U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Marketing Your Highway Safety Campaign

NCJ Number
195909
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 69 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2002 Pages: 30-31
Author(s)
Rodney W. Brewer
Editor(s)
Charles E. Higginbotham
Date Published
July 2002
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article reviews various marketing tools and rules instrumental in promoting highway safety or traffic enforcement campaigns.
Abstract
Aggressive traffic enforcement campaigns have been known for their ability to deter motor vehicle crashes and crash-related deaths and injuries on highways worldwide. This article discusses how law enforcement agencies can do a better job of promoting their specific traffic enforcement campaigns to the motoring public through a review of some fundamental marketing tools and rules. Five marketing strategies are presented. First, advertising, known as the best way to reach the public, comes in two forms, earned and paid. Earned advertising is positive public exposure requiring no monetary payment and paid advertising is media exposure that is financially underwritten. Second, the creation of a police agency Web site is seen as a versatile and effective media conveying information to many people. Third, partnerships with the local community act as force multipliers and increase the effectiveness of their enforcement strategy. Fourth, partnering with major sporting events provides a creative forum to deliver highway safety information and promote enforcement. Lastly, less conventional means for marketing highway safety can include: company newsletters, telephone hold messages, and T-shirt giveaways and school visits.