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Students at 12 high schools in southwestern Illinois will participate in a competition to develop unique safe driving campaigns for their school communities based on “Steer Your Own Ride” program criteria created by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) and RADD, the entertainment industry’s non-profit voice for road safety. One school will be selected to receive recognition and prizes, including a live performance by a popular rock band or well-known DJ in 2009.
In addition to developing the “Steer Your Own Ride” theme, logos and imagery, the Kerry Group is promoting the initiative with a multi-media awareness program including 60-second radio spots; remote on-air broadcasts; outdoor boards; website banner ads; a website “splash page” enabling students to download information and graphics; plus collateral including contest rules, criteria and FAQs.
The program is supported by an $83,000 grant from IDOT, with sponsor participation by SWIC and the college’s CHOICE Alcohol, Drug Education and Prevention Program and RADD, a nonprofit organization based in Studio City, California.
Each of the 12 high schools, which will be identified in late November, will receive $500 for students to develop and activate safe driving campaigns in their schools based on “Steer Your Own Ride” criteria. A committee of sponsorship officials will review the campaigns in January, and then identify which school will be selected for recognition and prizes in 2009.
Robert McCann, President of the Kerry Group, said, “There are no losers in the ‘Steer Your Own Ride’ campaign. It is a creative way to directly involve high school students with alcohol awareness and driver safety initiatives to help young drivers makes responsible decisions about drinking and driving. The specific message is to empower students to ‘say no’ to riding with a driver who has been drinking.
“The Kerry Group is very pleased to play a fundamental creative role in developing and managing this highway safety awareness program for IDOT, SWIC, CHOICE and RADD,” McCann said.
The “Steer Your Own Ride: Has Your Driver Been Drinking?” campaign produced by the Kerry Group will launch on November 29 with two weeks of 60-second radio spots and public service announcements on KSLZ-FM “Z107.7” and WHHL-FM “Hot 104.” In addition, “Z107.7” on-air personalities will host live remote broadcasts at St. Claire Square Mall in southwestern Illinois on November 29.
IDOT manages and supports a diversity of programs to promote highway safety and reduce roadway accidents. SWIC is the sixth largest community college in Illinois, with campuses in Belleville, Granite City and Red Bud, plus more than 20 off-campus sites near metro St. Louis, Missouri. RADD is an internationally recognized non-profit organization that empowers celebrities and media partners to create positive attitudes about road safety, advocating the use of designated drivers, safety belts and safe driving through control behind the wheel.
Founded in 1996, The Kerry Group provides clients including Fortune 500 companies, private corporations, colleges and universities with brand engagement programs, guerilla marketing, event-driven promotions, mobile marketing, multi-media advertising, consumer response programs and retail education services, in addition to strategic business-to-business promotions and advertising management services.
The Kerry Group’s clients have included Shell, Pennzoil, Anheuser-Busch Cos., Inc., Citibank, EA Sports, the Missouri Department of Health, St. Louis Community College and 20th Century Fox, among others. The Kerry Group has 24 full-time employees, plus about 50 field personnel working on special programs nationwide.
The Kerry Group headquarters are at 10805 Sunset Office Drive, Suite 415, in suburban St. Louis. For information, please contact Robert McCann, President, or Tom Tipton, Senior Vice President-Client Services, at the Kerry Group by calling 314.822.1711.
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