Situation:  The safety benefit of anti-lock brake system (ABS) technology was being questioned both by industry and press.  A benchmarking media analysis found that 75 percent of news stories about ABS were negative.  Research on drivers in 1997 confirmed the hypothesis that the issue with ABS was improper use by drivers.

Approach:  An account team led by Starr McCaffery, then at Edelman Worldwide, worked to launch a 5-year, industry-sponsored educational effort to inform industry, key press and, ultimately, drivers about the proper use and benefits of ABS.  The focus was on “influencing influencers.”

The effort began with desk side briefings with lead-dog automotive writers.  This expanded to a broad consumer awareness campaign including VNR, ANR, events and rolodex card mailings (it was the ‘90s). 

Relationships were built with key influencers in driver education, driver licensing and safety organizations including:
®      American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA)
®      American Automobile Association (AAA)
®      American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association (ADTSEA)
®      Driving School Association of the Americas (DSAA)
®      Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS)
®      National Safety Council
®      and car rental and insurance companies.

Educational materials, including an ABS curriculum for new drivers, an instructional video, posters and brochures were produced and provided to organizations free of charge.

Results: In the first 90 days of the effort a follow up media analysis demonstrated 73 percent of coverage was positive or neutral and consumer media reach in the first year exceeded 120 million.

When issues arose, the executive director of AAA volunteered as a spokesperson and the director of IIHS endorsed the technology, based on the relationships and dialog built through the effort.

After 5 years, benchmarking demonstrated significant increases in understanding of the technology among drivers in the age groups most often targeted and reached by the efforts.  Having achieved its goal of establishing ABS education as part of mainstream driver education and license testing, the Alliance disbanded.  However, it maintains its Web site at www.abs-education.org to keep information available to driving instructors and drivers.