Accrue Brand Value to blindfold MPs in campaign

The display, which Accrue head of strategy Richard Gillingwater describes as ‘a mocked-up exhibition stand with 12m of false ground to simulate road surface’, is part of an event being held tomorrow which will see MPs and other parliamentarians blindfolded and asked to negotiate the surface.

Gillingwater says the display will also use GDBA’s blue and yellow colours to extend the organisation’s brand into the campaign.

The event is part of an ongoing campaign the consultancy has been working on since last year to communicate the dangers of shared streets – city-centre roads where pedestrians are supposed to have priority over traffic. The consultancy was appointed last year following a three-way pitch.

Accrue aims to take the campaign to the city centres that will be most affected by shared streets. An event was recently held in Newbury (pictured) to highlight the issue.

David Cowdrey, campaign manager for GDBA, says, ‘To navigate a shared street, pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists need to negotiate priority through making eye contact. This automatically places blind and partially sighted people at a very real disadvantage.

‘Despite intense lobbying on the subject, such streets have found favour with planners in several towns and cities across the UK. As a result, we have launched this massive campaign to highlight the shortcomings of such streets.’

Gillingwater says, ‘Shared streets are a relatively new concept for people, and therefore we had the double challenge to both educate people and get them involved in the campaign.

‘In taking this campaign to the streets, you get an immediate response from the public. We hope to encourage a similarly enthusiastic response from parliamentarians during our Westminster campaign.’