Campaign ‘captures the imaginations’ of young riders

A campaign to highlight the importance of wearing protective clothing has resonated with young riders, evaluation has shown.

The ‘Distressed’ campaign, launched by Highways England in November 2017, features a fashion range and accompanying price tags which, instead of showing the cost of the clothing, detail the kind of serious injuries a biker can suffer if they are not wearing the right gear.

As part of the campaign, a pop-up shop was opened in East London, featuring the ‘Distressed’ clothing range. ‘Customers’ were filmed, showing their reactions when they realised what the price labels referred to.

The film was then used as part of the campaign, along with mock fashion photographs featured on poster sites near to collision hotspots.

A survey among the campaign’s target audience – young motorcycle and moped riders – showed:

• A 70% increase in young rider riders being more likely to check traffic thoroughly at junctions and roundabouts, and when filtering through traffic
• A 6% increase in the number of young riders saying they would wear protective clothing – with more than 75% saying they were ‘more likely’ to do so

The Distressed campaign has also recently been recognised for its creativity – receiving the ‘Best Content Marketing Campaign’ award at the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s (CIM) Marketing Excellence Awards 2019.

Peter Allen, Highways England’s executive director of corporate affairs and communications, said: “Bikers are among the most vulnerable on the road – this campaign is all about helping them be safer.

“The mental and physical cost of not wearing the correct motorcycle clothing can be far greater than the financial cost, so we wanted to stress how important it is for our young riders to really understand the need to be prepared, and to always wear the appropriate clothing.

“I’m proud the campaign has been recognised, and continues to capture the imaginations of partner organisations and young people across England.”

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