In the U.S., we’re seeing more branded entertainment than ever before. But with so much content available, you must truly create something engaging if you have any hopes of cutting through the clutter. As we experienced with this project, engaging content will get seen, shared and talked about by millions. Everything else will be quickly forgotten; or even worse, completely ignored.

Despite what we all know about the consequences of texting and driving, 77% of young adults still think they can text and drive safety. To combat this pervasive behavior, we wanted to prove to young drivers that no text was worth a life.

We teamed with legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog to create a 35-minute film showing people whose lives were forever altered by a trivial text. It chronicled the devastating aftermath of texting-and-driving accidents from the perspectives of victims and perpetrators.

We knew it would be difficult to get teens to sit down and watch a 35-minute documentary. To help pique their interest, we created TV commercials, radio spots and rich media banners as teasers for the film. We needed them to have a familiarity with the piece before they would be willing to watch and ultimately share.

The campaign quickly went viral, receiving millions in earned media. The Daily Telegraph called it a “stunning meditation on forgiveness” and Variety said it was “one of the most effective public service messages ever.” But more important, the film was adopted institutionally as a teaching tool for police, highway safety organizations and government institutions. The film is currently shown in over 40,000 high schools and driver’s education programs around the world.