Content Analysis of the ‘It Can Wait’ Campaign

Content Analysis of the ‘It Can Wait’ Campaign
Introduction
Distracted driving is a major challenge and a serious safety concern among motorists, pedestrians, and other road users. According to a study published by the University of North Texas Health Science Center in 2010, texting while driving accounted for 16,000 fatalities from 2001 to 2007 in the United States (Smiley, 2018). The upsurge realized from the University of North Texas Health Science Center’s 2010 informed AT&T’s decision to launch an interventional campaign against distracted driving. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that crashes caused by distracted driving killed approximately 3,100 people and injured about 424,000 in 2019 in the U. S. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). The shocking revelations from the report further indicate that 1 in 5 of those who lost their lives in distracted driving crashes was not in vehicles. They were outside a vehicle, either riding their bikes or walking. Other agencies echoing the need for implementing an effective intervention against distracted driving was the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s report in 2016 showing that distracted driving accidents led to 3,450 fatalities and related injuries to over 390,000 people (Schroeder et al., 2018). A subsequent survey conducted by NHTSA in 2020 further indicated that over 3,000 people lost their lives in car crashes caused by distracted driving (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, n.d.).
Distracted driving refers to an individual’s engagement in other activities that divert their attention and concentration from driving. Such activities include texting or talking on the phone, eating and drinking, using the navigation system, and even talking to other people in the vehicle while driving. The outlined activities take the driver’s attention from effective execution of safe driving, thus increasing the likelihood of car crashes or endangerment to motorists, passengers, and other road users.
The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) made efforts towards raising awareness against texting while driving and is gaining recognition across the country for its impact on changing the risk driving behavior. Informed by the negative implications of distracted driving across the country’s roads, AT&T embarked on a massive advertising campaign in 2010 dubbed ‘It Can Wait’ to combat the risky behavior (Smiley, 2018). The ‘It Can Wait’ campaign has since undergone various transitions to accommodate the emerging trends in technological advances, accounting for the increased use of phones while behind the wheel for both young and older drivers. The messaging approach embraced in the campaign has equally shifted over the 12 years due to the increasing use of smartphones and now raises awareness about all forms of distracted driving.
Despite undergoing these transitions, the ‘It Can Wait’ campaign reflects meaningful use of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) behind its messaging approach to influence a positive behavioral change among drivers across the stated age divide. The campaign’s efficacy is thus dependent on its ability to instill positive attitudes toward safe driving behaviors and create an equally positive subjective norm by establishing a social narrative against the use of mobile devices while driving. Provided herein is a content analysis of the ‘It Can Wait’ campaign, highlighting its application of the underlying principles of the theory of reasoned action in its messaging and an evaluation of its efficacy based on the analysis of selected literature on the underlying attitudes and beliefs behind distracted driving in the United States.
Literature Review
Theoretical Framework
According to the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), an individual’s behavior is dictated by their intention to perform it (Silverman et al., 2016). Silverman et al. (2016) further posits that the intention to perform the identified behavior is a function of two fundamental elements, a person’s attitude towards the behavior and the subjective norms. A positive attitude towards a particular behavior coupled with positive subjective norms leads to greater control over the behavior and subsequent reinforcement of the intention to perform the behavioral change (Silverman et al., 2016).
Campaign’s Background
AT&T launched the ‘It Can Wait’ campaign in 2010 following an upsurge in the number of distracted driving-related accidents leading to thousands of deaths and injuries across the nation’s roads CITATION Smi181 \l 1033 (Smiley, 2018). The launching of the campaign came three years after the release of the first IPhone into the American market. Texting while driving was identified as the predominant cause of distracted driving especially among the young drivers. According to Ryan Luckey, assistant vice president of corporate brand marketing at AT&T, the campaign initially targeted raising the awareness of the company’s employees and its affiliate retail stores on the dangers of texting while driving CITATION Smi181 \l 1033 (Smiley, 2018). However, the campaign quickly turned into a nationwide advertising campaign spanning across online advertising, TV, radio, and Print media CITATION Smi181 \l 1033 (Smiley, 2018).
Attitudes and Behaviors towards Distracted Driving
A survey conducted by NHTSA in 2015 on distracted driving attitudes and behaviors across the United States’ roadways indicates that over 50% of drivers who talk on the phone while behind the wheel do not believe that the activity affects their driving performance (Schroeder et al., 2018). The survey also revealed that 56% of the respondents continue to drive while talking on the phone, with 20% of them saying that they were distracted when driving while on the phone and 1% drifting off their respective lanes (Schroeder et al., 2018). The report further states that 4% of drivers believe that they do not lose focus and are more alert when driving while on the phone (Silverman et al., 2016). Passengers on a vehicle driven by a distracted driver also shared their perceptions, with 65% of them saying they would feel unsafe if the driver was on the phone while driving, and 67% of the respondents stated that they would say something to such drivers.
A population-based survey by Shokri et al. (2017) investigates the differences between drivers’ beliefs on cellphone use while driving and shows that the benefits of using one’s phone while behind the wheel outweigh its dangers. The survey recommends directing more effort and attention towards lowering the perceived merits of cellphone use while driving and outstanding the threats of the risky driving behavior (Shokri et al., 2017). Basch et al. (2019) study reveals that 95.2% of licensed student drivers engage in distracted driving behaviors, with 30.7% admitting to glancing, posting, or reading updates on their social media platforms CITATION Bas19 \l 1033 (Basch, 2019). Approximately 70% of student drivers make or answer phone calls while driving, with over 50% texting and 43.3% glancing at cell phone notification (Basch et al., 2019). An impressive 91.5% of the respondents believe that hands-free driving is the best solution for safe driving (Basch et al., 2019). However, only 67.9% confirmed that they often use a hands-free device while driving. The survey also reveals that students driving in urban areas have a higher likelihood of engaging in distracted driving (Basch et al., 2019). The study recommends developing and implementing effective interventions targeting adolescents to avoid such behaviors as they transition into adulthood.
Distracted driving among older adults is also on the rise due to the increasing use of technology across the aging population in the United States (Hill et al., 2017). A research brief published by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in 2015 shows that approximately 60% of drivers aged 65 years and above engage in cellphone use while driving (Hill et al., 2017). More than a quarter of drivers within the same age bracket engage in distracted driving while having a minor on board (Hill et al., 2017). The research brief further shows that 32% of the drivers engaging in distracted behaviors have talked over the phone while children younger than 11 years are on board (Hill et al., 2017). They make the phone calls are made either via hands-free or hand-held devices. Using either hand-free or hand-held devices in talking over the phone while driving in the company of children aged between 12 to 17 years shows a higher prevalence, with 42% of the distracted older drivers performing the risky behavior (Hill et al., 2017). The research brief presses the need for effective intervention to curb the rising rate of distracted driving among older adults, emphasizing their increasing population and the effects of age-associated physiologic changes on their driving (Hill et al., 2017).
Neuroth (2021) states that most young drivers use a hand-held cellphone while behind the wheel, with 95% of young drivers reading messages while driving. The pilot study indicates that only 43% of young drivers use hands-free devices to send messages, while 30% use the devices for reading their texts. Participants in hand-held cellphone use while driving also seemed unsure of its effect on their driving abilities and the legal provisions for hands-free messaging behaviors. Young drivers engage in hand-held cellphone use while driving even though they know it is not safe. Hill et al. (2015) also finds a high prevalence of distracted driving among young drivers, with over 90% of student drivers participating in the research study admitting to cellphone use while driving. The study also finds that student drivers in college who have higher confidence in their driving skills and ability to multitask than other drivers’ abilities have higher probabilities of engaging in distracted driving (Hill et al., 2015). Student drivers who have encountered or witnessed distracted driving behaviors are also more likely to engage in the same (Hill et al., 2015).
Carney et al. (2015) found that distracted driving, such as attending to passengers and cellphone use while behind the wheel, accounted for a high percentage of road departure crashes on American roadways. Cellphone use while driving resulted in longer reaction times leading to such crashes (Carney et al., 2015). In studying distracted driving behaviors related to cellphone use, Engelberg et al. (2015) finds that overconfidence in one’s driving abilities and the obligation to take work-related phone calls are key contributors to engaging in risky behavior among middle-aged adults.
Method
The theory of Reasoned Action will form the basis for the content analysis of the ‘It Can Wait’ campaign messaging approach towards determining its efficacy in addressing the influence of the predictors of distracted driving highlighted in the literature review. The ‘It Can Wait’ campaign has gone through four transitional phases, with each using a unique messaging approach to persuade the target audience against distracted driving. Hence, qualitative content analysis will be conducted on each of the four phases to accurately evaluate the campaign’s efficacy in promoting positive behavioral change among drivers. Purposive sampling of the content in each of the phases will be conducted to determine whether or not it addresses the key elements of the TRA. Since the four phases consist of TV spots and short documentary films with unique messages to targeted audience, the sampled content for analysis will include both the visual and audio messaging in each of the campaign’s phases. The campaign uses both mainstream and social media platforms to present its messages to the target audience for each phase. The content analysis will focus on both the verbal and visual elements of the messages presented in each phase to determine their influence on the attitudes and social norms concerning distracted driving among the target audiences.
In essence, the analysis of each of the phases o...