how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Jmuzz
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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby Jmuzz » Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:00 pm

I think the age of advertising videos/print is dead. Even the modern "ad break" in front of YouTube/Facebook videos most often does more harm than good because ad spam triggers negative associations for the brand/message.

If you want to advertise these days then you need product placement not ads. Cash for comment in videos/blogs/radio, sponsorship of people others emulate, association with good brainwaves.

So with that in mind. Celebs and other sport stars saying it's good and cool activity, entertainment shows showing it in a good fun light.
Target cyclists and potential cyclists, non cyclists will see positivity and a message of being safe and considerate to vehicles and form the opinion "most are normal good people, I will be more tolerant".

Cyclists also have to minimise negativity by being law abiding and being mindful of the impact a ride may have on traffic on certain roads at certain times of the day. Sometimes it doesn't impact other road users, but sometimes it really does, the less incidences of real impact the less agro caused.

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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby BJL » Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:01 pm

cooperplace wrote:it goes without saying that cyclists should always display exemplary behaviour. Going thru red lights, punching cars, breaking mirrors (even if there seems to be some justification) should never happen
So if someone breaks into your house pointing a knife at you, threatens your family and by some miracle you get the chance to whack the guy over the head with the baseball bat you keep handy just for such an occasion, you shouldn't do it?

ie, cyclists do NOT have the right to defend themselves?

Sorry but the media keeps on banging on about this 'war' on the roads. What do you expect in a war? The opposition to lie down and die without a fight? There is no 'war' on the roads because it's currently a slaughter. Maybe you think there's a daily war at the abattoirs.

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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby Jmuzz » Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:24 pm

Catching up to a car and attacking it is not defence, it's just revenge.
It's not the same as escaping a current threat.

Physical revenge might feel good, but it damages image in the long run.

Cameras are now a pretty good way of causing shame, embarassment and sometimes police punishment without becoming the bad guy in the eyes of the general public.

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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby find_bruce » Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:50 pm

I find it sadly ironic that you accept that killing 1,225 people a year in Australia doesn't damage the image of drivers, but a person "attacking" a car damages the image of all cyclists.

When a person gets drunk & punches someone, we punish the person, it doesn't damage the image of drinkers nor that of pubs & clubs that served them the alcohol.

Each year Australian men kill 80 or so women through domestic violence. I have never heard anyone saying it damages the image of Australian men.

Are you seeing the double standard yet ?

I agree that escalating violence it is not a productive way to respond to having your life threatened, but I can understand why some people react that way. There are numerous accounts on these forums how having a camera has assisted a person to avoid a violent confrontation.

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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby Jmuzz » Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:35 pm

find_bruce wrote: When a person gets drunk & punches someone, we punish the person, it doesn't damage the image of drinkers nor that of pubs & clubs that served them the alcohol.
Bad example.
Sydney's reaction to the drunken punch deaths was the lockouts, it literally did damage the image of the city pubs/clubs to the point that the government destroyed city alcohol nightlife.
Pubs in NSW do lose their licence for multiple violent incidents in their block, the whole block and more. Certain pubs/nightclubs do get a bad reputation and have to change name or close, one near me earned a major reputation for being stabbed with broken glass.

Perhaps it's not the way in other states, but it's is what has happened in Sydney.

When it comes to image in the eye of society, being seen handing out violence always damages image. This is even true for the police.

Not saying it's not deserved or satisfying. Just when the topic is advertising to improve image any violent action is only hurting that.

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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby find_bruce » Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:17 pm

Jmuzz wrote:Bad example.
Sydney's reaction to the drunken punch deaths was the lockouts, it literally did damage the image of the city pubs/clubs to the point that the government destroyed city alcohol nightlife.
Pubs in NSW do lose their licence for multiple violent incidents in their block, the whole block and more. Certain pubs/nightclubs do get a bad reputation and have to change name or close, one near me earned a major reputation for being stabbed with broken glass.

Perhaps it's not the way in other states, but it's is what has happened in Sydney.

When it comes to image in the eye of society, being seen handing out violence always damages image. This is even true for the police.

Not saying it's not deserved or satisfying. Just when the topic is advertising to improve image any violent action is only hurting that.
You're still missing the point - it didn't damage the image of "drinkers" throughout NSW. It didn't damage the image of pubs throughout NSW - the lockouts were confined to the Sydney CBD. Same with the image damage caused to the particular pub involved.

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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:31 pm

Outgrouping and tribalism.

There's an unconscious level of fear and mistrust of those that aren't like "me".

Always has and always will be, it's a defensive measure that has been with most higher animals since Adam said "Challenge Accepted".
It's a fear of competition or challenge to the accepted way of the group and mostly perceived rather than actual in modern life.

It's manifested itself in a thousand and one forms, the most popular being racism but there's plenty of others available.

Thing is, plenty of them are currently socially unacceptable (not that that does much to subvert the beliefs of the practitioners, only makes them conceal it) Try dropping a few well placed 'innocent" words into conversation with any of them and watch the reaction

We like to think that we're well evolved from our hairier ancestors but it doesn't take much to unleash the chimp, especially when the social unacceptability of a negative behaviour starts to slip.
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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby cooperplace » Fri Feb 02, 2018 7:35 pm

I'll write to mu local (state) member with some suggestions based on this thread. I'll let everyone know of her replies. Will take a while.
Please be nice to me, I'm not very bright.

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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby AUbicycles » Fri Feb 02, 2018 9:55 pm

Well done cooperplace,

I also suggest a second approach of connecting with your council - find out who is responsible for cycling - Could be a general traffic planner or they may have someone dedication. I find them generally receptive in connecting with the community and inviting highly interested / knowledgeable people to take part in their planning and strategy.

Local government advertising/promotion is generally a much smaller scale but some still do it - particularly when they recognise their is a direct benefit to the community for cycling safety, traffic management, environmentally and economically.
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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby rpmspinman » Tue Feb 06, 2018 2:47 pm

I like reading most of these comments. Some really good suggestions here and sound arguments. Well done all.

If it were me, the first commercial I would air would be one that educates drivers where rego comes from and goes to. 90% of arguments online when it comes to cycling is 'pay yer rego' and many, many people do not realize who pays it, where it goes and why it's paid. They believe a 'user pays' system exists for driving on the road and really, this false mindset needs to be corrected for starter. It may annoy a lot of people who had come to the ignorant conclusion that rego gives them the 'right' to drive, but really, them not knowing just feeds their ego's and that is 1 major flaw that needs to be rectified.

The problem is, showing a commercial like this does nothing for politicians ratings and popularity for their next election. So chances are, they won't risk political suicide to advertise the truth, rather, just pander to the knuckle dragging majority in a pisspoor attempt to stay in/get in office.
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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby cooperplace » Wed Feb 07, 2018 12:43 am

yes, the strict "user pays" approach is hopeless once you think about its limitations. There was a political commentator a year or so ago who, when talking about user pays, said, "that's bad news for footpaths" -great point. Clearly no-one pays to walk on a footpath, an no-one minds that. If trucks were to pay the full cost of their road damage, the nation's truck fleet would be totally uneconomic.

I think an argument could and should be made to the general public, thru marketing (could be at local, state, fed govt level), that cyclists are (i) costing society dramatically less than alternative means of transport (ii) are keeping the air cleaner (iii) are reducing congestion (iv) are making it easier for motorists to find parking spots. In other words, appeal to everyone's inner selfishness, not their better instincts. The former is more reliable.

Changing tack, can this sort of marketing be done on social media (something I know nothing about)?
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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby Jmuzz » Fri Feb 16, 2018 3:04 pm

New example of physical retaliation now very damaging, no doubt the cars cut them off. But now guess who are the bad guys taking the damage?

http://www.news.com.au/national/victori ... b2839c0af9

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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby human909 » Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:13 pm

Meanwhile the Western Australian Government started the roll out of new advertisements denigrating cyclists and cycling.
https://www.rsc.wa.gov.au/News-Media/Me ... n%E2%80%99

It may have been removed now after backlash but it just shows the mindset of our authorities. Cars rule. Cycling is inferior and what your resort to if you can't drive a car.

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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby DavidS » Fri Feb 16, 2018 9:21 pm

human909 wrote:Meanwhile the Western Australian Government started the roll out of new advertisements denigrating cyclists and cycling.
https://www.rsc.wa.gov.au/News-Media/Me ... n%E2%80%99

It may have been removed now after backlash but it just shows the mindset of our authorities. Cars rule. Cycling is inferior and what your resort to if you can't drive a car.
Hmm, they seem to have removed it now.

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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby AUbicycles » Fri Feb 16, 2018 11:27 pm

As this thread is gaining more interest - and following a video I shared on BNA facebook from another page called 'Drive Safe, Pass Wide' - another thought on this.

Video link: https://www.facebook.com/drivesafepassw ... 575509401/

Why is the task 'to improve the public image of cyclists'?

Making cyclists or others feel better is not really the most direct way to address the actual problem. There are two problems:
1) The Governments are not doing their job and building the infrastructure and provided the awareness (education)
2) There are drivers who inherently drive poorly (they are ignorant or distracted or malicious).

For the first one... getting government action... it is a long and painful process.

For the second one, an awareness campaign is probably less effective when telling those drivers that 'cyclists are great'.... but more accurate when saying 'you're a bad driver'. The point is, it is not really about the riders... and more about the drivers.


example:
Comment: You don't pay rego
Response: That is not an excuse for you to be a really bad driver


Comment: Bike riders go through red lights
Response: That is not an excuse for you to be a really bad driver


or

Response: If all of the other drivers here can pass safely, why can't you?



On the one hand it is silly - but when there are comments to target and challenge a bike rider, a driver is generally looking for some justification.

The remaining flaw is that turning is back to the driver is not a revelation... it has the same effect as any response that challenges the integrity of another. The driver is confronted... but the result is still flat out denial so it still likely doesn't achieve the aim of making a culprit question their actions.

If you havn't see the video - watch it because it asks, if 98% of other drivers can pass safely... why can't you. This is the truth as most drivers are great, they are courteous and pass safely and the courteous is also reciprocated by most cyclists. But the small percentage of bad drivers need to be aware that they can't identify with all of the other drivers... instead, they are the odd ones out. They are the niche.


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Re: how govts could advertise to improve public image of cyclists?

Postby bychosis » Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:29 am

Like^

It’s a bit like the current nsw ads. ‘There’s no excuse’ for bad driving.
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