ATA Foundation launches new advertising campaign to promote industry
Personal injury attorneys continue to aggressively advertise across Alabama, often taking direct aim at the trucking industry. In some television markets in Alabama, personal injury firms purchase 90 percent of the 30-second spots that are broadcast from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. One of the dominant advertisers among those firms has television commercials that refer to trucks as “metallic beasts.”
Beginning today, the Alabama Trucking Association Foundation has responded to these attacks with a month-long television and online ad campaign to demonstrate that Association members are committed to safety, and that the trucking industry is an essential part of the state’s economy and contributes to the lifestyles enjoyed by Alabama families.
Our strategy: The ATA Communications department commissioned the production of two one-minute ads (One focusing on trucking’s contributions to the economy, and the other focused on its safety efforts) for use in a highly visible media campaign to air during local television news broadcasts in Alabama’s largest TV markets, including Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile. Ads will also appear statewide online and across various social media platforms.
This campaign will run through the last week of January 2019 with a total 60-80, 60-second spots to air. The placement of these ads is funded fully by the ATA Foundation.
Why one-minute spots? One-minute spots allow us to communicate our message more completely. Sixty-second spots are rare during local news broadcasts and something no personal injury firm is currently doing. The truth is, we can’t advertise as much as they do, but we can deliver a message twice as long.
Media relations campaign: As the ad campaign runs, we’ve also arranged several on-camera, in-studio interviews with ATA Chairman Fenn Church, who will discuss our industry’s efforts to improve highway safety through training and modern equipment investments. Mr. Church has already taped his first interview with WBRC in Birmingham and will tape a similar segment this week at WSFA’s studio in Montgomery. These spots will air in the coming weeks. We will keep you posted.
The work of the ATA Foundation signifies our ongoing objective to support and complement the efforts of the Alabama Trucking Association. We are committed to making a valuable impact on the important work of our members. Collectively, the ATA Foundation and the Alabama Trucking Association can and will make a difference as we continue to serve the membership in a variety of ways, as well as advancing the industry’s needs and its public image in Alabama.
About the Alabama Trucking Association Foundation:
Created in 2018, the ATA Foundation is the 501(c)3 charitable arm of Alabama Trucking Association. The ATA Foundation is dedicated to advancing highway safety; investing in meaningful research; providing scholarships to those seeking trucking careers; and creating an effective, ongoing image campaign for trucking.
