Speeders Beware – You Are on a Digital Billboard

From the people who brought you last year's innovative 3D illusion "Pavement Patty", Preventable, along with their AOR Wasserman + Partners and The Media Merchants, has launched another unique preventable injury initiative in time for back to school. As parents and students gear up for back to school, Preventable, together with the BCAA Road Safety Foundation, the City of Surrey and City of Burnaby, is setting up a mobile digital billboard at select schools that will photograph speeding cars and post their photos on the billboard with the message "Before you rush through here, have a word with yourself."

The first such road safety digital billboard of its kind in North America, the objective is to engage drivers to consider how they drive, particularly around school zones. The digital billboards will be mobile to maintain the surprise factor, moving from one school to another each day in Surrey and Burnaby from September 6-9.

"This year's preventable campaign addresses that little voice in your head: the one that berates you over and over when you do something wrong, the one that knows what you should be doing instead," says Pauline Hadley-Beauregard, Vice President and Managing Director, Wasserman + Partners. "We know from research that people think serious injuries only happen to other people because they don't know what they are doing, and so they take daily risks. Our goal is to shift our audience to the attitude that ‘Injuries can happen to me, but I can prevent them'."

The Media Merchants worked with Wasserman + Partners and Preventable to provide the interactive technical solutions for the stunt consisting of technical development, programming and installation. "As cars approach the beginning of the school zones, a radar speed sensor will trigger and capture an image of the car that will then appear on a 10ft wide LED screen with Preventable branding," explains Brad Foster, Chief Marketing Officer, The Media Merchants. "The system will capture images and frame them on the screen as if you've been caught speeding, executing a stunt that is bound to catch people off guard and raise awareness to the importance of school zone safety with an engaging execution."

In 2010, Preventable achieved international attention with its back to school preventable injury initiative of a 3D illusion pavement image of a small girl chasing a ball, the first in Canada.

Client: Preventable
Creative Agency: Wasserman + Partners, Vancouver
Creative Director: Liam Greenlaw
Writer: Allen Forbes
Art Director: Dave Harrison
Art Director: Graeme Jack
Production: Heidi Nucklaus

Execution & Interactivity: The Media Merchants
Technical Director: Anthony Diehl
Technician: Bobby Rou
Technician: Jordan Ciurcovich
Project Management: Tim Pelz