Perception Is Reality
Deborah Lockridge
Senior Editor
"Got Milk?" Who hasn't heard this catchy slogan? It's so ubiquitous, it's become a subject of parody.
Those who are trying to improve the image of trucking wish they could follow in the footsteps of America's milk producers. But the trucking industry doesn't have that kind of budget. Instead, the ongoing effort to improve its image relies on the members of the industry themselves. That might mean anything from a trucking company providing trailer-side advertising for a new image campaign, to a truck driver visiting a fourth-grade class.
The good news is, this "grassroots" approach seems to be working. The number of scary-truck stories in both national and local media appears to have dropped, while "Trucker Buddy" has become nearly a household name among school-age children.
"We have to realize up front that the trucking industry is not a gold mine when it comes to having money to spend on an image campaign," says Mike Russell, spokesman for the American Trucking Assns. (ATA), which a year ago launched its new "Good Stuff: Trucks Bring It" campaign. "Our best assets are people who really care about the industry, and several million trucks and trailers we can put a sign on telling people what we do and that we're proud of it."
Image programs work to improve trucking's image in several ways. They try to get positive stories reported in the general media and also touch the general public through one-on-one encounters and through promotional efforts.
"I think we are making a difference," Russell says. "The number of truck-related fatalities is below 5,000 for two years in a row. The fatality rate remains at its lowest level since 1975 when they began keeping records. These programs have to be credited with part of that improvement. If we didn't make a truck driver think about being more professional, we reached a soccer mom who saw a Share the Road program and knew to stay out of a truck's blind spot.
"I'm seeing fewer and fewer scary truck stories during television ratings periods. Used to be, every rating period, we'd see scary truck stories all over the map. Knock on wood, they've almost vanished."
Russell also points to a quarterly survey being done in conjunction with the "Good Stuff: Trucks Bring It" campaign. In surveys done in April, July and October 2004, the survey found that between 80% and 90% agree with the statement, "Trucks deliver the majority of goods we buy every day. Over 85% say they understand why trucks are on the road."
On the other hand, the survey found Americans pretty evenly divided on the question of whether truck drivers are better than other drivers on the road, and only about 35% believe that trucks help protect our nation. Around 20% view trucks as "a mere traffic disruption."
Nevertheless, more than 70% of those asked agreed that "truck driving is a profession to be proud of."
"We have a situation where the general public rates our truck drivers higher than we rate ourselves," Russell says. That's why the best image programs make drivers feel proud of themselves as well as offering up a better image to the public.
Following is a look at some of the major image campaigns:
Good Stuff: Trucks Bring It
When Bill Graves took over as president and CEO of the ATA in January 2003, one of his top three priorities was improving trucking's image.
While ATA already had several image/safety programs under its wing, Graves' commitment and a push from the association's Communications and Image Policy Committee led to the formation of "Good Stuff: Trucks Bring It."
The image campaign was developed with ad agency Price Weber, which has a number of trucking industry clients.
"The concept is, everything we enjoy - the TVs, sunglasses, basketballs, CD players, guitars, all the good things that characterize the good life in America - come by truck," Russell says.
The message is delivered primarily through the use of a colorful "Good Stuff: Trucks Bring It" logo that can be used on all sorts of media, from lapel pins to full trailer-side graphics and roadside billboards. ATA looks to motor carriers and their shipping and manufacturing customers to display the bold new graphics on the sides and backs of trailers, and anywhere else they can think of.
In addition, a "branding kit" offers advice on how to use the materials and how to present a positive, consistent image of trucking when talking to the media or public speaking.
It includes items such as a trucking safety fact sheet and thoughts on fostering respect within the industry.
Russell has been surprised at the innovative ways people have come up with to use the "Good Stuff" logo. One ATA member worked with Pitney Bowes to develop a version of the logo that can be used with their postage meters, so every piece of mail leaving a carrier can bear the message. The logo now appears on the stationery and business cards of many trucking companies. You can buy "Good Stuff" apparel, patches, lapel pins, a scale model truck, mud flaps, and five-inch static cling decals for the window of the family car. Carriers are encouraged to do things such as record "on-hold messages about the image campaign, schedule a Road Team visit with their drivers, or hang "Good Stuff" banners in driver areas.
ATA is also reaching out to other associations for help, including state trucking associations and groups such as the National Private Truck Council, the truckstop association NATSO, the Truckload Carriers Assn. (TCA), and owner-operator groups.
"We think we've built a program that anyone can participate in at a level of their choice, whether it's putting the "Good Stuff' logo on their postage meter, putting decals on 100 trucks, or putting a billboard up at a major interstate intersection," Russell says. "I hope it will become a household word."
There are actually two audiences for the program. One is the general public. The other is people who work in the trucking industry.
"We want to instill in our drivers and people that work in the trucking industry a sense of pride - that they are doing very good and very necessary hard work," Russell says. "If you take pride in your work, you're going to do a better job, be more professional about it, and care what people think about you." This, in turn, helps build the industry's image among the rest of the world as they interact with these people on a one-on-one basis.
While the program is being coordinated by ATA, Russell emphasizes that anyone who cares about trucking's image can participate. For more information, visit www.trucksbringit.com.
ATA also coordinates several other programs that positively affect trucking's image: Highway Watch, America's Road Team and Share the Road.
Highway Watch
Highway Watch began in Colorado in 1998 as a safety program. After 9/11, a security component was added to the training. Since then, the Department of Homeland Security has provided $40 million in funding to spread the Highway Watch program into the entire transportation sector. The program is administered by ATA under a cooperative agreement with the TSA.
"You won't find a more patriotic bunch of people in the world" than truckers," Russell says. "This is something we can do easily as part of what we do every day."
Highway Watch volunteers are trained to look for homeland security concerns, such as people taking pictures of bridges, anyone trailing a trucker or showing unusual interest in his rig. Or it could just be someone hanging out near a truck wearing a heavy jacket in warm weather.
They also still keep an eye out for safety issues that were the original focus of the program, such as impaired drivers, stranded vehicles and unsafe road conditions.
When they spot something suspicious, Highway Watch participants use a cellphone to call a special Highway Watch hotline. A trained operator verifies the participant's identity and location, then routes the call to the appropriate authorities.
So far, more than 15,000 participants have been trained nationwide. The program's national reporting center reports an average of 200 calls a month. About 10% are security related.
The beauty of the program is its simplicity, Russell says. "You don't need three months of training, you don't need sophisticated equipment in your truck. All you need is a two-hour training program and a phone number. If you see something triggered by our training, you call a security professional and they take over."
The program has generated quite a bit of publicity, both local and national. Most of it has been positive, but the program has had some critics.
In a July 2004 article, Time magazine reported on new Highway Watch participants who boasted about how easy it was to spot "Islamics" by their turbans. Not only is this racial profiling, but as the article pointed out, it's Sikhs who wear turbans, not Muslims.
"When you're dealing with such a large population, you're going to get a few people who, in effect don't get the word," Russell says. "We're dealing with that. We teach people to watch activities, to observe actions, not people."
There have been plenty of other articles that portray the truckers who join Highway Watch as the patriotic eyes and ears of America, with headlines such as, "Truckers to Keep Watch on Highways," "Extra Eyes and Ears," and "Truckers Fight Terror."
America's Road Team
ATA's America's Road Team was started in the mid-1980s. This group of a dozen elite drivers is specially selected for its commitment to safety, to image, and the ability to communicate with the media and in public speaking situations.
These Road Team "captains," most of whom have 1 to 2 million miles of accident-free driving in their careers, take a few days each month away from their truck driving jobs to travel and speak on behalf of the ATA and the trucking industry to the media and to the public, as well as to fellow drivers.
They talk to other drivers about driving safely, perform "Share the Road" events to teach the general public about sharing the road with big trucks, testify before Congress and state legislative bodies, talk to the media, speak to various groups, and this year will be doing public service announcements and radio interviews. The Road Team is currently sponsored by Volvo Trucks.
"Our public spokespeople, our ambassadors, are truck drivers who drive alongside the public every day," Russell says. "They're not suits like me. For instance, it's amazing how effective having a real person talk about their real-life experience is to people making regulations and laws."
Many state trucking associations and large fleets have started similar "road teams" of their own.
Share the Road
"Share the Road is the only active highway safety program that is out there actually doing something physically to promote highway safety and safe driving between car and truck drivers," Russell says. "There are others with fancy names and web sites that hand out brochures, but our truck drivers are actually out there doing something face to face."
The program uses America's Road Team members to do hands-on demonstrations for the media and the public about how to share the road safely with big trucks.
Trucks and cars are set up to demonstrate the blind spots around trucks, and reporters are typically invited to take a ride in a big rig for a trucker's-eye view of the challenges of sharing the road. Drivers offer truck safety statistics for the state where the event is being held.
At one time, the Share the Road program was federally funded, but Russell says, "the strings and the red tape sort of got in the way of making highways safer." Today the program is sponsored by Mack and Chevron Delo.
Highway Angels
ATA doesn't have a lock on image-building programs. More than 800 truckers have been honored as "Highway Angels" since the TCA started the program in 1997. The program honors drivers who have done a good deed on the job, from changing tires to performing heroic acts.
"Each year, trucking companies receive thousands of thank you letters from motorists about truck drivers who have helped them," said then-TCA-president Lana Batts when the program was introduced. "We want to locate, honor and publicize those drivers who clearly go the extra mile. As an industry we must spread our wings and be much more proactive in sharing with the public how truck drivers are making a positive difference in the lives of the people with whom they share the road."
The program has turned out to serve a dual purpose, says Nancy O'Liddy, TCA's director of public affairs. Carriers are using it as a recruiting and retention tool, honoring their Highway Angels in company newsletters or turning their drivers' Highway Angel certificates (which the carrier gets a copy of along with the driver) into a "wall of fame."
TCA sends out press releases to local and national press to publicize the more exciting Highway Angels, typically those who risked life or limb to help someone. "We get a lot of nominations for drivers changing a flat tire, but the press doesn't really pick up on those," O'Liddy says.
The trucking press has been very good about publishing the releases, she says, and Highway Angels typically get coverage from their local paper, as well, but "we still have not got it to the market we want it to. Our goal is to get national coverage, press wise, and we're not there yet.
"It would be a great Oprah show."
Goodyear Highway Hero
Twenty-two years ago, Ronnie Stapleton of Beckley, W.Va., was honored for using his bare hands to tear off the back door of a burning car, then breaking the back seat in two as he extricated two unconscious occupants.
Stapleton was the first to be named a Goodyear North American Highway Hero, an award presented annually to a professional trucker who exhibits selflessness and courage in helping others.
"We created this program to recognize drivers who have risked their lives to save other human beings, to create a program that raised the image of a truck driver," says Donn Kramer, director of Goodyear commercial tire marketing. "It's been a very moving and a very good program for Goodyear. I think it has truly created a higher visibility of the influence of the truck driver, and it's pretty moving to read the stories of what some of these people have done to risk their own lives."
The winners are announced in a venue designed to highlight the event to both the trucking industry and the general public. It has ranged over the years from the Daytona 500 race to a banquet at the Mid-America Trucking Show. The winner receives a $10,000 savings bond.
Goodyear sends out press releases to both trucking media and the general media to promote the program and the winners. Goodyear Highway Heroes are frequently profiled in their local papers. For instance, in 2002 and 2003, respectively, the Albuquerque Tribune and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution told the stories of area truck drivers who were honored for pulling people from burning cars. Nationally, the Highway Hero has been featured on The Travel Channel and in Reader's Digest, interviewed on trucking radio shows and the like.
"I think trucking's image has improved," Kramer says. "I don't have any specific benchmarking metrics, and I still think it's relatively low, but it has improved."
Trucker Buddy
Of all the image-building programs out there, Trucker Buddy has perhaps the most impressive story to tell.
Started in 1993 by truck driver Gary King, the program matches truck drivers to school classrooms as pen pals. Today, the program has about 4,000 active driver members, many of them with more than one class. The program is always looking for more drivers to match to its growing list of teachers and classrooms who want their own Trucker Buddy.
Nearly every week, local media across the country run heartwarming tales of Trucker Buddies and their classrooms. Newspapers tout headlines such as, "FedEx Trucker, Pals Help Steer Children Toward Brighter Future," "Learning From Their Friend in a Big Rig," "Reading, "Riting - and the Road," and "Trucker Adds Life to Lessons."
Nationally, the program was featured on The Early Show on CBS in June 2002. When the show gave the web site address for Trucker Buddy, several dozen applications came in from teachers before the broadcast was even over.
The program has gone through some growing pains. King may have had a fantastic idea to build trucking's image, but he did not have the ideal organizational and communication skills to effectively manage the growing program. In the late '90s, corporate sponsorship of the organization dwindled as it dealt with numerous questions regarding lack of direction and accusations of mismanagement and inappropriate use of funds.
After King retired in early 2000 due to health problems, the board of directors named Ellen Voie - who had been the group's secretary/treasurer - as its new executive director. The new streamlined version of Trucker Buddy quickly went to work addressing many of the outstanding issues, including new guidelines for classroom visits, the addition of background checks for drivers, increased promotion of the program, a new Trucker Buddy of the Month honor, and getting new sponsors and luring back old ones. Today, a long list of sponsors includes trucking media, truck and component manufacturers, trucking fleets, trucking associations and other companies that provide products and services to the trucking industry.
After five years as executive director, Voie is excited by how many non-trucking people are familiar with the Trucker Buddy Program. "I got on a plane last night in Pennsylvania, and the guy next to me asked what I did. When I told him, he said, "I've heard of that.'"
Trucker Buddy even represented the trucking industry last summer at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The one-day festival, called "The Open Road," was a complement to the ongoing "America on the Move" exhibition, which is on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The event was attended by an estimated 10,000 visitors from across the United States. Sponsor Freightliner provided a truck and a representative to answer questions about it. Voie was there to answer questions about the Trucker Buddy program. Trucker Buddy International President Don Nehring, an owner-operator for FedEx Ground, was there representing truck drivers.
"The first part of the day, a kid came up and said, "Oh, Trucker Buddy - I have a Trucker Buddy in my class,'" Voie recalls. "It was so cool."
In the works are a new curriculum guide to give teachers ideas on how best to use their Trucker Buddy in the classroom, and a new activity book featuring board director Mike Ryan and his race in a truck to the top of Pikes Peak.
"I do think the image is improving," Voie says. "I think it's going to take a long time, because every time a driver does something stupid it pushes us back a little bit, but there are so many good things drivers are doing, and the industry itself [is] being attentive to image and safety. I think people are finally realizing that if the trucks aren't on the highways, they're not going to get their groceries."
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