Chances are you've witnessed the mistreatment of a child by an adult who's out of control and felt completely powerless as to what to do. A Connecticut child abuse prevention
campaign responded to this sense of powerlessness with messages that educated people on ways they could take action to protect children. This is how the Partnership to Prevent
Child Abuse, formed in 1998 as Connecticut's first public/private initiative to promote child abuse prevention, distinguished itself from other efforts aimed at raising awareness
about the issue.
The statewide partnership, headed up by Cronin and Co., a full-service marketing firm in Glastonbury, Conn., chose to focus on promoting actionable strategies and tips
individuals, community organizations and employers could use to stop child abuse rather than raise awareness about the issue's disturbing statistics and trends.
The campaign's public service announcement drove this point home by highlighting what children are made of - imagination, skin and bones, purity and dreams - then asking the
viewer "So what are you made of?" This "do something" promotional approach and the commercial's celebration of children eventually attracted a national spotlight. Last year,
Prevent Child Abuse America, a national advocacy organization, selected the PSA for its national public awareness campaign. The PSA was distributed to more than 280 TV stations
and 8,000 radio stations.
50th Anniversary Cause
Initially, Cronin produced the PSA as a pro bono effort on behalf of a local chapter of the United Way in 1997. The project, which pulled on the creative team's heart strings
and left the agency wanting to do more on the issue of child abuse, eventually led to Cronin's decision to use the cause as a way to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 1998. "We
wanted to celebrate [our 50th anniversary] by giving back to the community in a unique way - educating Connecticut citizens and organizations on the key roles they can play in
stopping child abuse," says Patti Stern, Cronin's SVP of PR.
The campaign's goal was to build on the promotional efforts of the PSA by partnering with public and private organizations that could use their communication resources to
promote the issue on a grassroots level, says Stern.
To achieve this goal Cronin identified and landed the support of six strategic partners, including the Connecticut chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, the state department
of public health, Children's Trust Fund, the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and McDonald's. What most convinced these organizations to come on board was the
campaign's emphasis on encouraging "everyone to take ownership of the problem and do something about it," says Susanne Santangelo, program coordinator of Prevent Child Abuse
Connecticut.
After assembling the partnership, each partner was asked to contribute primarily existing resources to the initiative to keep costs down, which is key for a pro bono project.
For instance, the state department of health commissioned a statewide survey on child abuse that found 72% of Connecticut citizens were aware child abuse was a serious problem,
but 84% had done nothing about it and 74% were very interested in receiving tips on how to address it. And McDonald's served as a major consumer-focused distribution channel for
the partnership's marketing materials. The restaurant chain distributed campaign brochures and food tray liners that featured tips on stopping child abuse.
The brochure is where each partner contributed the most input. It provided advice and tips that were relevant for three core targets - consumers, parents and children. For
consumers, the brochure provided tips on how to stop child abuse in public places. For parents and children, it highlighted advice on how to prevent child abuse and how to respond
to the issue.
The campaign also targeted employers with ways companies could take a stand on child abuse prevention through fund-raising initiatives, encouraging staff to become active in
community organizations and providing employee training on how to stop child abuse.
These actionable, community-focused strategies are what made the campaign appealing on the national level, says Santangelo. "The campaign didn't approach child abuse in a dark
way, instead, it celebrated children and educated the community about ways it could solve the problem."
This year, PCAA continued to use the PSA as a key promotional component of its partnerships with the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. The PSA is
airing at designated events in 29 NBA arenas in the U.S. and Canada and the stadiums of participating baseball teams.
Cronin and Co.
Headquarters: Glastonbury, Conn.
Founded: 1947
Billings: $40 million
Focus: advertising, PR, direct marketing, online marketing
Web site: http://www.cronin-co.com
(Cronin
and Comp., Patti Stern, 860/659-0514; Prevent Child Abuse Connecticut, Susanne
Santangelo, 860/793-3844)