BWM Group Middle East wins third consecutive award for Stay Alert. Stay Alive 2012 road safety initiative

The annual MEPRA Awards recognise and reward agencies, teams and individuals delivering excellence in the public relations sector in the Middle East. BMW Group Middle East, together with its PR and events agency, DABO & CO, was praised for tackling road safety in the region head-on via its public awareness campaign to promote safe driving habits.

The 'Stay Alert. Stay Alive' campaign was also named 'Best Event on a Budget' earlier this year at the Middle East Event Awards, and 'Best Integrated Campaign' at the 2012 Dubai Lynx Awards, taking the initiative's total number of accolades in 2012 to three.

Leanne Blanckenberg, Corporate Communications Manager, BMW Group Middle East, said: "Road safety is something that BMW Group is highly committed to so we are delighted for our campaign to be recognized by industry peers. Winning this award represents a significant achievement and is testament to the hard work and determination that we have applied to helping raise awareness of the importance of buckling up. We hope that our work helps the region's ongoing efforts to reduce road traffic accidents and fatalities."

This is the fourth time that 'Stay Alert. Stay Alive' has been recognised, representing a triumph for PR and Events partner, DABO & CO. The integrated communications agency has been the retained PR consultancy for BMW Group Middle East since 2008, providing communications campaigns for BMW and MINI across the GCC. The award further underlines their regional and automotive sector expertise as well as their ability to launch successful PR and events campaigns.

Stay Alert. Stay Alive' was launched in 2010 in cooperation with the Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD) and the Road and Transport Authority of Dubai (RTA), with its first phase focusing on educating the public about the importance of using appropriate safety restraints while travelling by car, particularly those for children in a bid to help reduce road deaths. The campaign was a resounding success with more than 3,000 child safety booster seats distributed to parents through public awareness events across the UAE.

In 2011 BMW Group Middle East reached out to universities via an awareness roadshow that moved through the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) campuses in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Sharjah to bring home the consequences of reckless driving to more than 2,000 university students.

BMW Group Middle East has successfully rolled out the campaign across several GCC markets as well as Jordan, working in partnership with its importers in each market to drive awareness and educate communities about road safety.