Final Project: Madison Bike Safety Ad Campaign

Since my last post I have altered the direction of my project. After some quick research, I was able to find information on bike safety in Madison. In fact, if you google “Madison bike safety” the first four results are from the City of Madison website. I didn’t need to give people another copy of information they already had access too. After some brainstorming on where I should take my project, I came to a conclusion that with the information I had at hand I should direct my efforts into creating an ad campaign for Bike Safety. By doing so, I could create a cheap campaign to raise bike safety awareness. The campaign would be implemented in a number of steps.

The overall theme that I used throughout the project, is a penny-farthing, an classic, early bicycle that resembles the British penny  and farthing. I will use this image/theme throughout the campaign in order to have consistency as well as a visual reference that people will be able to remember. This logo will be used in the different stages of the campaign, hopefully having people recognize them. I am receiving assistance from friends of mine to create the logo as a vector image so it can be easily manipulated. Next, with some assistance, we would print off a couple hundred fliers and post them near major bike spots around campus as well as some walking signs. The fliers would have information to direct them pennyfarther.com (QR code, link) , a cheap domain name that can be used to host some content. This can simply be a redirect, or if the ideas and people power grow, a viral video can be created to add another dimension to the project. The video is not laid out, that is where I need additional help.

If we are to expect people to visit these links on the go, they must have the correct phone or access to a computer shortly after seeing a flier (potentially for the 50th time). Also recent studies have found that most people do not know how to use QR codes. Most believe they can simply use their built in camera app to use them. Because of this, the areas we target on campus should be near the engineering building as well as the computer science building.  Taking for granted that these students would be most likely to know how to use the technology.

The other part of the campaign would be a Bascom Hilly display. After going through the correct channels at the Bascom Hill office and setting the date, the bottom third of the hill would be reserved for a display of crushed bikes. Near the bikes there would be the logo and slogan again with the information needed to access the site. The bikes would be gotten from the free section of craigslist and I am sure if I ask the bike shops for wrecked or old bikes, they would donate them and write it off their taxes.

In order to work with the office, I need to be apart of a student org. At first I found this to be problematic, but realized it would be in my benefit. By working with a student org, I have a bunch of individuals who know biking best. They know where the most bikes are as well as what intersections are the worst. I hope to get in contact with a student org and employ their help and their status as a student org.

I have a few months to further organize the campaign if I choose to. There are minimal bikers in the winter, so a campaign now would not have much effect. It would be more effective to start in April, after spring break.

It was interesting getting in contact with government agencies for information. There is a lot of information there that I didn’t realize that I had access too. It is a great place to start research and see how things are in your area compared to others.

To be honest I don’t find myself to be very creative; but nonetheless I found this project was very interesting. I ended up educating myself on biking around Madison and feel slightly safer doing so.

Madison Bike Safety Campaign

It is my third year at UW-Madison, and every year I have seen many near misses and unfortunate accidents. There are of course rules and regulations in place to protect the safety of bicyclists.  There are also resources in place to inform pedestrians, motorists, and bicyclists. On top of that, Madison has worked on creating separate lanes for bicyclists. And still, there are many close accidents and collisions every year.

With the resources already there, I have been trying to determine what I can do that would have an effect. I have contemplated an informational session, that would most likely not attract many people unless there was an incentive. This incentive could range from food to free safety gear or even simply a 25% off coupon (or similar) at a bike shop on bike accessories.

As I mentioned, there are a lot of resources already available. The problem is getting people to access them. Realizing this, I would like to work on an ad campaign. Something simple, somewhat vague, and eye catching. This could range from strategic/creative sign placement, to chalking/tagging around bike heavy areas. If the means come through and with a brilliant enough idea, I would love to work on a viral ad campaign that will direct people to safety and informational resources as well as the laws around the area.

Any campaign would not start til near spring, when bikes become in heavy use again.

I would love if people could give me any ideas they have for ad campaigns.

Thanks for reading!