Respect the Water

The #RespectTheWater campaign is the first ever multi-agency campaign of this nature, involving organisations such as RNLI, RLSS, RoSPA, HM Coastguard, Fire and Rescue Service, MPA and many more.

The campaign focuses on who to call if you see someone struggling in the water, reminding the public that for inland locations you should call 999 and ask for the Fire and Rescue Service, but for coastal locations you should call 999 and ask for Coastguard. The resources which have been created to support the campaign include, a new & impactful water safety advert which will be shown on ITV, together with targeted advertising in high drowning areas using catch up TV, outdoor posters and social media. There will also be a significant PR push to secure media coverage during the campaign to amplify these important messages to the public at the height of summer.

The campaign is:

• Targeted particularly at males and females between 15-49 – so they know what to do if they witness somebody in difficulty in the water.
• Focussing more on inland areas such as canals, rivers, reservoirs and quarry lakes but also very relevant to coastal areas:
  • Primary message – who to call if you see someone in difficulty in the water - call 999 Fire & Rescue for inland - call 999 the Coastguard for coastal
  • Trigger message – to fight your instinct to go into the water to help someone in difficulty
• Plus, telling people what they could do – Float to live and, also, throwing people something that floats like a throwline/ring or something to hand like a big cool box or football that could act as a float
• Delivering the message in an emotionally engaging way so that it sticks in the mind in the future
• Calling for everyone to share and promote the messaging and resources far and wide

The resources and campaign video for you to share can be downloaded from a new website – respectthewater.com, with free assets and multisectoral links to other campaigns and case studies.

When using social media to push out the advert clips or other resources, please use the hashtag #RespectTheWater and, also the global hashtag #DrowningPrevention

Over the coming weeks support the #RespectTheWater campaign, resources and safety messages with your employees and other stakeholders via company intranets, social media and employee communications.

Ask your colleagues to share these resources and messages with their friends and family.