This research summary presents findings from studies conducted across 15 low- and middle-income countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Vietnam. These studies examined audience responses to road safety television advertisements focused on speeding. The studies also evaluated different types of public service announcement (PSA) approaches to identify the most effective ones for influencing behavior change around the critical road safety issue of speeding.
Professional research firms conducted the testing, employing a combination of surveys and group discussions with targeted audience segments. They assessed factors such as comprehension, credibility, relevance, and potential influence on behavior for proposed PSA concepts utilizing various messaging strategies and creative execution styles.
The findings consistently showed that across countries, emotionally engaging PSAs that clearly depict the health consequences of speeding and incorporate personal testimonial stories tend to be most effective. This was especially true when such emotion-driven approaches were combined with instructional elements. By linking research insights to established behavioral theory and strategic communication principles, road safety campaigns can be optimized to shift social norms and promote lasting behavior change toward safer driving practices over time.