RMIT Students Celebrate Designated Drivers as Unsung Heroes

23 May 2011

MEDIA RELEASE: Monday, 23 May 2011

Students of the BA Music Industry degree at RMIT University have applied their classroom knowledge to create an innovative social media campaign celebrating the unsung heroes of the Melbourne pub-rock scene - the designated driver.

In conjunction with Mushroom Marketing and the TAC, the students filmed and interviewed young designated drivers and bands at key pub-rock venues in Melbourne. The content includes designated driver themes relevant to the live music community and is promoted through a series of music videos posted on a variety of social networking sites.

The creativity shown by the students in the project led to a cross section of the videos also being screened on the TAC's YouTube channel for a limited time in a project titled TAC After the Gig Guide.

The TAC's Senior Road Safety and Marketing Manager John Thompson said the students had a good grasp of the target audience. He commented, "Young people are of major concern for the TAC as we know they are over-represented in the road toll."

"Almost a quarter of all drivers and motorcyclists killed in road crashes have illegal blood alcohol levels of 0.05 or higher. And almost 80 per cent of drink drivers killed were male with the majority aged 21 to 39 years."

"I was really impressed with how the students' understood the importance of managing their risks by considering who is going to be the designated driver when going out to gigs."

Dr Barry Hill from RMIT's School of Media and Communication said: "This type of project provides students with real world learning experiences by working with leading figures in the music industry."

"At the same time, the project gave students a wonderful opportunity to work on an important issue that affects so many young people. We are delighted with the results."

The TAC After the Gig Guide demonstrated a collaborative approach between the fields of road safety, education and the music industry.

Carl Gardiner, Managing Director of Mushroom Marketing said, "The TAC support for this initiative and the social networking that drives it, is really appreciated. It provides RMIT University students and our live music community, with a chance to play a constructive role in saving young lives on our roads."

The TAC After the Gig Guide content can be viewed at www.youtube.com/tacvictoria as well as on beat.com and the websites of the individual artists who participated in the Project

For more information contact:
RMIT School of Media and Communications Program Director, Dr Kipps Horn on 9925 3146
Mushroom Marketing Managing Director, Carl Gardiner on 9690 3399
TAC Media and Communications Adviser Amanda Bavin on 5225 6591