Execution

COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

Communication Objective: The AAA foundation has two communication objectives.

Behavioral
For teenagers the communication objective is behavior change. Through their marketing communications the foundation will paint a vivid picture of the immediate consequences of cell phone usage behind the wheel. The foundation wants to promote the idea that cell phone usage is not worth losing your newfound freedom and mobility. While this is not the most serious consequence of cell phone usage behind the wheel it is the one that will resonate most with teenagers.

Basic Awareness
For stakeholders who have the power to influence driving laws and some aspects of teenage driver behaviors (KEY COLLABORATORS: legislatures, parents, and other adult citizens) the foundation's communication objective is to heighten awareness concerning the prevalence and the resulting consequences (accidents and deaths) of cell phone usage among teen drivers. The desired result is that these stakeholders will act to minimize the risks posed to teen drivers by talking to their teenage children about the risks of cell phone usage during driving and by creating/voting for new legislation designed to deter cell phone usage among teens.

Media and Execution (Channels, Place and Time):
The foundation should leverage its research and reputation as an authority on traffic safety to increase public awareness around the prevalence and dangerous consequences of cell phone usage among teens. Foundation staff should regularly contribute short informative articles to nationally distributed newspapers such as USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. They should also push to have their articles posted on popular news web pages such as yahoonew.com, cnn.com, msnbc.com, huffingtonpost.com, and foxnews.com. These articles should highlight concerns and propose solutions to the problem of distracted driving, particularly among teens. Foundation representatives should also appear regularly on radio and television programs such as NPR's Morning Edition, NBC’s Today and ABC's Good Morning America to report on the impact of cell phone usage/distracted driving among teenagers.

In addition to providing regular feeds to the media, the foundation should also target the 10 deadliest cities for teenage drivers and utilize current political relationships to align with influential city and state legislatures in those areas for the purpose of passing cell phone legislation aimed at reducing traffic fatalities caused by distracted driving. The foundation's research and curriculum design competencies make them well suited to provide legislatures with the clear, comprehensive, and credible reports they would need to make the case for new cell phone legislation.

NOTE: According to a 2009 study conducted by Allstate entitled "America's Teen Driving Hotspots" the 10 most dangerous cities for teen drivers are: 1) Tampa/St. Petersburg/ Clearwater, Fla. 2) Orlando/Kissimmee, Fla. 3) Jacksonville, Fla. 4) Nashville, Tenn. 5) Birmingham, Ala. 6) Phoenix, Ariz. 7) Kansas City, Mo. 8) Atlanta, Ga. 9) Charlotte, N.C. 10) Louisville, Ky.

With a retention/earn share strategy it is essential that the foundation deliver their message through the appropriate channels to reach the target audience at the right place and time. Assuming that the foundation's legislative efforts are successful, the second phase of the media plan should speak directly to teens and reinforce the message that cell phone usage while driving can result in license suspension. This message should be included in the drivers' education material that the foundation creates for high schools. The foundation should also promote this message by making it the central theme of a billboard campaign. Billboard space purchased by the foundation would be located near high schools in one of the 10 deadliest U.S. cities for teen drivers. Lastly, the foundation should create short radio spots reinforcing the message and air them on popular Urban and Top 40 Radio stations.

Billboard and radio content targeted at teenagers should use humor to reinforce the message. For example a billboard might show a teen in a tuxedo getting dropped off at the prom by his parents in an old beat up pickup truck as all of his classmates look on in amusement. The caption might read "I hope that text was worth it. Using a cell phone while driving could result in your license being suspended"

A radio spot might depict a teenage boy picking up a girl for a date. When the girl comes to the door she asks, "Where’s your car?" The boy replies, "I thought it would be a good day for a walk... oh yeah and uh...plus my license is suspended". She shrieks, "It's 40 degrees outside and the movie theatre is 10 miles away" The door slams and a voice over says "I hope that text was worth it. Using a cell phone while driving could result in your license being suspended. It’s pretty simple. You text, you talk, you walk. Don't use your phone while driving"

Reach
Based on the 2000 U.S. Census there were a total of 391,294 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 in the 10 most dangerous cities for teen drivers. Assuming a 3% annual growth rate there are currently 525,866 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 living in those cities. Assuming 50% of those teens are exposed to the billboards or radio promotions the foundation should reach approximately 262,933 teens in the target age group in those cities.

Cost/Frequency
For Radio I assumed a cost of $200 per spot. The promotion would air during peak high school commute times, twice in the two hour immediately before school starts and twice in the two hours immediately after high school dismissal bringing the daily advertising cost to $800. Assuming that we aired the commercial three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and one week out of every month for six months our total radio spend for one station would be:

($800/day)(3days/week)(1week/month)(6months) = $14,400 per city
Total radio promotion cost = ($14,400/city)(10 cities) = $144,000

Assuming that each of the teens that we reach hears the ad roughly half of the number of times that it airs our number of impressions per teen should be approximately:

(50%)(4 impressions/day)(3 days/week)(1 week/month)(6 months) = 36 impressions

For billboards I assumed a rental fee of $2,000 per month for each board. With four boards per city and in a 6 month campaign the each city's cost would be approximately:

($2000/month)(4 boards/city)(6 months) = $48,000 per city
Total billboard promotion cost = ($48,000/city)(10 cities) = $480,000

Assuming that each of the teens that we reach sees the billboard 4 times a week the number of impressions per teen should be approximately:

(4 impressions/week)(4 weeks/month)(6 months) = 96 impressions

In Summary
Approximate Reach: 262,933 teens between ages 15 and 19
Approximate Radio Impressions per teen: 36
Approximate Billboard Impressions per teen: 96
Total Cost: $144,000 radio cost + $480,000 billboard cost = $624,000

Metrics:
Year over year percentage decrease in teenage traffic accidents
Year over year percentage decrease in teenage traffic fatalities