1 June 2009
Transport for London (TfL) is sponsoring Bebo’s internet teen drama Sofia’s Diary in an attempt to raise awareness about road safety.
The social networking site Bebo is primarily aimed at teenagers, while Sofia’s Diary is an interactive soap opera aimed at the same demographic. The online drama received five million website hits in its first two weeks online.
This sponsored third series of Sofia’s Diary will involves the death of one of the lead characters after being hit by a car. TfL statistics claim that young teenagers are the most vulnerable pedestrians, with 367 killed or seriously injured on London's roads in 2008. “Young people are major consumers of online media so it makes perfect sense to work with Bebo on this project,” says Transport for London head of London Roads Unit Chris Lines. “This storyline starkly illustrates the importance of paying attention when using or nearby roads.”
TfL’s sponsorship will run alongside its poster campaign, “Don’t let your friendship die on the road”, which already has posters across London aimed at young people. Lines says the message TfL is trying to get across is “look out for your mates”.
TfL says it’s important that the series is not branded: “The reason we’ve chosen this angle is that it’s a way to encourage awareness by integrating the message into teenagers’ day-to-day online environment. They can’t feel they’re being preached to. It has to be done in a subtle way,” says TfL’s senior officer for campaigns Ruben Govinden.
Sofia’s Diary encourages interaction by giving viewers the chance to vote on which way lead character Sofia should turn regarding an important decision in her life. The programme has also launched a mobile phone service where fans can receive free daily updates from her during the day to let them know what’s happening in her world.
Bebo says that it receives an average of 1,000 comments per day from fans who log-on to give their advice to Sofia and other characters.
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