Initiative details
We are tasking university marketing students to reimagine how road safety is marketed across the country. This is a very difficult task as we have found that a lot of the current marketing campaigns simply do not resonate with the target audience of 18 to 25 year olds. What this project has done is get them to focus on what is currently out there and to come up with new ways to connect with the audience in an effective marketing campaign.
Initiative date
Who was/is your target audience?
Policy makers
Public authorities
Children 0-16
Young adults 17-25
Adults
Parents
Seniors
Company employees
Fleet operators
Car drivers
Car drivers – professional
Educational staff
Emergency services
Public transport
Van drivers
Lorry/truck drivers
Cyclists
Micromobility riders
Powered two wheeler riders (excluding micromobility)
Pedestrians
Others
Topic
Create awareness
Education in school or in community organizations
Knowledge building and sharing
Provide alternative solutions
Organisation details
An Garda Siochana and The University of Limerick
Association
Ireland
National
Contact name
Tony Miniter
Telephone number
00353871451715
thomas.a.miniter@garda.ie
Project activities
Please describe the project activities you carried/are carrying out and the time period over which these were implemented.
Students in certain courses within the three universities were tasked with reimagining how road safety is marketed. The course work was designed by Dr Christina O Connor who is the lead marketing lecturer in the University of Limerick. Initially it was only the University of Limerick students that were involved (650) of them but this year it was expanded to include two other universities, Maynooth University and also South East Technical University. We are expanding it further for 2025 and this will include two further universities, that of University College Cork and University College Galway. The initiative is always expanding and trying to find new and innovative ways to market road safety in an effect way through a powerful road safety marketing campaign.
In terms of implementation, what worked well and what challenges did you need to overcome?
The initial year of the project involved a lot of academic work as the course had to be build from scratch. Sgt Tony Miniter from An Garda Siochana visited the students and presented to them and outlined what was expected of them and the importance of what they were doing. He also sourced funding for the project from the local city and council. It was initially difficult to get buy in from the students but after the presentation they were suitably motivated to put a lot of work into the project.
If you work together with external partners, list the most important partners and briefly describe their role.
There are two partners in the project. The University of Limerick and An Garda Siochana. These two stakeholders decide the direction of the project and are led by Dr Christina O Connor from the University of Limerick and Sergeant Tony Miniter from An Garda Siochana (Irish Police). They were the ones that came up with the initiative and the ones that are driving it forward. During the first year of the project in 2023, it was financially supported by Limerick City and County Council but then in 2024 the national electricity board ESB, came on board and have committed to 3 years of sponsorship.
Evaluation
Please summarise how you have evaluated the initiative’s impact (e.g. social media reach, survey, feedback forms, statistics).
Initially the feedback from all of the stakeholders and the students that were working on the project was really positive. The work that was produced by the students was of a very high quality and there were definitely material in it that could be used as part of a national road safety marketing campaign. This year the quality was even higher and the event received national media attention and the quality of the work was even higher. This year there was also a wider base of students as there were three universities involved. There are currently plans to use some of the material as part of a national anti drug driving campaign. Last years event was simply about road safety in general whereas this year it was targeted on Drug Driving which as we all know is particularly a large problem with this age group (18 to 25)
What has been the effect of the activities?
I would say that the effect of this project has been huge. It is very difficult to get young people who are aged between 18 and 25 to take road safety and the effect that road traffic collisions have on a persons life, seriously. We had over 1500 students actively discussing drug driving and trying to find a solution to the problem through an effective anti drug driving campaign. They would have been discussing this topic with other students and trying to find a solution. The students also came up with some very effective road safety advertising campaigns which will be used to target young people in a effort to stop this epidemic that is drug driving.
Please briefly explain why your initiative is a good example of improving road safety.
This is one of the rare initiatives where you have third level Universities and a national police service (An Garda Siochana) coming together and using their expertise in a very progressive way and thinking outside the box when it comes to road safety education. There is no other project like this across Europe and I believe that is should be copied across Europe. The students also get great benefit from it. For those that are motivated by money then there is a very good financial reward for the prize winners. There is also the benefit for those that wish to increase their portfolio of work to be able to say that they were a prize winner for this event which received national media attention. There is also the other great benefit of this initiative whereby all of those involved know that they are taking part in a project that is making our roads a safer place to be. This importance of this cannot be overstated.
How have you shared information about your project and its results?
The way that this project has been advertised is simply through the local and national media outlets after each showcase event. It was also shared on the social media platforms of the Universities and An Garda Siochana.
I tried to upload some images but I was unable to do so. I have some great pictures of the events and the posters that the students did.
I tried to upload some images but I was unable to do so. I have some great pictures of the events and the posters that the students did.