Re:act surpasses its BHAG.

In unprecedented times in 2020, the Re:act road safety behaviour change program has achieved unprecedented results.

Re:act road safety campaigns, created by communication design and advertising students in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, reached an audience of more than 5 million Australians this year across roadside, retail, universities, and venues.

The program’s success in reaching such a large audience, in just its fifth year, is testament to the unwavering commitment of Re:act media partner, oOh!media.

Re:act challenges university students to create campaigns that target road safety risks prevalent in their 18-25 year old peers, a group over-represented in road trauma. In 2020, selected ‘distraction’ campaigns in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane were developed for public display across 660 oOh!media billboards in the three cities to a media value of almost $1.4 million.

Re:act founder Andrew Hardwick confirmed road safety remained an important issue in 2020 despite restrictions on movement. In fact, the lockdowns presented challenging road safety behaviours coupled with the risks of less frequent interaction as we returned to the roads after an enforced break.

Launch of the Melbourne campaign was delayed due to restrictions, with Re:act and oOh!media waiting until numbers on our roads and in retail spaces returned to 80 per cent of capacity.

Federal Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Michael McCormack also conveyed his congratulations on the 5 million milestone, as well as offering his support for the Re:act documentary scheduled for launch in National Road Safety Week.

The Australian Government supports Re:act through its Road Safety Awareness and Enablers Fund.

“Reaching 5.2 million Australians with road safety messages is a fantastic result and one that far exceeded our expectations for this year of 500,000,” Andrew Hardwick said.

“We have been overwhelmed by the support of oOh!media, who have really driven this result. Such tremendous support puts the program in good stead for further expansion next year, and we can’t wait to see what we can achieve in driving positive behaviours on our roads in 2021.”

Noel Cook, oOh!media’s Chief Commercial & Operations Officer, said it was great to use the company’s personnel, skills and extensive network of billboards and other assets for such an important campaign.

“Road safety is critical, especially for younger drivers, and we wanted to promote these creative campaigns far and wide to support the outstanding work done by these students and the Re:act team,” he said.

“As well as running the campaign, our specialists were heavily involved throughout the project – from creative consultancy and technical assistance to audience measurement and government engagement.

“It all forms part of our wider commitment in this area, as we work closely with governments and authorities to invest in research and make roads safer.”

Visit reactforchange.com to learn more about the Re:act program.

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For further information:

Andrew Hardwick
CEO – Hard Edge & Re:act
M +61 (0)417 334 399
ahardwick@hardedge.com.au

An initiative of Hard Edge, the annual Re:act program challenges local higher education students to create a behaviour change campaign that raises awareness among 16-25 year old road users of a critical road safety issue where they are overrepresented. A panel of university or TAFE, road and workplace safety, and industry partners selects the most compelling road safety campaign in each state, which is then developed and launched on university or TAFE campuses and oOh!media’s digital assets, including its landmark billboards. Now in its sixth year, Re:act ran in 2020 in Melbourne with Swinburne, UTS in Sydney and, for the first time, Brisbane, through QUT. The program also expanded internationally into London, at University of the Arts London. In 2021, the Re:act program will once again run in each of those institutions and grow further in Australia, running in Perth for the first time with Curtin University as well as in TAFE campuses across Australia. There are further plans for international expansion into Europe, the United States and South America.