Mark Chanski, Boating Education Specialist, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection
Joleane King, Boating Safety Awareness Multimedia Campaign Manager, California Division of Boating & Waterways
The NASBLA Education Committee Marketing & Outreach Charge 3 recommends the analysis of USCG Performance Report Part II and boating accident data, comparing the data curves. Using accident data to drive boating safety outreach methods has resulted in reduced accident numbers in California. Mark Chanski will present sample data curves and Joleane King will discuss how DBW has successfully combined accident/demographic data with media market targeting for the most efficient use of limited
outreach funds.
1. OUTREACH EVALUATION CHALLENGE
Linking accident statistics to successful state outreach
efforts
MARK CHANSKI and JOLEANE KING
.The 56th Annual Conference - Wichita, Kansas
11. The Outreach Evaluation Challenge:
GETTING THE MESSAGE TO THEM
USING A MEDIA FORMAT THE GREATEST
GENERATION USES WILL RESULT IN A POOR ROI IF
YOUR GOAL IS TO REACH GEN Z
GREATEST
GENERATIONBABY BOOMER
GEN XGEN YGEN ZGEN
ALPHA
10
Disagree that deaths are an accurate indicator of the success of a boating education program.
Numbers are too low
Too many outside influences determine if a person dies or not as the result of an accident.
Fatal boating accidents are BAD accidents
Why wait till someone dies
Larger number accidents give a better picture of what is happening
IN THE WORLD OF BOATING ACCIDENTS THE NUMBER OF DEATHS IS SMALL COMPARED TO THE NUMBER OF INJURIES.
IT IS HARD TO BASE THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF A PROGRAM ON 26 DEATHS.
321 OTHER PEOPLE WERE INJURED. THAT IS 321 MORE CHANCES FOR SOMEONE TO PERISH.
USING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS AND INJURIES INCREASES THE POOL OF DATA AND CAN OFFER A BETTER PROSPECTIVE OF THIS ACCIDENT’S DEMOGRAPHICS.
IF A DEATH IS CONSIDERED A BAD INJURY, THEN THE POOL OF DATA CAN BE EXPANDED.
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE AGE OF ALL VICTIMS A BETTER PICTURE WILL DEVELOP.
THIS WILL GIVE A BETTER PICTURE OF WHAT A PROGRAMS TARGET AUDIENCE SHOULD BE.
IF OUR GOAL AS EDUCATORS IS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF BOATING RELATED DEATHS, WE NEED TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS. Because reducing the number of accidents reduces the number of time a person has a chance to die.
In this economic climate, budgets are a primary concern. A program need to have a positive return on investment in order for it to be successful.
In order to have a positive return on investment programs can no longer afford to throw large sums of money at large groups of people. Although this may have been an approach in the past, targeting specific audiences will have a better ROI.
This graph clearly identifies two peaks and an area of natural decline in the number of victims. In this day of age it makes no sense to spend a large amount of time and money targeting an audience that already has a natural declining rate of incidence.
Time and money should be spent targeting the areas that have a rising rate of incidence.
GETTING YOUR MESSAGE TO WIDE TARGET ZONES COULD BE PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE OF GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES.
THE MEDIA FORMATS THAT PEOPLE USE TO GET THEIR INFORMATION VARY DEPENDING ON HOW OLD THEY ARE. THESE GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED TO PROPERLY DISSEMINATE YOUR BOATING SAFETY MESSAGES AND RECEIVE THE HIGHEST ROI POSSIBLE.
CURRENTLY THERE ARE SIX IDENTIFIED GENERATIONS THAT COULD BE BOATING AT ANY GIVEN TIME. BECAUSE EACH GENERATION HAS DEVELOPED PARTICULAR HABITS AND PRACTICES BASED OF THE TECHNOLOGIES AT THE TIME, THEY SEEK AND RECEIVE INFORMATION DIFFERENTLY. THE ONCE A TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED IT IS IMPORTANT TO USE THE PRIMARY MEDIA FORMATS THAT THIS GENERATION UTILIZES. IF THE INCORRECT MEDIA FORMATS ARE CHOSEN, THE ROI WILL BE POOR.
IF THERE IS A NATURAL DECLINE IN THE RATE OF INCIDENCE, TIME, MONEY AND RESOURCES SHOULD BE SPENT AHEAD OF THE PEAK. IN TIMES OF LIMITED BUDGETS AND RESOURCES THIS WILL MAXIMIZE THE ROI.
THE USE THE PROPS AND REFERENCES SHOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE GENERATION. FOR EXAMPLE: NBC TELEVISION'S SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE TV SHOW AIRED “WAYNE’S WORLD” SKITS IN THE LATE 1980’S AND EARLY 1990’S. THIS WAS A TIME WHEN LATE BABY BOOMERS AND EARLY GEN X’ERS WERE COMING OF AGE. ALTHOUGH THE SKITS WERE ENORMOUSLY POPULAR AND THE CHARTERS BECAME POP CULTURE ICONS, THEIR APPEAL MAY BE LOST OUTSIDE OF THESE GENERATIONS.
ALTHOUGH THE TOP TEN REASON FOR BOATING DEATHS AND INJURIES MAY VARY SLIGHTLY FROM YEAR TO YEAR, THESE CAUSES ARE CONSISTENTLY WITHIN THE TOP TEN. THIS CHART CLEARLY IDENTIFIES TWO PEAKS AND A FAIRLY RAPID DECLINE IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE BEING HURT TO SOME DEGREE IN BOATING ACCIDENTS.
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT EACH INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY.