The role of social marketing communications in influencing "Text and Driving" behaviors: theory and evidence from an international sample

Texting while driving is a dangerous practice becoming increasingly common, especially among young people. This paper aims to understand the role of social marketing communication in affecting people’s driving behaviors. The presented research compares the effectiveness of different social communication styles (traditional or shock), formats (text images, images, community initiatives and videos) and media (TV, radio, leaflet, poster, web, social networks) in influencing the use of a smartphone while driving. We found that shock advertising has a significant impact on drivers’ intentions about whether or not to use portable communication devices (i.e. smartphones, tablets) while driving. We also found that this impact especially counts for women. Both risk self-assessment and risk propensity improve after exposure to social advertisement. The strongest impact on recipients is achieved through shock advertising when broadcasted through online videos. Video advertising campaigns are also more likely to be shared than others on social networks, especially in the shock style advertisement. Finally, dvertising through television and social media appear to have the highest impact on drivers’behaviors. This paper offers some insights on how to design effective social communication strategies in order to affect drivers’ behaviors.