Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments

Client Challenge

Tackling Aggressive Driving & Traffic Fatalities

The Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG) faced an escalating crisis: aggressive driving, aberrant speeding, impaired driving, and seatbelt non-use were driving up serious crashes, injuries, and fatalities across the region. Post-pandemic traffic data revealed that aggressive driving had become a leading cause of roadway incidents, requiring urgent intervention. While neighboring municipalities had their own safety initiatives, PPACG needed a targeted, high-impact campaign to reach local drivers, encourage behavior change, and improve road safety in El Paso, Teller, and Park counties. COHN was hired in August 2024 to solve this problem.

OUR SOLUTION

Encouraging Driving Safer Through Targeted Media

Working directly with the PPACG, COHN launched an integrated digital media campaign from August to October 2024 to educate drivers and shift behaviors. The campaign leveraged Google Search & Display Ads and Meta (Facebook & Instagram) Ads with messaging tailored to different risk factors, including aggressive driving, speeding, and impaired driving.

Proven Success in Digital Engagement

The digital campaign successfully reached 1.1 million unique users, generating 9.3 million impressions and 268,856 engagements across digital platforms. Google Ads outperformed industry benchmarks, with the top-performing campaign achieving a 69.06% conversion rate at just $0.27 per conversion. Meta campaigns drove extremely high engagement, with 375,442 total video plays at an efficient $0.15 cost per ThruPlay. And the campaign’s click-through rate (CTR) of 3.5% exceeded industry averages, reinforcing the effectiveness of the messaging and targeting approach.

Due to the success of the August–October campaign, PPACG hired COHN again to run a follow-up campaign during the holiday season (December 2024–January 2025). The second campaign maintained the same focus areas while incorporating key optimizations:

More refined targeting for Spanish-language audiences to improve cost efficiency
Updated creative messaging to maintain engagement and avoid ad fatigue
Reallocation of budget to high-performing ad sets identified in the previous campaign

The holiday campaign built on the previous success, reinforcing awareness and behavior change during a high-risk travel season. This campaign also reached 1.1 million unique users and generated over 9 million more impressions across digital platforms. Engagement remained strong, with Meta campaigns achieving 538,773 total video plays and Google Ads continuing to drive efficient conversions at a low cost per result.

Together, these two campaigns demonstrated the effectiveness of sustained digital advertising efforts in influencing safer driving behaviors.

1.1 million unique users

9.3 million impressions

268,856 engagements

69% conversion rate

1.1 million unique users

9.3 million impressions

268,856 engagements

69% conversion rate

Panorama Orthopedics & Spine

Brand Strategy
Content + Social Media
Creative Design
Marketing + Media
Video