12 August 2014

With the school holidays upon us, Costain has launched a major radio campaign in northwest England to warn pupils of the dangers of construction sites with support from local children.

The Bay Radio, which broadcasts throughout North Lancashire and South Cumbria, is carrying 135 advertising slots for the Stay Safe, Stay Away campaign over the six-week holiday period.

There was an initial burst of 30 of the 60-second commercials in the first week of the school holidays, followed by a sustained campaign of 21 per week over the remainder of the summer break.

“We wanted to get holidaying school children to realise the dangers of construction sites and stay away from them,” said Charlotte Hey, Costain's Quality and Performance Manager on the Heysham to M6 Link Road project. This is a particular issue on the road, given the scale of the project: “We have a construction site stretching over the 9km road. The site comes close to residential areas and schools, which presents obvious challenges when it comes to ensuring children’s safety.”

Community Relations Officer for Costain on the project, Antony Crowley and Considerate Constructors Scheme mascot, Ivor Goodsite, visited local primary schools to explain the dangers of entering a construction site.

No fewer than 28 schools were invited to take part in a Stay Safe, Stay Away poster competition explaining the risks involved in wandering on to sites or playing on construction equipment. The judging panel had a difficult task sorting through all the entries and ended up with a shortlist before picking the overall winner. All the shortlisted entries are being made into posters to be displayed around the project.

The winning school (St Wilfrid’s CoE Primary School in Halton) received a £500 cheque, and the opportunity for a group of its pupils to visit The Bay Radio’s Lancaster base for a tour of the building and take part in the advertisements by delivering some of the script. “The children were given a list of lines to read and we picked the best ones,” Charlotte added.

“Costain has done poster campaigns before, but I think the commercials are a little bit different and I really hope they’ll encourage the kids to Stay Safe and Stay Away.”

Click the below links:

Stay Safe Stay Away - Advert 1

Stay Safe Stay Away - Advert 2

Commercials produced by S2 Blue. 

 

Ends

 

Media Enquiries
Costain Communications Department
01628 842585
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