Safer Boating: The World’s Longest Safety Briefing

New Zealand boaties, especially males under 40, often lack proper respect for the water, resisting safety advice and gear. This is reflected in concerning statistics.

Maritime NZ aimed to educate boaties on three key water safety messages: carry two ways to call for help, always wear a life jacket, and check the marine forecast. They needed a compelling approach to grab attention.

Enter Radio Hauraki

Sixty years ago, Radio Hauraki began broadcasting music illegally from international waters, a legendary and perilous journey lasting 1,111 days. Their boat sank twice, and tragically, one crew member died.

For the 2024 summer season, Maritime NZ partnered with Radio Hauraki to broadcast live from a vessel far out at sea, ensuring a safe return this time.

Since safety lectures often fall on deaf ears, we targeted our audience on land. We transformed the Radio Hauraki Drive Show into a 3-hour water safety briefing, creating an unmissable audio experience on radio and social media.

We invited representatives from the NZ Police, Harbourmaster, and Coastguard to add drama. Additionally, through a fictitious Boat Trip Promo, we brought along 20 notorious water safety offenders, also avid Hauraki listeners, aiming to convert them.

During the show, we re-educated our audience and the next generation of pirate Hauraki DJs on key safety messages, amidst plenty of humour.

The show engaged 108,800 boaties, with an additional 258,805 learning through social channels. We successfully delivered the world's longest safety briefing without losing listeners, ensuring a new wave of safe pirates.

Legend!