OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 35
H
Hundreds of thousands of people com-
mute via bus, streetcar or subway every
day in Toronto. Many of them have seen
at least one of the "Here's why I work safe"
posters. The posters show a father with
his daughter, a man playing hockey with
his buddies, a family photo in a wallet
and a supervisor with his staff. The goal of
the campaign is simply to remind people
of what's at stake when health and safety rules are not followed or
not taken seriously, according to Ontario's Infrastructure Health and
Safety Association, which has been running the ads since 2016. The
campaign garners an estimated 15 million impressions annually.
Campaigns like these are effective in the general public and they
can work within your organizations, too.
Marketing is a very important component of any safety program,
although it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when
safety professionals think about their job description. If the concept
of health and safety is not sold to the worker — through effective
marketing campaigns and communications — it's nearly impos-
sible to get a high-level of engagement and a positive safety culture.
"I think that safety has a bad rap — or at least not a good rap.
When people come into the workforce, when they sign on with a
company, they come in with a default belief that safety's kind of
a negative thing; it's something they have to do. It's really incum-
bent on safety professionals to really change that impression — and
the way you do that is with good marketing, good branding," says
Andrew Faulkner, communications and content manager at Safe-
Start, a division of Electrolab, in Belleville, Ont.
An effective safety marketing and branding strategy can help miti-
gate risks.
"The more effective these programs are, it definitely benefits an
organization by having a healthier workplace with fewer safety
incidents," says Chris Lee, vice-president of marketing and commu-
nications at Accompass in Toronto.
Faulkner agrees that a good campaign gets people on the same
page with a common definition and language for what safety is.
"Everybody has their own thoughts on what safety means and
how important it is, and if you do a good job at marketing safety
initiatives, you can really establish a consensus on what's happen-
ing, what's going on, what you're all talking about, what you're not
taking about and what everybody's roles are," he says. "It's really a
collection of beliefs and attitudes and rallying people around the
safety flag, so to speak."
While safety marketing can help reduce injuries and improve
overall safety performance, it can also help out with the softer side
of safety. For example, you may see an uptick in voluntary actions
by employees, says Faulkner, such as more near-miss reports, more
conversations about safety and more participation in toolbox talks.
Before embarking on a marketing campaign, it's important to
know what you're working with. Employees should be surveyed to
A strong marketing
campaign can
engage workers
in safety, improve
culture
By Amanda Silliker
The
SAFETY
BRAND
