Aussies love the competitive nature of sport. Leo Australia and insurer, AAMI, are using that sport passion to instil safer driving behaviour (something that Aussies are less passionate about). Right now, far more money and effort is spent on penalising poor driving rather than rewarding and recognising good driving. Leo and AAMI have used this insights to build The AAMI Driving Test (ADT).
The AAMI Driving Test (ADT) gives Aussie drivers the chance to test and hone their skills, letting drivers square off against each other to secure the title of one of Australia’s safest drivers. The competition kicked off at one of the country’s largest sporting events, the AFL Grand Final, and invites all Australian drivers aged 18 years and older to take part through the AAMI app – competing for thousands of dollars in prizes and, of course, bragging rights.
ADT uses mobile phone telematics data and insights to measure and score drivers across five dangerous behaviours – speeding, cornering, hard braking, acceleration and phone use, providing insights on how they can improve their driving scores.
Stirring up Aussies’ natural competitive spirit, drivers are surveyed on sign-up to identify what cohorts they belong to. Throughout the campaign, online and DOOH leaderboards will regularly feature updates on which groups are driving the safest pitting mate against mate, state against state, AFL fans against NRL fans, early birds against night owls, blondes against redheads, and the list goes on. The leaderboards will also serve as a channel to deliver road safety messages throughout the campaign.
A multichannel approach will keep the competition front of mind throughout the 6-month campaign and encourage Australians to participate. Data-led media targeting will be activated at DOOH locations where rival groups gather, such as around sporting grounds and suburbs. The launch film is accompanied by a collection of films educating Aussies on how to improve their driver scores, national OOH that fans the flames of competition, plus PR activations, social and influencer activity, TV and radio integrations.
Suncorp executive general manager brand and customer experience, Mim Haysom, stated, “The AAMI Driving Test is an innovative and engaging way to encourage Australian drivers to adopt safer habits behind the wheel. Since 2022 we’ve analysed more than 500 million kilometers of national driver telematics data, and early analysis has shown those who start with lower scores and use these insights do become better drivers.
“Dangerous driving, and in particular distracted driving, is an increasing problem on our roads which requires urgent attention. New AAMI research shows Australian drivers tend to believe they are safer behind the wheel when compared to other drivers. ADT puts that to the test and empowers all drivers with the knowledge and customised feedback to assess and improve their own behaviours while driving, with the aim of helping them avoid an accident from happening in the first place.”
Leo Australia executive creative director, Tim Woolford, stated, “Only in Australia could you turn a serious topic like road safety into a competition. That’s the beauty of this idea – it takes something fundamentally serious and gives it the energy of a national sport. The Driving Test was the creative idea we won the pitch with last year, and it has been many months of hard work from hundreds if not thousands of people to realise it. We’re incredibly grateful to partner with AAMI to build on their decades-long commitment to creating safer roads. I am not available to comment on what my current drivers score reads, but rest assured I will try and improve it.”
The competition will conclude on February 9, 2026, with monthly prize draws to keep the competition hot.
Find out more about the AAMI Driving Test here.
Credits:
Client: AAMI
EGM Brand and Customer Experience: Mim Haysom
Head of Brand and Content: Rapthi Thanapalasingam
AAMI Marketing Manager: Julia Reimnitz
AAMI Marketing Lead: Rosaleen Rayner
AAMI Marketing Specialists: Lisa Marshall & Yvette Braybrook
Creative Agency: Leo Australia
CEO: Clare Pickens
Chief Creative Officer: Andy Fergusson
Chief Creative Officer Publicis ANZ: Dave Bowman
Executive Creative Directors: Tim Woolford & Tommy Cehak
Associate Creative Director: Adam Frazer
Senior Creatives: Nick Timms & Ben Pearce
Chief Strategy Officer: Catherine King
Group Strategy Director: Mitch Hunter
Chief Client Partner: Amanda Wheeler
Group Business Director: Hannah Austin
Account Director: Tash Tollo
Conceptual Designer: Geraldine Buzzo & Johnson Diep
Production: PXP
National Director of Production: Michael Demosthenous
Executive Producer: Justine Dooner
Senior Producer: Leigh Woodhams
Production Project Managers: Chelsea Higgs & Jayde Machell
Head of Multimedia Operations: Dan Meyers
Senior UI Designer: William Rollo
Multimedia Studio Artists: Holly Bradridge & Nicola Yeo
Digital Designer: Zoe Bright
Video Production Company: Scoundrel
Director: Ariel Martin
Executive Producers: Kate Gooden & Adrian Shapiro
Producer: Tessa Simpson
DOP: Campbell Brown
Editor: Adam Wills
Post-production: Heckler
Music Supervision: Level Two
Sound Production: Rumble
Citizen Jane: Casting
Media Agency: OMD
