, share and wear their personal reasons to drive safely. The armband was partly recyclable and custom-made; durable enough to wear on the field during a high contact game, and off the field by community members and club supporters. Stories were shared on social along with the hashtag #bandtogether, adding to an ever-growing number of videos, reflecting the active role and responsibility that the community plays in keeping our community safe on our roads.