EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
(FORMERLY THE GOVERNOR'S HIGHWAY SAFETY BUREAU)
Steering Teens Towards More Responsible Driving

The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPPS), formerly known as the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau, is the Massachusetts state agency responsible for reducing motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries among at-risk drivers, including teenage drivers. After statistics were released stating that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death nationally for teens aged 15-18, EOPPS wanted to develop a multiyear public relations campaign to promote responsible driving to teenagers. The prom/graduation season was targeted as the ideal time to focus the campaign around.

A multifaceted campaign was created to reach teens and their influencers that combined traditional and nontraditional tools to reach the hard-to-persuade target audience, including a radio ad contest inviting high school juniors and seniors to create public safety announcements encouraging safe driving among their peers, with the best ad produced and aired, courtesy of a strategic partnership.

The inventive elements of the public relations plan led to unprecedented media coverage of the entire campaign, and during the time when all of EOPPS's other activities remained fixed - teen seatbelt use statewide increased by 13 percent.