Objective

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) conducted an intensive pedestrian crash analysis that revealed alarming statistics: more than 3,000 pedestrians are hit each year by drivers in Chicago and an average of 55 people die each year in pedestrian-vehicle crashes. CDOT began developing an aggressive citywide pedestrian plan in June 2011 to combat these collisions. To create real, systemic change, however, CDOT needed a comprehensive public awareness campaign to educate and inform Chicago drivers and pedestrians.

Action

CG&A worked with CDOT to develop a hard-hitting integrated communications campaign that saturated high-crash areas with messages and images to provoke both pedestrians and drivers and to promote safe behavior.

CG&A created an advertising and publicity campaign with the theme “It’s Up To You” to call attention to the responsibility of being conscious of pedestrian safety in Chicago. A unique installment of 32 mannequins along Wacker Drive was used to kick-off the campaign. Each mannequin wore a shirt reading, “One of 32 pedestrians killed last year in Chicago.” The installation provided a point of public engagement for the campaign, igniting conversations online, offline and in the media.

In addition to this innovative installation, campaign elements included a campaign website, CTA transit ads, ads installed on solar trash-compactors throughout the central business district, thermal street applications near parking lots in crash-heavy areas and crosswalk safety flags at some of the city’s most dangerous intersections on Chicago’s west and south sides.

The campaign launched in October 2011 with a press conference attended by CDOT Commissioner Gabe Klein, aldermen and representatives from the Chicago Police Department and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Results

The pedestrian safety campaign launch received widespread media attention from major Chicago and national outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, MSNBC, ABC 7, FOX Chicago, CBS 2, WGN, NBC 5 and FM News 101.1. The mannequin installation also produced extensive social media buzz, generating hundreds of positive Twitter and Facebook posts, in addition to thousands of Wacker Drive pedestrians who stopped to read the shirts and take photos with the mannequins. After the launch, the mannequins were installed in stations throughout the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) system to sustain campaign engagement and educate the large audience of Chicago commuters.