One departmental official cited a recent presentation by Honda that claimed Millennials were “the hardest to reach in relation to recalls.” So they set out to reach a new audience. The bureaucrats missed that deadline, but they struck Twitter gold a few months later.ĭocuments obtained via the Access to Information Act explain how the government hoped a harmless hoax could help spread the word about its Motor Vehicle Safety Recalls Database, which lists all recalls between 1970 and the present day (for example, here’s a list of Toyota recalls). “We intend to post this message to coincide with the release of the newest Star Wars movie,” which hit Canadian screens two weeks later.
“Our resident nerd has come up with a fantastic message our recall database,” wrote a departmental communications assistant on Dec. It took five months of planning, a bunch of nerdy public servants and approvals all the way up the chain, but Transport Canada achieved the nearly impossible earlier this year: a government tweet gone viral.
