The campaign 'Runter vom Gas!' ('Slow Down!') by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS) has continued with a modified concept and new communication content since December 2011. The new poster images and other media now address a wide spectrum of additional problematic traffic behaviour as well as the main issue of driving speed. As part of the evaluation project, the media response to the current campaigns was examined. The evaluation of topical reports showed a comparable media coverage with previous efforts, in which the media refrained from making assessments. The larger topical breadth of the campaign, however, was reported an quite intensively. The overall media response was positive but did not quite reach the level of previous campaign efforts, for which the fear appeals in particular incited much coverage. Furthermore, the prominence of the campaign and the awareness of the population were examined in a representative survey. The findings show that the campaign "Runter vom Gas!" has become more prominent across the population. The new images also received positive reviews. On the other hand, the new reasoning about social responsibility for fellow human beings proved to be more difficult to understand and did not seem to reach the high-risk group of young drivers. A number of recommendations for action have been drawn from the findings of the two studies. These include a creative development towards further mobilisation or concern, a greater use of online channels, the expansion of successful campaigns ("below the line"), and the differentiation of campaign projects towards independently designed sub-campaigns aimed at specific risk groups and issues. (Author/publisher)
Abstract