Department of Transport and Planning

Overview

Ethnolink was proud to deliver Every Trip Carries Me Home, a culturally responsive road safety campaign for the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning focused on railway level crossing safety for Punjabi-speaking heavy vehicle drivers.

The campaign was adapted from the broader mainstream campaign developed by The Taboo Group, then shaped for Punjabi-speaking audiences through multicultural research, community insight, in-language review and audience-specific creative development.

Ethnolink led the multicultural strategy, community engagement, creative adaptation, translation, in-language review, media strategy and below-the-line community activity for Punjabi audiences. To support the campaign, Ethnolink engaged Punchy Studio for video production, helping execute the creative strategy and bring the live-action campaign to life through high-quality filming, production and post-production.

The campaign was designed to connect with Punjabi-speaking heavy vehicle drivers in a way that felt credible, practical and grounded in their everyday experience on the road.

Challenge

Heavy vehicle drivers make high-pressure decisions every day. For Punjabi-speaking truck drivers in Victoria, those decisions can include navigating railway level crossings while managing demanding schedules, long hours, industry pressures and changing road conditions.

The campaign needed to build on the broader mainstream creative platform while ensuring the message would resonate with Punjabi-speaking drivers. A direct translation approach would have risked missing the cultural, emotional and practical drivers that shape how this audience understands road safety.

The challenge was to understand how Punjabi-speaking heavy vehicle drivers perceived level crossing risk, what influenced their decisions on the road, and what kind of message would feel trusted enough to support safer behaviour.

The campaign also needed to speak to drivers with respect. It had to recognise them as experienced professionals making complex decisions every day, while connecting level crossing safety to something deeply personal: getting home safely to family.

Solution

Ethnolink developed a culturally responsive campaign approach grounded in community insight, road safety behaviour change principles and the lived experience of Punjabi-speaking heavy vehicle drivers.

We engaged Punjabi-speaking drivers and relevant community networks to better understand awareness levels, risk perceptions, trusted messengers and the practical realities of heavy vehicle work. One of the strongest insights was clear: Punjabi-speaking drivers were more likely to respond to a message grounded in community voice, family responsibility and professional pride. That insight shaped the campaign.

The creative recognised drivers as experienced professionals making high-pressure decisions every day, with one powerful motivation: getting home safely to their families. The campaign line, Every Trip Carries Me Home, connected level crossing safety with pride, responsibility and the people waiting for drivers at home.

Ethnolink led the Punjabi campaign through multicultural research, community engagement, creative adaptation, translation, in-language review, media strategy and community distribution. We also helped identify and cast a Victorian-based Punjabi-speaking truck driver, Manpreet, as the voice of the campaign, giving the message a real, credible and community-grounded presence.

To support the campaign, Ethnolink engaged Punchy Studio for video production, helping execute the creative strategy and bring the live-action campaign to life through high-quality filming, production and post-production.

The final campaign was supported by tailored social media content, in-language assets, community ambassador engagement and targeted distribution across relevant digital channels, community networks and industry touchpoints.

The campaign achieved strong reach and engagement, exceeding key campaign benchmarks and receiving positive audience feedback that showed the culturally responsive approach resonated with Punjabi-speaking heavy vehicle drivers.