The 2012 Parent Campaign for the “35-50 year parent with pre-licensed children” demographic.
This campaign is targeted at parents of teens 13-15 years of age. This is an effort to help the parent identify what driver education is and how it has changed, especially in the last 15 years. It is billboard driven with additional internet ads that send parents to
WhyDriveWithEd for an internet slideshow that confronts stereotypes and incorrect assumptions about how novice drivers should learn to drive.
The 16 slide slideshow introduces:
- Ed” the new iconic symbol for the ODOT-Approved Driver Education Program. This Dilbert-style character represents a cool and fashionably “edgy” instructor, who should appeal to the demographic age group. Any similarity to driver education program manager, William Warner, is purely coincidental.
- Preconceptions that parents may hold about how their children should approach the driving task. While the slideshow does not provide “answers” it does raise issues and questions that should invoke parent engagement at least conceptually in the value of driver education for their teen.
- Current statistical information is given throughout the slideshow by Ed who “pops up” on certain slides with additional information and insight.
- A not-so-subtle theme of “moving toward independence from parent” is implied throughout the entire slideshow; a selling point for the “taxi-cab” parent. However, there are strong sub-themes that it is correctly developed independence that is the goal and not just freedom from parents.
- A map of all of the ODOT-Approved Driver Education Providers in the state. At the end of the slideshow, opportunity is given for the parent to “click to find an Approved Provider near you.”
In addition to the parent campaign, “Ed” will become part of the new icon for an “ODOT-Approved” program. No school will be able to use “Ed” unless they are a recognized approved provider with ODOT-TSD.