Marketing Tools Research From child passenger safety to drunk driving, our NHTSA research covers a variety of topics in the highway traffic safety world. The research found here stems from focus groups held around the United States. If you have any questions regarding the research found here, please contact us. August 2023 Drive Sober Campaign Concept Testing Purpose: To evaluate advertising concepts designed to influence young men (ages 21 to 34 years old) to plan for a sober ride by highlighting that a bad decision to drive after drinking alcohol could result in a DUI. Click here to download report April 2023 Buzzed Driving Prevention Tracking study report for NHTSA’s Buzzed Driving campaign shows how campaign messaging is resonating with the target audience and affecting behaviors around drinking and driving. Click here to download report Drug-Impaired Driving Prevention Tracking study report for NHTSA’s drug-impaired campaign shows how campaign messaging is resonating with the target audience and affecting behaviors related to driving after consuming marijuana. Click here to download report January 2023 Distracted Driving Concept Testing Evaluate how well concepts and message statements communicate the message to avoid driving while being distracted by cellular devices by promoting awareness of enforcement consequences to drivers ages 18-34 years old. Click here to download report. October 2022 Drug-Impaired Driving Concept Test The purpose of this report was to evaluate how well concepts communicate the message to avoid driving after using marijuana by promoting awareness of the enforcement consequences to males ages 18-to 34-years-old. Click here to download report. Distracted Driving Mindset Research This exploratory, qualitative research was designed to understand the mindset of drivers ages 18-34 years old, specifically how they think about distracted driving, potential law enforcement consequences, what shapes their behavior and how to effectively position law enforcement in advertising related to distracted driving. Click here to download report. Qualitative Research on Buzzed Driving Ad Council and agency partners were interested in shifting the dialogue from drunk driving to “buzzed driving” and seeking learnings from a cross cross-cultural audience. Click here to download report. August 2022 ODI National Recall Creative Concept Testing Evaluate how effective three proposed banner ad creative concepts are at getting U.S. vehicle owners to use NHTSA’s online VIN lookup tool (or the SafeCarmobile app). Click here to download report. July 2022 Marijuana Impairment Mindset Research This exploratory, qualitative research was designed to help get inside the minds of the target audience (males 18- to 34-years old) who consume cannabis and better understand consumption habits, language preferences, driving after consumption, and roles of advertising. Click here to download report. January 2022 2022 Click It or Ticket TV Concept Assessment - Summary of Qualitative Findings This report evaluates six TV concepts (3 in English and 3 in Spanish) to inform NHTSA’s messaging efforts to influence young men to wear their seat belt 100% of the time while driving or riding in a vehicle. Click here to download report. September 2021 Hispanic Air Bag Recall Campaign Creative Concept Testing To evaluate three online banner ad concepts designed to build awareness among Hispanics around critical air bag recalls and the importance of getting them fixed. Click here to download report. April 2021 2021 Ride Sober TV Concept Assessment / Summary of Qualitative Findings This report evaluates four TV concepts designed to increase the awareness among motorcycle riders of the law enforcement related consequences of riding their motorcycle while impaired. Click here to download report. March 2020 Buzzed Driving Prevention / Tracking Survey Report This report focuses on the core campaign audience of males 21-35, but findings for General Market adults 21+ are also reported. Click here to download report. February 2020 Recall Campaign Creative Concept Testing Evaluate animated concepts for online banner ads with the goal of getting vehicle owners to visit NHTSA’s website to check for vehicle recalls. Click here to download report. Air Bag Recall Campaign Creative Concept Testing To evaluate concepts for online banner ads for air bag recalls with the goal of getting U.S. vehicle owners to use NHTSA’s online VIN lookup tool and get open recalls fixed for free. Click here to download report. August 2019 Effective Recall Communications Vehicle safety and passenger safety are major priorities. If the recall impacts components such as brakes, air bags, seat belts, or drivetrain, it is considered to be more important than a recall that impacts something cosmetic, or a component that does not present an immediate threat. Click here to download report. February 2019 Towards a New Campaign to Prevent Drug-Impaired Driving In partnership with the Advertising Council and Reprise, NHTSA is developing a new social norming campaign to deter drug impaired driving amongst 18-34-year-old males. Click here to download report. June 2018 NHTSA Drug Impaired Driving Report of findings from focus froups to assess TV commercial ideas. Click here to download report. March 2018 Buzzed Driving Prevention A tracking survey report. Click here to download report. October 2017 NHTSA Drug Impaired Driving Report of findings from focus froups to assess TV commercial ideas. Click here to download report. September 2017 Autonomous Vehicle Acceptance Focus Groups This research was undertaken to better understand the best ways for NHTSA to communicate and educate consumers about the advantages and positive impact automation technology can have in saving lives. Click here to download report. September 2017 NHTSA DSOGPO Topline Report Hispanic Creative Concepts for NHTSA's National Awareness Campaign to Reduce Alcohol-Impaired Driving. Click here to download report. February 2017 NHTSA Impaired Driving Segmentation Playbook This playbook will introduce you to four at-risk driver segments identified via quantitative survey and analysis of U.S. drivers. The segments are profiled by lifestyle traits, alcohol consumption, and perceptions of drunk driving. Click here to download report. October 2016 Buzzed Driving Research Debrief NHTSA, in partnership with the Ad Council and COG, have developed advertising to support the Buzzed Driving Prevention campaign. The Blank Project, along with Informer Research and Strategy, have designed and executed a round of qualitative research to explore how the ideas are being perceived, and what - if anything, could maximize their clarity and appeal. Click here to download report. August 2015 Child Passenger Safety Research General Market The overall purpose of this research was to increase awareness about proper restraint use for children up to age 12. Creative concepts were tested in order to determine which one was most impactful and motivated respondents to seek more information. Download 12226-childpassengerssafetyresearchgenmarket-aug2015.pdf Download 12226-childpassengerssafetyresearchgenmarket-aug2015.pptx June 2015 Underage Drinking and Driving Project / Creative Development Research Six focus groups of Teen Friendship pairs were conducted in Chicago IL and Paramus NJ (3 in each city). These teens were socially active 16-18 year old teens of driving age in each city who drink alcohol at least occasionally. They attend parties with friends and are aware of the dangers of drinking and driving. We were trying to learn, among other things, how do we determine which campaign/idea/execution is showing the most promise. Download 12229-nhtsa-udd-debrief-june2015.pdf May 2015 Texting & Driving PSA Communication Check On behalf of The Ad Council and NHTSA, Pereira & O’Dell developed two creative approaches for texting and driving public service announcements (PSAs). The team wanted to gauge consumer reaction, receptivity, and potential for behavioral impact prior to deciding which creative approach to move forward. Download 12228-textingdrivingpsacommunicationcheck-may2015.pdf February 2015 2015 "Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time." Logo Treatment Market Research NHTSA tested new logo treatment ideas to support its social norming seat belt tagline "Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time." Assessments of multiple logo treatments were made among research participants during the Click It or Ticket advertising campaign focus groups. The participants were men ages 18-34 who self-reported to be part-time or non-users of seat belts. Download 2015-buckleuplogofocusgroupstopline.pdf February 2015 2015 "Click It or Ticket" National TV Ad Campaign Market Research NHTSA developed a new campaign to support the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement effort. In developing the 2015 campaign, NHTSA conducted ten (10) focus groups total in 4 cities - Richmond, Phoenix, Houston, and Atlanta - to assess participant response on TV commercial concepts. Download 2015-ciot-focusgroupstopline.pdf October 2014 Speeding Campaign Exploratory Research NHTSA is at the exploratory stage for insights and understanding that will help guide strategic planning and messaging campaign development to curb dangerous speeding behavior. Download 2014speedcampaigncreativebrief.pdf Download 2014speedingexploratoryfocusgroupstopline.pdf September 2013 Preventing Underage Drinking and Driving Strategic Exploratory: A partnership of the Ad Council, NHTSA, and Merkley & Partners Download 12230-kudzu-udd-report-sep2013.pdf March 2012 "Click It or Ticket" TV Commercial Concepts Topline Report NHTSA developed a new campaign to support the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement effort. In developing the 2012 campaign, NHTSA held four (4) focus groups in each of two (2) cities - Kansas City and Seattle - to assess participant response on TV commercial concepts. Download march2012ciot-toplinereport.doc Download bobbleheads.pdf Download dingedfinal.pdf Download fakearooney.pdf Download itsbeginning.pdf October 2022 "Qualitative Research on Buzzed Driving Ad Council and agency partners were interested in shifting the dialogue from drunk driving to “buzzed driving” and seeking learnings from a cross cross-cultural audience. Download oklahomacityfocusgroups2.docx August 2011 "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" Drunk Driving Topline Report NHTSA launched the new impaired driving campaign Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over to support the ongoing high visibility enforcement (HVE) efforts. In developing the campaign, NHTSA held focus groups in Oklahoma City to assess participants views on TV commercial ideas and taglines to support the new campaign. Download march2011drunkdrivingtopline.doc Download april2011drunkdrivingtopline.docx Download august2011combinedmessagingtopline.doc Download 2011oklahomacityfocusgroups.docx Download oklahomacityfocusgroups2.docx August 2011 "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving" Final Report NHTSA and the Ad Council conducted eight (8) focus groups in two (2) cities in order to gain understanding of the most contemporary and motivating messages to prevent "Buzzed" driving amongst drivers, ages 21-34. Below is the final report of why, when, and how the consumer research was conducted and what the results were based on analyses of the raw data. Download kudzu-ac-buzzed-report-0907-lp.pdf
United States Department of Transportation