CLIO Healthcare Awards Honor "Decide to Drive" Campaign

NEW YORK, Nov. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The national "Decide to Drive" Public Service campaign, designed to spread awareness of the importance of driver focus behind the wheel, received the Silver Award at the CLIO Healthcare Awards – one of the world's most-recognized awards competitions for advertising, design and communications.  The award recognizes excellence in public relations and chose the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Auto Alliance's "Decide to Drive" integrated public affairs/ public relations program, an interactive, multimedia initiative.

"Distracted driving can cause lifelong injuries that orthopaedic surgeons would rather prevent than treat. "Decide to Drive" was organized to function as a national conversation – between children and their parents, among drivers in various online forums and between surgeons and their patients – and the conversation has certainly started," said AAOS CEO Karen Hackett, FACHE, CAE. "On behalf of the Academy's 36,000 members, our staff and the Academy's creative and sponsoring partners, we are grateful to have won this award. Hopefully this win will reiterate our message."

The national PSA campaign, which includes a media relations program, educational materials for children, a public-participation website (www.decidetodrive.org), patient-education initiatives, and a cohesive social media component will continue throughout 2012.

"This is another example of the automaker commitment to making sure drivers are staying focused when they're behind the wheel," said Auto Alliance President and CEO Mitch Bainwol.  "Today's drivers always want be in touch and have technology at their command.  That's why it's important that automakers design features that encourage people to pay attention to the road, instead of forcing them to rely on handheld devices that interfere with safe vehicle operation.    

"But even with the safeguards we offer, it's important that people 'Decide to Drive' every time they get behind the wheel," added Bainwol.  "We're fortunate to be able to partner with the Academy on something that's so important to both organizations."

The "Decide to Drive" partnership began with printed PSAs in the form of counter cards placed in thousands of AAOS surgeon-members' office waiting rooms nationwide. These print ads, of which there are now three, also were sponsored by the Orthopaedic Trauma Association. Soon, the campaign grew to a larger public relations effort that reached airports, shopping malls, buses and bus shelters, as well as broadcast across the country. Since then, the campaign has included:

• a national Harris Interactive Survey on drivers' behaviors and perceptions of distracted driving;
• a website (www.decidetodrive.org) allowing users to report incidents of all forms of distracted driving;
• a satellite media tour and a press conference at the National Press Club in D.C. to announce the campaign;
• a Facebook and Twitter campaign, to support the interactive and story-sharing capacity of www.decidetodrive.org;
• billboards in Times Square and throughout the country;
• a partnership with the Driving School Association of America; and
• a surgeon spokesperson toolkit and several fun and eye-catching collateral pieces.

The advertising firm August, Lang and Husak (ALH) created all of the PSAs – print, broadcast and designed the campaign's website. PaperStreet Web Design developed the interactive website. The creative elements of this campaign have been essential in gaining the attention needed to urge people to change their behavior and making driving a choice.

Just this fall, the program created a distracted driving classroom curriculum to distribute to more than 10,000 schools nationwide to help teach fifth and sixth graders to urge their parents, and others, to keep their eyes on the road. The campaign also is sponsoring a poster contest for children and teens in grades 5 through 12, inviting them to develop a public service ad to warn drivers of the dangers of distraction behind the wheel.

The campaign hopes to continue to engage students, policymakers and surgeons to help further the message. In February 2012, the Auto Alliance and AAOS also will launch the next print and radio public service messages and continue the online conversation, with a focus on educating children to prevent future distracted driving incidents.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is a trade association of 12 car and light truck manufacturers including BMW Group, Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz USA, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen Group of America and Volvo. For more information, visit the Alliance Web site at www.autoalliance.org.

With more than 36,000 members, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, (www.aaos.org or www.orthoinfo.org) is the premier not-for-profit organization that provides education programs for orthopaedic surgeons and allied health professionals, champions the interests of patients and advances the highest quality of musculoskeletal health. Orthopaedic surgeons and the Academy are the authoritative sources of information for patients and the general public on musculoskeletal conditions, treatments and related issues. www.aaos.org.

SOURCE American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons