Rain Barrel Communications — More helmets, less reckless driving

By Adari Rasphone, Blue Grass Design Group

In Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), the number of driving-related injuries and fatalities are strikingly high for the region and they have been increasing every year. Motorcycles are involved in over 90 per cent of all traffic-related deaths, largely because of the low use of helmets. Less than 30 per cent of adults and only one per cent of children wear helmets when riding on a motorcycle.

Communicating Road Safety in Lao PDR

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Union Delegation to Lao PDR have agreements with the Lao Government to improve roads and road safety, focused mainly on infrastructure development. In addition to supporting the construction of safe roads, EIB contracted Rain Barrel Communications and Blue Grass Design Group to develop and implement a communication campaign to spread public awareness about road safety and to promote social norms and behaviors that increase helmet use and reduce drunk driving. A major communications challenge was the lockdown and restricted travel caused by the global COVID-19.

The campaign development process

An initial desk review of social research, essential to the communications initiative, indicated that many Laotian motorcyclists feel that their children are too young to wear helmets. Others said that they feel that wearing a helmet makes them look silly. Driving under the influence of alcohol is another significant factor in many crashes. People were responsive, it was found, to messages imploring them to not drive drunk when they recognized they were intoxicated. This information helped the campaign to refine messages that promoted the positive self-image of motorcyclists in helmets, emphasized children wearing protection, and offered alternative behaviors to transportation after drinking as a key safety measure. Given the young Lao population that was being targeted by the campaign, the Rain Barrel and the Blue Grass Design Group team selected popular celebrities from Lao society and identified channels that would reach people on the road and through other media, including a digital campaign.

After months of planning and coordinating through virtual meetings and consultations, the campaign was officially announced with a press statement published in the Vientiane Times and Vientiane Mai newspapers on 15 December 2021.The campaign utilized a combination of print, broadcast, and digital media to engage the public. It also included radio contests and primetime broadcasts in three languages (Lao, Khmu and Hmong), aired once a day during peak listening times. Electronic billboards graced high traffic areas and flashed one of two campaign messages every 15 minutes. Social media postings through stakeholder portals were published regularly with the hashtags #EURoadSafety and #RoadSafetyLaos.

Social media content was published and cross-posted on partner platforms, with thousands of people engaging with likes, shares and comments

Launching a national conversation on road safety

The social media component of the campaign began on 3 November 2021, with content posted on the European Delegation Facebook page. These posts reached tens of thousands of intended road users - a significant number for Lao PDR. A Facebook live interview with the president of the Rescue Association of Vientiane had over 6000 reactions and 110 shares. Videos also aired on YouTube and the Lao Youth Radio Facebook page, modeling desired safe behaviors, such as getting a ride from a friend, instead of driving after consuming alcohol.

Four TikTok videos featuring well-known entertainers and social media stars from Lao PDR were developed to promote helmet use, under the theme: "I look cool in a helmet.” This was in direct response to research showing that many people think that helmets make them look silly.

TikTok videos were also used in the Lao PDR Road Safety Campaign

Online campaign management

Due to the global COVID pandemic, the development and implementation of all aspects of the Road Safety Communication campaign were almost entirely managed remotely. Lock downs in Lao PDR meant meetings with partners had to be held online. It also meant that photography and pre-testing of messages and materials became extremely challenging, and that planned public campaign events, such as handing out campaign stickers to primary school students, had to be canceled or postponed.

H.E. Ms. Ina Marčiulionytė, EU Ambassador to Lao PDR and the Minister of Public Works and Transport Mr. Viengsavanh Siphandone, officially launching the Lao PDR Road Safety Communication Campaign.

On 23 February 2022, the European Union Delegation in Vientiane officially handed over the campaign to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. The EIB plans to expand campaign activities later in 2022 and, if successful, scale up the campaign's scope, reach and intensity.

Rain Barrel Communications and Blue Grass Design Group is proud to have worked with the EIB and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in Lao PDR on this campaign. We hope that it will kick-start a long-term social and behaviour change process of increased use of helmets and reduced incidents of drunk driving. A sustained shift in norms in favor of road safety for all in Lao PDR. As people who live and work here, we urgently need our roads to become a lot safer.