R(Return) Plates sparked a national conversation about an issue that had not been previously discussed - the psychological impact of road trauma.

By creating a physical plate (to be placed on a car) and wrapping earned first storytelling around it, we were able to garner huge media coverage and start a conversation that exploded across social media.

By tackling a societal problem that was largely invisible, and proposing a real solution backed by testimonials we created multiple media hooks and encouraged earned discussion from every angle.

There’s never been so much discussion of our mental health. But in Australia there was one place where we weren’t talking about the psychological impact of an accident or incident. The road.

There were two problems at play; People weren’t acknowledging or seeking help for the psychological trauma that they were suffering after an incident, and when they did return to the road other drivers had no idea they were still experiencing it. We needed to develop an idea to overcome these issues.

Few other automotive companies had considered the issue, so mycar Tyre & Auto - with their brand platform ‘people first’ - were perfectly positioned to lead the conversation.

In Australia when you’re learning to drive you place ‘L’ (for learner) Plates on your car - what if we could create a plate for drivers returning after Trauma?

R (Return) plates - a plate to recognise drivers returning to the road.

We had two audiences - those suffering in silence, and those who hadn’t experienced trauma on the road, blind to the difficulties other drivers were facing.

Earned raised the unseen issue and gave us a platform to unpack the idea - fueling conversation across national broadcast and social networks.

Online and broadcast films targeted those who hadn't experienced trauma - demonstrating how widespread the problem really was. Paid social encouraged conversation with those who had experienced road trauma.

Within 48 hours we had run out of plates (ordered through the mycar website), and started a conversation about how we treat those suffering with mental health issues on our roads.

It wasn’t enough to explain the concept of a new Plate, we had a job to do to convince people that the trauma was widespread and then to normalise the use of the plates.

Launching in the run-up to World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2022 we secured exclusives across a range of publications including automotive and lifestyle as well as broadcast news.

Coverage exploded and conversation carried from broadcast into social channels. Interactive polls, YouTube creators and other social media commentators all weighed in on the impact of the plate.

Critical to the success of the campaign were the physical plates and the longform film of real stories supplied to the media.

Road trauma expert, Dr Jason Thompson, added credibility to a complex issue. “ It is a huge burden that Australia carries, it's an issue we can do something about and this campaign is a great start."

Designed to fuel conversation, we supplied media with longform film where real people spoke of their experience of trauma on the road and their first perceptions of the R plate.

Supported with broadcast and online film, paid social and digital media - all assets led to the mycar website - where people could learn more about the psychological impact of road trauma, explore real stories, download their own plate and seek professional help.

The conversation that happened was arguably more important than the plate itself, exposing bullying behaviours on the road and shining a light on unspoken trauma.

The R plate didn’t just create a cultural moment for the mycar brand, it asked people to consider their attitudes and behaviours with other road users and encouraged a more empathetic response to those returning to the road, ultimately demonstrating ‘People first’ in a very real way.

R plates garnered 522 pieces of coverage with a reach of 239 million, effectively hitting every person in Australia nine times.

The campaign sparked a national conversation and social and earned sentiment was 79.2% positive.

On TikTok alone, dozens of UGC posts attracted nearly 5 million views with a 10.9% engagement rate.

mycar website traffic was up 56%, and R Plates available for order via the site ran out in the first 48 hours.

Australia's leading insurer and leading car sales platforms have shown support, and following the initial launch, we have engaged leaders across the industry to publicly support R Plates.

In addition, 26% of Australians say that the R Plate would have helped them as they returned to the road after an incident.*

R Plates not only created a cultural moment for the mycar brand, demonstrating ‘people first’ in a very real way, it shone the light on a societal problem that’s seldom spoken about and goes largely unseen.

* 26% of Australians say having a physical sign or plate on their car when returning to the road would help them feel more supported (mycar – Pureprofile; August 2022)

Despite mental health and trauma being hot button topics, society was not acknowledging psychological trauma arising from incidents on the road.

Other automotive companies hadn’t considered the impact of psychological trauma on road users, which left mycar Tyre & Auto with their brand purpose ‘People first’ perfectly positioned to be the first to talk about it.

So we created R plates (Return Plates) - a physical plate to recognise drivers returning to the road after trauma. R Plates were available to order on our website; drivers simply placed the plate on the back window of their car. Each plate has a QR code which links to local psychological support.

mycar was able to demonstrate ‘People first’ in a way that genuinely benefited road users, asking people to consider their behaviour toward other road users and encouraging empathy for those returning to the road, ultimately changing a nation’s driving experience for

In Australia every year thousands of people are involved in road incidents, of those only 16% sought professional help* making the psychological impact of road trauma a national blind spot.

R plates (Return Plates) - are a plate to recognise drivers returning to the road.

Drivers place the R plate on the back window of their car, so for the first time, those returning to the road after a traumatic incident could show others what was going on inside.

The R plate achieves two things simultaneously; pointing out a problem that had been otherwise ignored in society and encouraging those who had suffered in the past to come to terms with their trauma and seek help to overcome it.

*Of those who have been involved in, witnessed, or been affected by a road incident, only 16% sought professional help. (mycar - Pureprofile; August 2022)