In 2011, the European Union introduced mandatory daytime running lights at the front of the vehicle on all new cars in a bid to improve safety by making vehicles more visible.

The initiative differentiated itself from the previous Danish standard by which, since 1989, daytime running lights were mandatory by law, effected in the form of dipped headlights always being switched on in Danish cars. Therefore Danish drivers did not have to worry about when darkness began to set in.

However, with the new use of daytime running lights many Danish motorists have had to get used to manually switching on dipped headlights. Even though many cars have light sensors that detect changes in brightness, some conditions, such as fog, heavy rain or snow are not registered. The change did not go unnoticed by the Danish motorists. FDM experienced a high number of enquiries concerning the matter, especially on Facebook. Many of FDM’s members had had experiences, where they could not see other cars on the road because taillights of the car ahead were not on. Having logged the enquiries, FDM wanted to achieve two things: to inform motorists of the new rules concerning taillights, and to show club members that their concerns were being taken seriously. Therefore a social media campaign was initiated.

FDM created five images to be shared on Facebook and Twitter, each showing the rear end of a car. Two featured cars in the dark, with the remaining three showing situations with poor visibility: fog, heavy rain and snow. The text on each image read ‘Remember Your Taillights’. FDM also created the hashtag #husklyset (Remember your Lights) to be used on Twitter. A premise for using social media for the campaign was that FDM would participate in the dialogue that followed. An employee was therefore assigned to monitor the conversation and answer users’ questions.

The campaign proved hugely popular, with the first image being shared 2,829 times and reaching 337,602 people, more than 10 times the amount of followers the FDM Facebook page had at the time. The campaign thus illustrated how a strong social media presence can allow an organisation to broaden its communication.

CONTACT: bbc@fdm.dk