Should audiences be laughing or crying when using digital or traditional media?

This research addressed a gap in knowledge through an assessment of individuals’ responses to fear- and humour-based road safety messages delivered through traditional or digital message mediums. A novel, transdisciplinary approach was used to measure message effectiveness, based on both self-report survey measures and behaviour-based social media analytic tools (i.e. social media listening).

The overarching aim was to determine the effectiveness of different types of advertising campaigns as a key strategy in Australian road safety authorities’ investments in road safety countermeasures. Specifically, this research:

1. Evaluated the effectiveness of messages delivered through traditional and digital message media;
2. Evaluated the relative effectiveness of fear and humour-based campaigns across the aforementioned message platforms; and consequently
   
3. Enhanced methodological robustness in the field so as to better understand the ‘true’ impact of road safety campaigns on road users’ attitudes and behaviours.