Newspapers powerfully delivered a local message with a Call to Action.
In metro Vancouver, violence was escalating. Witnesses did not want to voluntarily come forward as there was a fear that they would be named and that there may be retribution from the criminal or his/her supporters.
To tackle this issue, a Public Agenda campaign aimed at local residents was launched to get the community to participate in the Greater Vancouver Crime Stoppers initiative. The creative concept centred on anonymously reporting crimes or suspicious behaviour.
With a goal of reaching the Greater Vancouver region, a media plan was created using local media including newspaper and outdoor to kickoff the program. These mediums were also chosen as the message was going to be delivered through the copy and reinforced via the image.
The end result was a robust campaign that quickly and effectively communicated the social issues as well as addressed the main fear of the target audience - remaining anonymous.
High levels of exposure to ads in both press and outdoor led to improvements in the audiences' belief that Crime Stoppers made it easy to anonymously report criminals.
Specifically, in terms of the newspaper contribution, it was found that high levels of exposure to the newspaper ads improved the percentage who would contact Greater Vancouver Crime Stoppers first.
Download a summary of the case study as well as executions of the campaign.
Source: Canada Newspaper Association: Crime Stoppers Target Locals
