AMA/BIGRS kick starts message testing ahead of mass media campaign

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) has engaged stakeholders to commence the message testing process as part of preparations towards Accra's road safety mass media campaign.

The campaign, which is expected to be launched in October, forms part of ongoing efforts by the AMA-BIGRS to discourage motorists from speeding in order to reduce the increasing rate of road traffic injuries and fatalities in the city.

Mr Osei Kufuor, the Coordinator of the AMA-BIGRS, said the message testing would be conducted by the Consumer Insights Consult and is targeted at drivers who ply the streets of Accra at least four times in a week.

He said the message testing process would take 10 sampled road safety adverts through targeted audience who constituted the focus groups to discuss which one would be chosen and adapted into the Ghanaian system.

He said speeding has been identified as one of the major causes of road crashes in the city, hence the focus for the mass media campaign.

Mrs Nathalie Osei-Poku, a representative of the Consumer Insights Consult, said the messages would be conducted using qualitative research methods to ensure accuracy.

"There would be 12 focus groups with 10 respondents each, the first part would be the playing of commercials and rating of instruments using a five-point scale. We then do the overall rating and then preference. Motorists would be selected from various parts of Accra for the testing,” she said.

Superintendent Sasu Mensah of the Accra Central Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate admonished said the campaign should be backed with the enforcement of the road safety regulations so as to achieve the needed results.

“This would send a strong signal to most road traffic offenders who give various excuses for speeding,” he said.

During the meeting, stakeholders were given the opportunity to watch 10 road safety adverts in English and Twi to solicit their views after which one would be chosen to fit the Ghanaian setting for a successful mass media campaign.