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Preface
After losing more Marines to motorcycle fatalities in 2008 than they did on the battlefield in Iraq the United States Marine Corps leadership was looking for a new approach to motorcycle safety and awareness.
The Point
- The goal was to reduce motorcycle related fatalities across the Marine Corps by improving rider education and awareness.
- It was necessary to try and fundamentally change the behavior of young Marines, specifically the 18-28 year old audience.
- This would require a comprehensive approach impacting, training, riding habits and equipment use.
Our Story
One Eyed Bird in conjunction with Strategic Action Solutions worked with the Marine Corps to develop an integrated plan centered around a ground breaking film that included brand creation and multi media elements (live events, athlete appearances and a community based website) that would deliver the intended message to young Marine riders in a way that would appeal to their lifestyle.
In the spring of 2009 the ongoing campaign, called Semper Ride, went into production with the cornerstone element being a high impact motorcycle awareness film that could augment with the current training. The action sports style film was not only educational but also highly entertaining and used several of the top professional motorcycle athletes in the world to deliver the intended messaging on a peer-to-peer level while promoting riding.
Premiere events on both coasts followed that created an experiential atmosphere that included the film, live FMX and street freestyle demos and exhibitors related to motorcycle safety and awareness including the Yamaha test ride mobile facility. At the same time several of the athletes from the film were on site to speak with the Marines. By leveraging the sport, the athletes and key messaging we used the lifestyle to not only influence how and where they ride but also their purchasing behavior.
To date the program has played a substantial role in reducing fatalities and has been expanded to include ongoing events at bases in the US and Japan, an informational / community based website, Public Service Announcements and a brand that the Marines are proud of.
The Results
The Semper Ride Campaign played a role in reducing Marine related motorcycle fatalities by 44% in 2009 (as compared to 2008) and created an ongoing brand that will endure for many years to come.
Surveys distributed to collect contact and demographic info at each Semper Ride event reveal very positive feedback to the film’s content, style and understanding of its purpose.
Following are some examples of the project reach and scope:
- 40,000 DVD units distributed throughout the Marine Corps
- Television Distribution includes the Armed Forces Network, the Military Channel and the Pentagon Channel.
- SemperRide.com, a community based informational website provides an ongoing resource for the Marine rider. The site includes forums, bike / gear interaction and description areas, interactive bike selector, videos, athlete blogs and a lot more.
- General Online Distribution of Semper Ride related videos continue to be shown on all major Marine Corps websites, SemperRide.com and have been scattered virally across the Internet.
- Semper Ride events have reached approximately 39,000 Marines at USMC installations across the US and Japan.
- Semper Ride Public Service Announcements have been distributed throughout the military via online efforts, the Armed Forces Network, the Military Channel and Pentagon Channel.