Agency/media company
OMD Canada – Palmer Jarvis DDB, Vancouver

Clients
The Insurance Corporation of BC; Vancouver Police Department

Brand
Bait Car Program

Budget
Less than $400,000

Media used
Radio

Out-of-Home
Newspaper

Timing
Launched in September 2002

Media team
Lenora Kaltenborn, group director of strategy, PJDDB Vancouver
Michelle Rebalkin, supervisor broadcast/strategy, PJDDB Vancouver
Scot Keith, account director, PJDDB Vancouver
Maureen Atchison, project manager, PJDDB Vancouver
Geoff Taylor, account co-ordinator, PJDDB Vancouver

The background

Over the years, auto crime in Vancouver has reached epidemic levels. In 2001, there were 5,300 stolen automobiles in Vancouver. This represented a 9% increase over the previous year and cost the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) – and in turn, B.C. car insurance policy holders – $21.8 million.

Vancouver police data also indicate that a high percentage of the 5,300 stolen vehicles are used by criminals in other criminal activity, such as B&E’s and home invasions.

Something drastic had to be done to stop auto thieves. The Vancouver Police Department and ICBC launched the innovative ‘Bait Car’ campaign with a high-profile press conference on Sept. 25, 2002.

Bait Cars are vehicles of all makes that are modified with high-tech gadgets. The cars are left in high-theft areas such as gas stations, convenience stores, underground parking lots and malls. When a thief enters the Bait Car, a silent alarm goes off, telling the police that the car has been stolen. Both videotape and audiotape record the auto thieves’ actions within the car and collect evidence for use in court.

The car is also equipped with a global positioning system that tells the police the vehicle’s exact location. Police track the car and surround the accompanying streets to prevent high-speed chases. When the vehicle is in a safe spot, the engine can be shut off by remote control. The suspects are then arrested on the spot.

The campaign is a first for the VPD: Most police departments measure their performance by the number of arrests in any given crime description, but the Bait Car campaign uses advertising to deter crime. The fear of stealing a Bait Car and getting caught causes many thieves to stop stealing cars altogether. Thus, the quantifiable objective of the campaign was not so much to increase the arrest rate, but simply to reduce auto theft in Vancouver by 10%.

The plan

How to catch a car thief? With a limited media budget and a narrow target group, cost-effective and targeted media were essential for this tactical plan.

Insights

Radio was positioned as the primary medium. Working with the Vancouver Police Department, we were able to determine which radio stations were on when the stolen cars were recovered. We also spent time planning when the ads would run. The renowned Simon Fraser University criminology department was able to provide input on both the creative message and what dayparts were best to air the commercials to reach this elusive target group. It was important to get broad awareness out of the gate in all dayparts, but we heavied up in the evening when most cars get stolen.

Ideas

Hip hop/rap is overdeveloped as the music of choice among younger car thieves. With the launch of such a radio station format in the market closely coinciding with the launch of the Bait Car program, we approached the BEAT-FM to partner with our client to create excitement, hype and provide a ‘fun’ element to the program.

To kick off the launch of the program, the BEAT ran a live on-air and online contest involving its morning crew. The morning team ‘stole’ a station-branded vehicle equipped with a GPS device. While the radio team drove around the city for a few hours, listeners could log onto the BEAT Web site and visually follow the vehicle to determine where it was located to try to win an anti-theft device.

The roving DJs also called the station at different times to give clues to their whereabouts. The BEAT vehicle was then surrounded by Vancouver police at a designated area and the DJs were brought back to the station in handcuffs. The live on-air chatter of the promo plus the online element generated considerable hype and built awareness very quickly.

In addition, the station had representatives from the Vancouver Police Department and ICBC as on-air guests on its ‘Urban Affairs’ show.

To enhance the campaign and provide continuous awareness, a 52-week, 30-second brand awareness campaign was negotiated with the BEAT as part of the overall promotion.

Other radio stations were included and aired the 30-second brand campaign at various times during the year to increase the overall reach. As well, transit shelters and washroom ads were purchased and strategically positioned in high-auto-crime areas. Finally, a continuous banner ad campaign in a local Vancouver daily newspaper helped the Bait Car program produce a larger-than-life impact.

The results

* Vancouver police statistics for 2002 show that the program had an immediate impact on auto crime numbers in the city: Comparing the fourth quarter of 2002 with the same quarter of 2001 and the third quarter of 2002, shows a 22% decrease in the number of cars reported stolen to the VPD. This translates to about 400 fewer families in Vancouver suffering through the cost, inconvenience, and stress of having their cars stolen.

* Statistics from ICBC during this period further corroborate the VPD numbers: The corporation has seen a 30% reduction in auto-theft claims for the fourth quarter of 2002.

* The campaign has been incredibly successful to date. The Bait Car program was originally considered a pilot project and is now a full-blown program that may go outside Vancouver.

Finally, the campaign led to the direct arrest of one car thief – without the help of an actual Bait Car.

The commercials were purposely created to sound more like a police broadcast than your usual radio ad. They were recorded outside a studio over police CBs to make them as authentic as possible. As a result, the commercials have been some of the most talked about advertising in Vancouver. (The ads have even been parodied by local radio station XFM).

The ads were so realistic the police reported that one car thief heard a spot while driving a stolen vehicle and thought it was the police talking directly to him.

Mistakenly thinking that he was in an equipped Bait Car and the police were in pursuit, he ran a red light. Unfortunately for him, a police car happened to be at the adjacent stop and saw him run the light.

They pulled him over and he kept asking them how they were able to speak to him in the stolen Bait Car. The police quickly realized that he thought he had stolen a Bait Car when really, he had just heard one of the radio ads. Bottom line: they went along with it and arrested him. He pleaded guilty.

The judges rave…

‘A creative can-do approach that well represents media planners in Canada. Brilliant!’

‘This entire campaign was well planned, well purchased and executed with a touch of magic. It is not easy trying to identify a target group that is comprised of potential villains and this group cracked it. Well done!’

BAIT CAR RADIO – GPS

(30 seconds)

MAN: This is a message to the guy who just stole the white SUV from Pacific and Howe
MAN: We know you did it
SFX: [Pause]
MAN: But what you don’t know is that you just stole a Bait Car
SFX: [Pause]
MAN: It’s equipped with a GPS and right now you’re being tracked by the police
SFX: [Pause]
MAN: You can probably see us getting into position
SFX: [Pause]
MAN: We’re just waiting for a safe spot to arrest you
ANNCR: The Bait Car Program from the Vancouver Police.

Sponsored by ICBC, E-COMM. and NAVLYNX.