Form NHTSA Form 1540 NHTSA Form 1540 Discusssion Guide

OMB Control No. 2127-0682

Expiration Date 08/31/2021

FOCUS GROUPS FOR ASSESSMENT OF CREATIVE CONCEPTS SUPPORTING A NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN TO AVOID DRIVING AFTER DRINKING

FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

DRAFT – January 24, 2020

Research Goal

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is responsible for keeping people safe on America’s roadways, and its mission is to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes through education, research, safety standards and enforcement activity.

NHTSA is conducting qualitative research to evaluate four TV concepts for a future advertisement designed to influence drivers to drive sober and reiterate that law enforcement is actively enforcing drunk driving laws.

NOTE TO MODERATOR: When group is fully assembled, read:

This focus group is being conducted to collect information that will help us better understand your opinions about an important highway safety issue.

This collection of information is voluntary and will be used for formative purposes only so that we may develop communications programs designed to reduce the number of traffic-related injuries and deaths. A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays a current valid OMB Control Number. The OMB Control Number for this information collection is 2127-0682. Your participation today in this collection of information is estimated to average 75 minutes, including the time for reviewing instructions. All responses to this collection of information are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E., Washington, DC, 20590.

WARM-UP [10 min/10 min TOTAL]

• Welcome and introductions

• When you are riding in a vehicle or driving, what are some of the things that help make you feel safe?

• And what are some of the things that make you feel unsafe or concerned?

NOTES TO MODERATOR: Transition to discussion about advertising concepts. Because the concepts will be presented in the form of animatics, it will be helpful to show respondents an example of an animatic and the final commercial that came from it. Therefore, show “No Good Excuse” animatic, then finished commercial. This will help respondents be accustomed to mentally linking an animatic iteration with a finished version.

Then proceed to each of the four concepts for driving sober. Label/refer to each as “A,” “B,” “C” and “D” to avoid potential bias that could be associated with each concept’s internal name.

“A” will be “In Over Your Head”

“B” will be “Tsunami”

“C” will be “Split Screen Story”

“D” will be “The Price You Pay”

Among the different groups, rotate the order of presentation so no particular concept is always shown first or last.

Show each – one at a time – just once. Then distribute notes sheet for that commercial to each respondent for his/her initial independent, written comments.

After all respondents have finished noting comments, facilitate discussion.

EVALUATION OF INDIVIDUAL CONCEPTS [10 min per concept/60 min TOTAL]

• Present first/next concept.

• After reviewing this concept, I’d like each of you to complete a worksheet (we will do a separate worksheet for each concept). Please take a few minutes and answer the questions on this sheet and then we will discuss.

• Provide concept worksheet (see pages 5-9).

DISCUSSION (after 5 minutes)

How many of you graded this an “A?” “B”? – etc. for all grades

noteS to moderator:

For each of the highest and lowest grades, probe for reasons why.

If commercial gets high grades from most participants, probe those who graded it “B” or “C” relative to, “What would need to be done to the commercial so that you might give it a higher grade?”

Assume the concept’s main intent is to remind people that law enforcement officers are actively enforcing anti-drunk driving laws. What one or two things in the concept help convey a message that would get people to think that?

What one or two things in this commercial really stick out in your mind?

Does the commercial remind you of anything you’ve seen or heard before?

NOTE TO MODERATOR: Play the commercial again. Then ask:

What other thoughts do you have about this after seeing it a second time?

Probe as appropriate.

REPEAT FOR REMAINING CONCEPTS

COMPARISON OF CONCEPTS [10 min/70 min TOTAL]

• Now that we have seen all of the concepts, let’s talk about them together. Which of these ideas is best at convincing you that law enforcement officers are actively enforcing anti-drunk driving laws?

  • How many say concept A?

  • How many say concept B?

  • How many say concept C?

  • How many say concept D?

• Those who picked “A”: Please share your reasons for picking that concept.

  • Ask each person who picked “A” to give his/her reasons.

• Those who picked “B”: Please share your reasons for picking that concept.

  • Ask each person who picked “B” to give his/her reasons.

• Those who picked “C”: Please share your reasons for picking that concept.

  • Ask each person who picked “C” to give his/her reasons.

• Those who picked “D”: Please share your reasons for picking that concept.

  • Ask each person who picked “D” to give his/her reasons.

Which of these concepts, if any, are effective in making you feel that there are serious consequences that come as a result of drunk driving? Probe on what elements convey that belief.

Which of these concepts, if any, are effective in making you realize that you could be caught, arrested and charged with driving under the influence (a DUI)? Probe on what elements convey that belief.

WRAP-UP & CLOSE [5 min/75 min TOTAL]

Those are all the questions and activities we have planned for this evening. Do you have any questions, comments or other ideas you would like to share before we wrap up?

Thank you for your time this evening.

WORKSHEET – CONCEPT A

Things you especially like about this commercial:

Things you don’t like about this commercial:

The main thing that sticks out in your mind:

Grade it. If the main purpose of this commercial is to remind people that law enforcement officers are actively enforcing anti-drunk driving laws – give it a grade of A, B, C, D or F (please circle one):

• A

• B

• C

• D

• F

WORKSHEET – CONCEPT B

Things you especially like about this commercial:

Things you don’t like about this commercial:

The main thing that sticks out in your mind:

Grade it. If the main purpose of this commercial is to remind people that law enforcement officers are actively enforcing anti-drunk driving laws – give it a grade of A, B, C, D or F (please circle one):

• A

• B

• C

• D

• F

WORKSHEET – CONCEPT C

Things you especially like about this commercial:

Things you don’t like about this commercial:

The main thing that sticks out in your mind:

Grade it. If the main purpose of this commercial is to remind people that law enforcement officers are actively enforcing anti-drunk driving laws – give it a grade of A, B, C, D or F (please circle one):

• A

• B

• C

• D

• F

WORKSHEET – CONCEPT D

Things you especially like about this commercial:

Things you don’t like about this commercial:

The main thing that sticks out in your mind:

Grade it. If the main purpose of this commercial is to remind people that law enforcement officers are actively enforcing anti-drunk driving laws – give it a grade of A, B, C, D or F (please circle one):

• A

• B

• C

• D

• F

NHTSA Form 1540