A look back at the 2010 North American Safe Boating Campaign ("Wear It!")

1. Rachel Burkholder, Communications Director
National Safe Boating Council

2. 2009 USCG Accident Statistics:2009 USCG Accident Statistics:
Key FindingsKey Findings
Deaths: 736 vs. 709 (in 2008) = 3.81% increase
Drownings: 543 vs. 510 (in 2008) = 6.5% increase
Accidents: 4,730 vs. 4,789 (in 2008) = 1.23% decrease
Injuries: 3,358 vs. 3,331 (in 2008) = 0.81% increase
Almost three-fourths of all fatal boating accident victims
drowned, and of those, eighty-four (84) percent were not
reported as wearing a life jacket.

3. National Campaign: OverviewNational Campaign: Overview
2009: 17 states without “Wear It!”
2010: ALL 50 STATES ARE USING “WEAR IT!”

4. National Campaign: OverviewNational Campaign: Overview
National Safe Boating Week: May 22 – 28, 2010
Events were held all over the country during NSBW,
throughout the summer
Events could be posted on our web site under “Events”
“Wear It Florida”: Life Jackets for Life Tour
May 23 – 27, 2010: started in Jacksonville, ended in
West Palm/Riveria Beach
First year for this – other states in the future?

5. National Campaign: OverviewNational Campaign: Overview
• Social Marketing Efforts:
– Facebook
• NSBC: 297 Fans
• Campaign: 590 Fans
– Twitter
• NSBC: 499 followers
• Campaign: 991 Followers
– YouTube
– Vimeo
– MySpace
– Wikipedia

6. National Campaign: OverviewNational Campaign: Overview
• Media Efforts:
– Press Releases
• In first 24 hours, 69 online news outlets published the
release, representing more than 27.5 million
impressions (potential viewers).
– E-Newsletter Blasts
• Sent to over 22,000 recipients.
• More than 5,000 recipients opened the email,
representing a click rate of 3.4% (more than average).
• Overall, the email drove more than 1,300 unique visitors
to the North American Safe Boating Campaign
• Campaign Outreach Materials:
– Magnetic Postcard
– Talking Points
– Campaign Mailer
– Lenticular Postcard / Poster

7. National Campaign: TraditionalNational Campaign: Traditional
OutreachOutreach
2010 Public Service Announcement

8. National Campaign: NontraditionalNational Campaign: Nontraditional
OutreachOutreach
• “The Life Jacket
Safety Dance” uses
Facebook Connect
to customize your
own video
• The entire
promotion for this
project has been
viral

9. National Campaign: ContestsNational Campaign: Contests
“Be a Survivor: Wear It!” Contest
National Safe Boating Council put together “prize
package” including inflatable life jacket
Contest ran from May 22 – September 6, 2010
Float Yourself Float-O Contest
www.FloatYourself.com

10. ““Be a Survivor: Wear It!”Be a Survivor: Wear It!”
8/4/2010: Lake Mohave, NV 9/4/2010: Off the coast of LA

11. ““Be a Survivor: Wear It!”Be a Survivor: Wear It!”

12. ““Wear It!” Targeted CampaignsWear It!” Targeted Campaigns
“Wear It Tennessee!” – 3rd
year
“Wear It Michigan!” – 2nd
year
“Wear It New York!”
8th
in drownings in 2008
9th
in accidents in 2008
Focus on experiential marketing, educating and
promoting (inflatable) life jackets

13. Inflatable Life Jacket World Record EventInflatable Life Jacket World Record Event
Inflatable Life Jacket World Record Day
Held on Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 11:00 EDT / 8:00 PDT
 1,154 participants
Goal: Promote life jacket wear, specifically inflatable life jackets,
and general boating safety
www.ReadySetInflate.com
User-friendly format for Event
Organizers/Media/Educational
Component:
 Join an Event/Organize an Event
 Media Section
 Videos/Photo Galleries
 RESOURCES for Event Organizers

14. Inflatable Life Jacket Education KitInflatable Life Jacket Education Kit
Kit is intended to educate about inflatable life jackets
Kit Includes:
Flip Chart
1 Suspender inflatable life jacket and 1 belt-pack inflatable life
jacket and extra cylinders for demo
Educational DVD/Sample PSAs
Additional supporting materials (posters, reading materials, etc.)
The Kit is available for purchase from the NSBC for $225
(including shipping and handling)

15. North AmericanNorth American
Safe Boating Campaign SupportSafe Boating Campaign Support
Free Resources, including brochures, posters, and
stickers are available for your campaign efforts
The NSBC offers an array of paid resources for your
“Wear It!” campaign

16. National Safe Boating Council
Rachel Burkholder, Communications Director
outreach@safeboatingcouncil.org
www.SafeBoatingCouncil.org / www.SafeBoatingCampaign.com