There are over 800 000 drivers in South Africa that use the navigational app Waze to move around the country. The problem is that the app takes the drivers on the fastest route to their destination, and not the safest.
In South Africa, there are over 30 000 hijackings reported in a year, making it the country with the most hijackings around the world. Often, these crimes are violent and dangerous, creating massive problems for not only the commuters, but the police. There simply aren’t enough police to help bring down these numbers, leaving drivers vulnerable and at the mercy of criminals.
The current solution are street signs that are placed in crime hotspots to let drivers know when they are entering a high-risk area. But this effort is too late, only letting drivers know that they are at risk when they are already in the crime hotspot.
Vodacom, one of South Africa’s largest data and mobile telecommunications companies, wanted to find a way to keep our roads safer in a more effective and real-time manner.
But how can Vodacom keep drivers safe using their wide network and data in real-time, while the people are already on their journeys throughout the country?
THE IDEA:
We created the targeted data-driven “ANTI HIJACK ADS”; We bought hundreds of geo-located Waze ads around dangerous roads in South Africa, based on real-time crime data, and turned them into Hijack alerts that let drivers know when they are heading towards a crime hotspot area, and diverted them to safety with a simple tap on the banner.
Describe the Strategy:
As the largest telecommunications and data providers in South Africa, Vodacom didn’t need more awareness or branding. The Vodacom Anti-HiJack Ads idea about turning ads into a utility that can help keep people safe, as Vodacom, through a lens of tech and a wide network coverage is the best poised to do something at scale, and with this immediate impact.
We set out to use our technology and brand to empower South Africans – something we have stood for since our brands inception.
THE EXECUTION
We cross-referenced national police data with car-tracker data and historical reports to determine the roads where most hijack incidents occurred. Once identified, we placed a geo-fence of real-time Waze ads around the most dangerous roads.
The ads were targeted to drivers who approached dangerous roads which alerted them of the possible danger ahead and gave them the option to be rerouted around the crime hotspot without having to change their end destination. The data-driven solution was easily and effortlessly targeted to the user through the mobile app.
The efforts were bolstered by using real-time data to deploy live ads to new hijack zones as they were reported – focusing on high-risk periods and times of day. As the crimes happened, a new geo-fence was created and diverted oncoming drivers around the area at risk.
