To ensure an experiential marketing campaign stops people in their tracks, a bold and captivating idea that’s executed at the right time, in the right place, is often all that’s needed.
When Road Safety Authority France wanted to create a stunt to raise awareness about the dangers of being a careless pedestrian, it seamlessly followed these key foundations.
The Authority placed an interactive billboard on the corner of a street in Paris. Using built-in movement sensors, it was able to detect when someone was crossing the road without waiting for the all-important ‘green man’ signal.
If someone crossed before they were supposed to, the billboard made the sound of screeching tyres in a bid to shock people, and therefore get across the importance of paying attention to the roads.
The reactions from the virtual crash’s victims were captured by a built-in camera and then displayed on the billboard. Their frightened and shocked faces were shown alongside the harrowing message ‘Don’t risk facing death. Check the lights and cross safely’.
The creative approach had one simple aim: to make pedestrians think twice in the future.
Experiential marketing is a great way to shed light on incredibly important issues due to its ability to cut through the noise and make personal connections.
Road Safety Authority France expertly placed its campaign in a location that would have the strongest results. By doing so, the activation was able to show pedestrians how easily accidents can happen and make them experience, just for a split second, the frightening reality of being hit by a car.
This isn’t the first campaign to have used an experiential billboard to highlight the importance of road safety. Check out BMW’s car-stopping stunt that was designed to remind drivers of the importance of having the correct tyres in place when driving in icy conditions.