WCB social marketing campaign calls for action on workplace safety

Sometimes, no news is good news.

That’s the idea at the core of a newspaper ad campaign unfolding this week across Nova Scotia, as part of the latest social marketing efforts from the province’s Workers’ Compensation Board.

The print ads in various sections show spaces “left blank” because the injuries were prevented, and therefore, didn’t create a story. The “unreported news” starts appearing this week in daily newspapers across Nova Scotia.

Like the rest of the WCB’s social marketing efforts, the idea is based in compelling market research. Most working Nova Scotians believe there is nothing they can do to make their workplaces safer. According to a recent poll only 43% of employed Nova Scotians said they felt there was something they could do to make their workplaces safer.

Looking at the findings more closely, about 40% of workers, 50% of managers, and 46% of business owners said they could take action on safety in their workplaces.

Other research shows more than half of Nova Scotians consider workplace injury an inevitable part of life, compared to just over 30% who feel the same way about injuries caused by drinking and driving. This disturbing suggestion of complacency about workplace safety underlines the culture change needed in Nova Scotia.

“Safety is everyone’s responsibility,” says Shelley Rowan, Vice President of Strategy and Employee Engagement with the WCB. “Everyone in a workplace has a responsibility for preventing workplace injury. Our new campaign aims to inspire action in the workplace. With an injury every 15 minutes and incredible human and economic toll, Nova Scotia needs action on workplace injury.”

Television spots introduced earlier this year feature stories of safety hazards that are being ignored. A protruding nail, a misplaced bucket, and a broken ladder are literally calling out for someone to do something about them before they cause an injury.

Interactive ads running on popular websites allow the user to click on the hazard to fix it – for example, to move the bucket or to fix the ladder. If they do nothing, the injury takes place. If they take care of the hazard, nothing happens. Radio will follow this summer.

“By applying very human traits to inanimate objects, like a bucket and ladder, the message is presented in a direct and emotional way,” said Cliff Thompson, Extreme’s associate creative director for the campaign. “When trying to inspire people to take action in their workplace, the more straightforward the approach, the better.”

In Nova Scotia, the campaign is backed by a full interactive online environment at worksafeforlife.ca. Workers and employers can take safety into their own hands in an innovative environment that includes activities, downloads, and information. There’s also a blog and e-cards based on safety and return to work messages.

The integrated multi-media campaign was developed by Extreme Group, and in partnership with the WCB’s counterparts in Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. Media planning and buying handled by Cossette Atlantic.

The 2008 general awareness television and web campaign can be viewed here.