Thinking
Deaf Awareness Week is an annual awareness week at the end of
September. Each year we target a specific audience with relevant
issues and information. In 2008 the campaign, themed Listen
Loud and Lose It, was designed to raise awareness of the
damage listening to loud music for prolonged periods can do. The
target audience was 18-25 years the group most at risk of damaging
their hearing through loud music; iPods, etc.
What was done
DBPR commissioned research to find out their attitudes and
behaviours. The survey showed that nearly half of this group will
have potentially damaged their hearing by the time they reach 25
years old. This survey was the backbone of the publicity campaign.
We took a two pronged approach firstly targeting the core audience
through their specific media and secondly, the wider community
parents, older siblings, health sector, etc. through general
media.
To get our message across to the 18-25 age group, we employed
more than half a dozen high profile musicians who were prepared to
tell their story of hearing damage and hearing loss due to
listening to loud music for too long. Musicians included AutoZamm,
Cut Off Your Hands, Annabel Fay, DJs Leon D and Missy G. This
strategy was hugely successful and many of the musicians reported
that after their media interviews, they were being stopped in the
street by people who had read/heard the interviews and were
changing their listening habits, not realising how serious the
potential damage was.
Online social networking is a core communication medium for our
target age group and with this in mind DBPR created a Bebo site
themed 'Listen Loud and Lose It.' A range of material was uploaded,
including personal videos and content from some of New Zealand's
top musicians speaking about their experiences with hearing
impairment. The site will grow over time with more members joining
and sharing their stories.
The result
We achieved outstanding media coverage, including both Campbell
Live (TV3) and Close Up (TV1) programmes with strongly messaged
stories.
Radio stations were targeted with a press kit and earplugs and
interviews were negotiated with our audiologist spokespeople,
achieving great coverage, particularly on Newstalk ZB and Radio
Live. Many commercial radio stations ad-libbed on air about the kit
and the issues with listening to loud music for too.
Key placements were achieved on a number of websites including
Scoop, Stuff NZ, MTV and The Big Idea and print coverage was
saturated with the majority of metropolitan, regional and suburban
papers running a variety of pieces. In addition to this we also
secured pieces in leading magazines such as Woman's Day (interview
with Annabel Fay) and NZ Listener (article featuring NFD's
Chairman, Peter Thorne).
Media coverage for Deaf Awareness Week totalled over
$750,000.
www.nfd.org.nz