A team of six George Mason University students created a social media test campaign against texting and driving. With a goal of receiving at least 100 pledges to not text and drive over Thanksgiving break from Mason students, the team created social media graphics for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to spread their message. This is their final report.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SOCIAL GOOD
DRIVE FOR YOUR
LIFE THIS
THANKSGIVING
BREAK: DON'T BE A
#PHONEYDRIVER
C O M M 3 8 4 : P R & S O C I A L M E D I A
F a l l 2 0 1 9
# M i m s P R
MADI WIERNUSZ
PREPARED BY

2. In Virginia, a driver can be pulled over if he or she is suspected of texting
while driving, and that driver is liable to receive a fine. Despite the law,
this issue is a leading cause of vehicle accidents in Virginia. Amongst the
violators are teenagers and young adults, specifically college students. In
a 2012 University of Michigan study, 26 percent of students admitted to
reading or sending a text at least once every time that they drive. Not
every ride was fatal, but if those people continue this habit or that
number increases, one day it could be the last ride for them or another.
As the largest public university in Virginia, George Mason University is
well-equipped with drivers and pedestrians. With a high volume of
students commuting to campus via car, Mason is susceptible to hosting
violators. Since almost all students walk around campus in some capacity,
there is also great risk for them to fall victim to texting and driving,
meaning they could be injured or killed. In turn, Mason students, both
drivers and pedestrians, deserve to understand the risks, signs and
solutions to texting and driving. This is the place to encourage change.
INTRODUCTION
This document outlines the Drive For Your
Life social media test campaign run by six
George Mason University students against
texting and driving.
THE PROBLEM
P A G E 2

3. Texting and driving has garned attentionon local, state and national levels.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
P A G E 3
In 2016, 13,000 drivers received tickets for
texting and driving in Fairfax County.
While sending or reading a text message,
drivers take their eyes off the road for five
seconds.
If traveling 55 MPH, this is equivalent to
driving the length of a football field.
In 2019, Virginia lawmakers tightened
restrictions against use of phones while
driving.
February 2019: Use of handheld mobile
devices while driving is banned.
Drivers can utilize their phones to use
certain features, such as a GPS.
State
Local
Corporations started distracted driving
campaign, such as AT&T's It Can Wait.
Nine out of 10 people use their smartphone
while driving.
81 percent of people say they text and drive
57 percent of people are more likely to stop
driving distracted if pressured by a friend or
passenger.
National

4. We wanted to find out more about Mason students' experience, or lack
thereof, with texting and driving. We created a four question survey with
three yes/no questions and one open-ended question.
PRIMARY RESEARCH
P A G E 4
1) Are you a Mason student?
This is a baseline question to keep our
focus on the primary audience, who is
Mason students.
2) Do you text and drive while you're
alone? Compared to the following
question, we want to find out if people are
more or less inclined to text and drive
while others are present.
3) Do you text and drive while others are
in the car?
Compared to the previous question, we
want to find out if people are more or less
inclined to text and drive while others are
present.
4) Where do you keep your phone while
driving?
As the only open-ended question, we want
to determine the different places that
drivers could keep their phones while
driving.
From my distribution of the survey, I received 15 responses. The totals for questions one
through three are:
1) 15 yes - 0 no - 100 percent are Mason students
2) 10 yes - five no - 66.67 percent text and drive while alone
3) Seven yes - eight no - 46.67 percent text and drive while others are in the car
11 people said cup holder;
Two people said passenger seat;
One person said phone stand; and
One person said on their lap.
In addition, only four participants selected no for both question two and three, therefore
60 percent of participants text and drive while in the car.
The answers for question four varied:

5. P A G E 5
LONG TERM GOAL
OBJECTIVE
STRATEGY
The goal of the campaign is to convince
Mason students that texting and
driving is a toxic behavior, so we should
rid the streets of drivers who text and
driving.
Gain 100 commitments through the
pledge from Mason students to not
text and drive during the
Thanksgiving weekend from Nov. 27
through Dec. 1.
Target the emotions of the audience,
especially grief; and
Utilize peer pressure

6. Post on at least one social media platform each day.
Create a pledge.
Start #PhoneyDriver.
Create consequence video.
Screen-record a conversation with a loved one.
Create an "I drive for..." video.
Based on the crafted schedule, there is one graphic readily available
to be posted by all team members. Members are also encouraged to
post original content as well.
This two-part pledge provides participants the opportunity to read
facts about texting and driving as well as gain ideas on how to be a
safer driver.
Used in all posts, this hashtag is a pun that sticks with consumers.
The #PhoneyDriver tips are specific actions drivers can do to avoid
the urge to use their phone while driving.
This video explicitly shows a car accident that occurs as a result of
texting and driving.
This portrays a conversation with "mom" and shows a parents want
for their children to make it home safe from school.
Drawing heavily on emotions, this highlights the people and things
that drivers go see.
TACTICS
P A G E 6

7. TASK SCHEDULE
P A G E 7
DATE: The day that the content is supposed to be posted.
PLATFORM: We utilized Twitter, Facebook (FB) and Instagram (Insta).
TOPIC OF POST: This is the generic subject of that day's post.
RESPONSIBILITY: This is the team member who was responsible for
creating the visual content and sharing that with the team members.
NOTE: Each person was responsible for posting each day, In addition to the
schedule, team members were also encouraged to create and share their own
content each day.
The official test campaign ran from November 11 to December 2. Below
is the task schedule until the start of the Thanksgiving weekend on
November 27. After November 26, team members were simply
responsible for their own continual promotion of the pledge.

8. TEST CAMPAIGN,
"I DRIVE FOR..." VIDEO
P A G E 8
Drawing heavily on emotions, this highlights the people and things that
drivers go see. Examples include: my family, best friend and pets.

9. TEST CAMPAIGN,
CONSEQUENCE VIDEO
P A G E 9
This video explicitly shows a car accident that occurs as a result of
texting and driving.

10. TEST CAMPAIGN,
CONVERSATION WITH MOM
P A G E 1 0
This portrays a conversation with "mom" and shows a parents want for
their children to make it home safe from college.

11. TEST CAMPAIGN, TWITTER
P A G E 1 1
AT&T's distracted
driving campaign
replied to my tweet
with a GIF.
Nov. 11: The start of
the campaign
accompanied by my
original graphic.

12. TEST CAMPAIGN, TWITTER
P A G E 1 2
Nov. 12: The pledge
(pictured below) was
officially launched. At
the end of the test
campaign, we
received a total of
213 responses.

13. TEST CAMPAIGN, TWITTER
P A G E 1 3
Three #PhoneyDriver
tips were posted on
Twitter to give drivers
ideas on how to avoid
using their phone while
driving.

14. TEST CAMPAIGN, TWITTER
P A G E 1 4
Nov. 21: The screen-
recording video was
launched on multiple
social media platforms.
Nov. 27: The "I drive
for..." video was
launched on multiple
social media platforms.

15. TEST CAMPAIGN, INSTAGRAM
P A G E 1 5
Two graphics were
created specifically for
Instagram stories. In
addition, I posted a
screen-recording to
show how easy it is to
take the pledge.

16. TEST CAMPAIGN, FACEBOOK
P A G E 1 6
Nov. 22: The
consequence video was
posted on Facebook.
The pledge was
continually pushed across
multiple platforms.

17. ANALYSIS
P A G E 1 7
This team put in significant effort to make this campaign a reality, and
that effort was accompanied by both pros and cons.
LESSONS LEARNED
PROS
Organization: We had a set schedule from the
beginning. With one exception, the team followed the
plan and executed when needed.
Cohesiveness: A color scheme of blue and black,
specifically royal blue, was assigned on the first day.
The graphics were created by different people, but
having this kept the unity.
CONS
Individual contribution: Each person contributed to the
final product, but some contributed significantly more
than others. Plus, one graphic was missed, which
resulted in one lost day of promotion.
Topic of campaign: Our agreed upon topic was texting
and driving; however, a lot of the content was geared
towards distracted driving in general.
1) Constant communication is necessary.
2) Draft a deatiled plan - and follow it!
3) Hold other team members accountable.

18. 1) Focus the conversation.
Our focus was originally texting and driving;
however, throughout the campaign, some posts
focused on distracted driving in general. I believe
the campaign would be more effective if it focused
only on distracted driving as a whole. With a
broader category of topics, this presents more
opportunities for the content creator to reach and
appeal to a wider audience
2) Adjust the pledge to make it more shareable.
The current pledge is effective because it makes
people aware of the campaign as well as the dangers
of texting and driving. Once people take it, though,
it is easy to forget. To give the pledge more social
currency, the end could include an "I took the
pledge" or "I drive for..." graphic to be shared on
social media.
3) Partner with larger distracted driving campaigns.
Upon posting and tagging @ItCanWait, AT&T's
campaign against distracted driving, on Twitter, the
account replied and asked us to take their pledge.
To give the campaign more social currency, we could
reach out to this campaign individually to see if we
could partner with their campaign. Essentially, they
could share ours while we share theirs.
PROPOSALS
P A G E 1 8
This campaign has the capability to take off on a larger scale, but it will
require more coordination. I propose the following actions to make it
happen.