“We were really looking for a design agency that immediately understood our requirements and didn’t just feed back our own ideas. We were presented with a host of hard-hitting options that we could never have thought of, and any one of those could have been used for this campaign.”

Garry Tallet, Thames Valley Police

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Oculus’s campaign is set to reduce local car crime

The Safer Reading Partnership, comprising Thames Valley Police and Reading Borough Council, recently acquired video surveillance equipment for car interiors that is capable of recording a car theft or criminal damage. The evidence from these ‘Trap Cars’ can be used to gain a conviction against the person(s) responsible.

We were approached by the Safer Reading Partnership, along with three other agencies, to present a creative solution that could run over a two-year period, and which was flexible enough to be adapted to carry a number of messages.

After successfully securing the project, we constructed a dual-purpose campaign. The criminal fraternity (identified as mostly young teens) were made aware the next car they broke into could be a Trap Car and Reading residents (the victims of these crimes) were reassured that this type of crime was both being acknowledged and dealt with. Deliverables included posters, panels, beer mats and even prison cell graffiti.

Following the launch in August, the campaign has been featured in the local press and BBC Online.