Case Studies – Corporate Social Responsibility
By Raha Naddaf, staff writer
(note: all cse studies are in pdf format)
Public
Awareness Campaign—Canadian Hearing Society, Manifest Communications
Inc.
Too many hearing Canadians have misperceptions that the deaf and
hard of hearing are less intelligent, productive, or capable than
hearing people. As a result of these stigmas, deaf and hard of hearing
people often face several barriers—the largest barriers are
social and employment obstacles. In February 2001, Manifest was
retained by The Canadian Hearing Society, an Ontario-based non-profit
organization, to develop a communication campaign to de-stigmatize
hearing Ontarians’ attitudes and to create a climate that
would enable their full participation in society. Manifest developed
a campaign profiling five deaf individuals whose real-life accomplishments,
such as “I’m a gold medalist” or “I’m
a master welder,” were followed with the tagline, “I’m
deaf. But I’m definitely not dumb.” This campaign challenged
the idea that being deaf limits one’s capability, productivity
or humanity. A post-campaign tracking survey revealed that CHS was
judged to be the most credible source of information on the subject
of deafness and hearing loss. In addition, on an unaided basis,
14 percent of Ontarians had top of mind awareness of the Canadian
Hearing Society, ranking them higher than any other hearing-related
organization in Canada.
Blue
& Youth Health Program, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
A significant focus of the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
mission is working with Arkansas' citizens to emphasize wellness
and prevention. The overall goal of the Blue & Youth Health
Program in 2001 was to reach 50,000 young Arkansans with positive
health messages and educate them about healthy choices. The components
of the program offer a variety of mediums to show kids that doing
healthy things and being safe are fun and bring rewards, both immediate
and long-term. Components of the program had to keep kids’
attention, entertain and educate them in order to make messages
memorable. A variety of approaches to appeal to specific ages within
the target audience: elementary classroom presentation, middle school
student teaching/mentoring program, live theater, health clubs,
television animated musical spots, vocabulary words by radio, a
new web site and an interactive CD hosted a hot spot for young people.
Increased membership within clubs, successful media placements and
increased web site traffic have contributed to the program’s
success as more children are participating in activities.
Safe
Kids Week 2001 – Scald and Burn Safety, Environics Communications
Environics developed a national scald and burn safety awareness
program for Safe Kids Canada (SKC), a charitable organization dedicated
to preventing childhood injuries. The goal was to stimulate Canadian
parents to action to help prevent scalds and burns through a strategy
that involved making news through high profile launch events, providing
parents with a tool to take action (temperature card to test hot
water), working with local grassroots SKC Partners, and promoting
the national retail program. To raise awareness, a mass mailing
of nearly half a million temperature cards were distributed through
retail outlets and SKC partners. The cards could be used to test
home hot water temperature to determine whether it is hotter than
the recommended 49 degrees Celsius. Safety brochures were also available
to parents alongside the temperature cards at retail. Of the parents
who knew about the SKC campaign, 23 percent knew that reducing tap
water temperature could prevent scalds compared with 14 percent
of parents who had not heard about the campaign. 12 percent of parents
who knew about the campaign measured their tap water after the campaign,
compared with 6 percent who did not know about the campaign.
“Water
for All” - Branding the ADB Water Awareness Program: The WaterColors
Series, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was chartered in 1966 to reduce
poverty in Asia and the Pacific. As part of ADB’s commitment
to the fund’s primary sponsors (Government of the Netherlands),
a portion of these funds was earmarked for a communication component—the
Water Awareness Program. Promoting an understanding of the complex
issues involved in all aspects of water as they relate to poverty
was identified as a key step towards remedying the problems. Three
primary consultants were recruited and assembled early in June 2002
to cover media, video, and information/education/communication (IEC)
materials. With help from ADB staff, the team collected water from
21 different locations, which were used to create several watercolor
paintings. These paintings were incorporated within postcards, banners,
calendars, and posters to raise awareness. As a result of the campaign,
the "Water for All" brand has been accepted and is widely
used in e-mails, on the web site, on public service announcements
and in the videos. The calendar cements the brand, raising awareness
throughout the region and garnering a partnership between UNICEF
and ADB.
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