WSW ‘SLOW DOWN’

in Cause

December 13, 2017

Gemba slows down for Wanderers

For the past two A-League seasons, the NSW Government has leveraged its partnership with the Western Sydney Wanderers to push a tactical ‘Slow Down’ road safety message within the community. Tasked with refreshing the creative whilst maintaining the integrity of the campaign, Gemba recruited some of football’s youngest fans to deliver this important message. ‘Slow Down for Wanderers’ is a campaign that is set to capture the hearts of even the most hardened sports fan.

With their families and Wanderer’s star players watching on, fans aged 6 – 15 learnt, practiced and performed a new rendition on a club-favorite chant; “Who do you sing for?”. The lyrics had an important twist – “Who do you slow down for?” – and features kids naming specific people in their lives who they want kept safe. The song finishes with a powerful close up of one of the youngest fans where she asks drivers to “Slow down for me”.

The direct and personal nature of the video aims to expose a hole in the defense of many road-users, where denial and optimism-bias/deflection is often the response when confronted with messages around road safety and speeding. Gemba focused on appealing to the distinct community of sports fans in Western Sydney, leveraging football as one of the ties bind the community together.

The road safety partnership with the Western Sydney Wanderers supports the NSW Government’s ‘Towards Zero’ vision of a future free of road trauma and the ultimate goal of zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, The Hon. Melinda Pavey, joined Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres and Western Sydney Wanderers CEO John Tsatsimas to announce the new campaign. Mrs. Pavey said despite our continued efforts to slow people down, too many motorists are still putting their own lives and the lives of others at risk.

“Speeding remains the leading cause of deaths and serious injuries on NSW roads. Already this year, 144 people have been killed in crashes because someone was driving too fast and a further 384 were seriously injured in the first three months of 2017,” said Mrs. Pavey.

“Every one of us needs to take responsibility for the speed at which we travel when getting behind the wheel. With the help of the Western Sydney Wanderers, we are working towards bringing the ‘Slow Down’ message closer to home.

Mr. Ayres said the NSW Government was proud to continue its partnership with the Western Sydney Wanderers on this life-saving speeding campaign. “Road trauma is having long-lasting effects across the state including parts of Western Sydney,” Mr. Ayres said. “Anything we can do to stop dangerous behavior on our roads would help to bring the road toll closer Towards Zero.”

The campaign will feature across the Wanderers’ social channels from December 9th to the end of the regular season and will also be shown in-stadia on the big screen. Supporting assets include: website digital assets, signage, stadium LED and print program ads.