|
A Miami University student team received an honorable mention in the 2008 Bateman Case Study Competition, sponsored by the Public Relations Student Society of America, General Motors and client, Safe Kids Worldwide. Awards were announced April 14.
For the competition, five Miami students enacted a campaign to increase the seat belt usage of children ages 11 to 14 and the awareness of issues associated with car safety.
The student team built relationships with Talawanda Middle School in Oxford, utilized social media and partnered with local businesses. The theme of the safety campaign was "Don't 4get 2 buckle up!" which used language that connects with adolescents.
Middle schoolers reacted favorably to the campaign and in a post-campaign survey, 91 percent told the Miami team they plan to use seat belts in the future.
Bill Brewer, instructor in communication, coached the team of Miami seniors, which include Claire Dickerson, Brianne Flynn, Chris Heaton, Kat MacLeod and Emily Morrison.
Highlights from the campaign include Facebook and mySpace pages, text messages sent to students at the end of the school day reminding them to buckle their seatbelts, cookies with safety messages sold by Iggie's Bakery and a visit by Miami student-athletes to Talawanda Middle School to talk about seatbelt safety.
"We worked really hard, learned a lot and hopefully made an impact on the Oxford community," said Dickerson. "Something we think we taught middle schoolers is that buckling up is cool and they need to do it every single time they are in the car."
This is the second year in a row Miami has been honored, and the fourth time in 25 years. Seventy-six schools entered this year's competition and 15 were recognized by the panel of judges from both academia and the professional world.
"It is unusual and wonderful to be in the top 15 of 76 schools nationwide and for some of the team members for two years in a row," said Brewer.
|
