Client: Royal National Institute for the Blind
PR Team: In-house; advertising: DMB&B
Campaign: Blind in Britain: the employment challenge
Timescale: 9-16 September
Budget: PR pounds 10,000, advertising pounds 350,000
Discrimination on the grounds of disability will become illegal when the
employment provisions in the Disability Discrimination Act come into
force on 2 December. However, RNIB research shows that at present over
50 per cent of employers say they will not hire anyone who has
difficulty in seeing.
There are about 100,000 visually impaired people of working age but only
one in four are working and they are two and a half times more likely to
be out of work than fully sighted people. This year the RNIB used its
annual awareness week to focus on employer discrimination with an
integrated campaign.
Objective
To reach a primary audience of opinion formers and employers and to
increase public awareness, highlighting the situation in the run-up to
the new act and the changes in attitude necessary to meet its
requirements.
Tactics
The campaign employed several strands - PR, advertising and direct mail
- all built around the awareness week. Newspapers were targeted with
colour ads featuring hard-hitting lines such as ‘Close your eyes. Do you
feel less intelligent?’ Along with regionals, business press and
employers’ magazines, they were also provided with a detailed report,
‘Blind in Britain; the employment challenge’ by RNIB’s in-house team.
The press pack included solutions and suggestions sheets showing that it
need not be difficult to employ the visually impaired. The tabloids and
TV were targeted with the story of a round UK fund-raising flight by
blind pilot, Ken Woodward who took off from Elstree airport with the
support of stars from EastEnders. Syndicated tapes of visually impaired
people talking about their own experiences in trying to get jobs were
sent to radio stations.
Results
Ken Woodward’s flight attracted widespread TV interest with six national
TV and 20 regional TV items. The campaign netted 14 pieces in the
national press and the charity estimates that regional press coverage
should total around 200 in total. Local radio carried 88 items and the
story warranted 17 national radio slots. Radio 4’s In Touch devoted most
of that week’s programme to the campaign and Classic FM held a themed
evening.
Verdict
A well integrated campaign in which advertising and PR were neatly
interwoven, although perhaps a higher proportionate PR spend could have
been more cost effective. The media campaign was expertly tiered, with
human interest stories targeted at the tabloids and the focus on
imminent legislation providing a hook for the broadsheets. Ken
Woodward’s flight was particularly TV-friendly.
The RNIB is continuing to monitor public awareness of its campaign with
a Harris survey. But company feedback already indicates that the varied
presentation of the campaign was appreciated and the message taken on
board. It remains to be seen however, if good intentions inspired by the
campaign, will ultimately turn into jobs for the blind.
