List of funded social media campaigns: FOI release

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.


Information requested

In your response you provided me with data on the organisation's social media spending.

Could you please provide a list of social media campaigns that the organisation has run during the years 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 which have received funding? Please include the names of the campaigns and what their aim/purpose was.

Response

2019/20

2 x Test Campaigns

Low Emission Zones (LEZ) awareness raising (Glasgow LEZ area)

LEZ National Campaign (and 2020/21)
To support increased national public awareness and encourage people to check if their vehicles are likely to be compliant. Country Roads Approximately two-thirds of fatalities in Scotland still happen on rural roads (i.e. roads with a speed limit of more than 40 mph). In 2020, rural roads accounted for two-fifths of the total number of casualties (42%). However, they accounted for almost two-thirds of those killed (64%) and almost half of those seriously injured (48%).

The ‘Prepare for the Unexpected’ Country Roads campaign targeted men in Scotland aged 22-29 who held a (car) driving licence. It aimed to reduce deaths and injuries on country roads by encouraging young men to reduce ‘inappropriate speed’ and prepare for unexpected hazards on country roads by slowing down.

Drug-Drive Questionnaire
This questionnaire related to the festive portion of the wider Young Drivers campaign, which focused on drink and drug-driving. This questionnaire was used to assess the extent to which messaging around the new drug-driving legislation was known and understood. The questionnaire was conducted on social media with members of the target demographic for the Young Drivers campaign, namely men in Scotland aged 20-29 who hold a car driving licence.

2020/21

Future Engagement Plans
Following the COVID restrictions preventing face-face public exhibitions, we published an online Story Map in September 2020 asking the public for their views on how we would engage with them during the pandemic in a virtual world. We used paid social media to advertise this along with press ads.

Access to Argyll & Bute (A83)
Online Story Map developed for this project which has updated the public on the options appraisal (23 September 2020) and the preferred route option (18 March 2021) for this project. We used paid social media to advertise these virtual engagement events along with press ads.

ACNMU Route Options
Online virtual exhibition starting on 19 November 2020 to get the public’s views on the route options being considered for the Aviemore to Carrbridge (NMU) route. We used paid social media to advertise this along with press ads.

A96 Dualling East of Huntly to Aberdeen
Online virtual exhibition starting on 21 December 2020 to let the public view and comment on the preferred option for the scheme. We used paid social media to advertise this along with press ads. Driver Fatigue (also in 21/22) Research published in 2020 found driver fatigue may be a contributory factor in up to 20% of road accidents, and up to one quarter of fatal and serious accidents. Fatigue-related collisions are around 50% more likely to result in death or serious injury.

The ‘Driving Tired Kills’ Fatigue campaign targets 25 to 55 year-old drivers in Scotland and seeks to increase awareness of the risks of driving tired and prompt safer driving behaviour.

Speeding (also in 21/22)
The ‘There’s no excuse for speeding’ campaign supports the Safe Speeds Outcome of Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030, by encouraging road users to understand and travel at appropriate speeds for the conditions, and within the speed limits. Although there has been a downward trend in reported speeding behaviours in the past few years, there are still too many collisions related to noncompliance with the speed limits or not driving/riding to the conditions.

The campaign targets drivers aged 25-55 in Scotland and encourages drivers to consider the consequences of speeding to others, in order to prompt reappraisal of risky driving behaviour. It also draws attention to ‘risk moments’ when the audience are most likely to speed.

Vulnerable Road Users (VRU)
As lockdown restrictions began to ease in June 2020 and Scotland’s roads became busier again, evidence showed some drivers were driving at faster speeds in urban areas, presenting an increased risk to vulnerable road users.

The ‘In Town Slow down’ VRU campaign targeted all urban drivers in Scotland, with a secondary audience of other road users (eg. people on motorbikes, pedal cycles and people walking), and aimed to encourage them to watch their speed and look out for vulnerable road users.

COVID-19 Travel Demand Management
A number of posts raising awareness about the latest travel advice at various stages during the pandemic. At the same time as keeping the public up-to-date with advice these posts helped manage the demand on the transport network as we recovered from the pandemic and more people started travelling again.

LEZ Support Fund
Support Fund promotion.

2021/22

LEZ National Campaign
LEZ national awareness raising which included national, local and myth-busting messaging as the introduction date for LEZs approaches.

LEZ Consultations Campaign
Raising awareness of local LEZ consultations and encouraging people to participate.

Seatbelts
Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 identifies not wearing a seatbelt as one of the four biggest dangers while driving. Despite seatbelt effectiveness, evidence points to it being the UK’s forgotten road safety priority following an increase in the number of deaths involving car drivers and passengers not wearing a seatbelt. For the period 2015-2019, 16% of in-car fatalities in Scotland were not wearing seatbelts. A Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) report cites research estimating that seatbelt wearing reduces both fatal and non-fatal injuries by 60% among front seat passengers, and by 44% among rear-seat passengers.

The ‘It’s not just you who gets hurt’ Seatbelts campaign targets all adults aged 18-34 in Scotland to reach passengers as well as drivers. It aims to prompt the audience to rethink their risky attitudes towards seatbelt use and motivate them to wear one every time they are in the car.

All three financial years

Motorcycle Safety
Motorcyclists account for less than 1% of traffic in Scotland but 17% of road deaths. In 2020, there were 418 motorcyclist casualties. Of these, 16 were fatalities and 242 resulted in serious injury. In 75% of all injury collisions and 78% of KSI (killed or seriously injured) collisions, the motorcyclist was the contributory factor. This activity supports one of the seven intermediate Outcome Targets as outlined in the new Road Safety Framework to 2030: a 30% reduction in motorcyclists killed or seriously injured.

The ‘Breathtaking Roads’ Motorcycle Safety campaign targets all bikers in Scotland, with a bullseye on male bikers aged 40-54 riding motorbikes with large engine sizes (larger than 500cc).

Young Drivers
Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 highlights Young Drivers (17-25) as accounting for 12% of Scotland’s licence holders but 18% of drivers involved in fatal and serious collisions. In fact, road collisions are one of the biggest killers of young people – accounting for 5% of deaths amongst 17-25 year olds. To address these disparities, the Framework sets an intermediate target of a 70% reduction in road users aged between 17 to 25 killed or seriously injured.

The Young Drivers ‘Drive like Gran’s in the Car’ campaign targets men in Scotland aged 20-29 who hold a car driving licence, and aims to improve attitudes and behaviour around driving habits and address a number of problematic behaviours including speeding: in-car distractions (driving with friends in the car and mobile phones); drug-driving; drink-driving; country roads; and respecting vulnerable road users.

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