RED The Agency » 2009

Marketing Magazine: Alberta gives 3-minute fire warning

From Marketing Magazine: Alberta Municipal Affairs and provincial fire departments launched a campaign today to warn Albertans of the dangers of today’s high-intensity residential fires.

The hard-hitting TV and radio campaign from Edmonton’s RED punches home the idea that fires in modern homes are different from those of 30 years ago when people had an average of 17 minutes to safely escape a burning house. Research shows that with today’s faster burning, highly toxic materials, that time has been reduced to three minutes.

Radio and TV spots warn that it will take seven minutes or more for a fire truck to arrive, but “you have three minutes.”

The tag line directs the public to a new website, 3MinuteDrill.Alberta.ca, that offers prevention, detection and escape plans. The campaign is also supported by posters and informational material handed out at fire stations.

Global TV in Alberta has also produced supporting 30-second public service spots narrated by news anchors offering additional information.

Alana Williams of Red said the agency took an Alfred Hitchcock approach to the TV spots rather than graphically depicting fire and injuries.

“We wanted to approach people on a psychological level, where they are more affected by what they don’t see than what they do see.”

The 30-second TV spots will run province-wide, while the radio spots will run regionally, often after there has been a fire in the area.