2003-2004
Communication Canada
PWGSC

A pilot project informed citizens of New Brunswick and Saskatchewan about Government of Canada programs and services specific to their region.

Post-campaign telephone surveys and analysis revealed the following:

• The combined recall of the advertisements over the course of the campaign averaged 28%.
• 30% of on-site survey respondents recalled seeing one of the two access channels advertised by the Government of Canada;
• 67% said they supported this advertising.
• The mix of print and radio advertisements successfully targeted different groups of people.

A financial contribution and creative materials were provided for a national campaign led by Human Resources Development Canada to inform families about services for children.

The campaign helped HRDC achieve a 43% awareness level of the government-wide campaign on services for children.

The 2003 edition of Services for You, a guide to key government priorities, programs and services, was distributed to 12 million Canadian households.

A post-distribution telephone survey revealed the following:

• 37% of Canadians recalled receiving the publication, up from 27% when it was last distributed in 2001.
• Among those who recalled the guide, 77% had kept it for future reference and 88% said it was important for the Government of Canada to provide information about services.
• 55% recalled the Services for You refrigerator magnet and, of those, 94% had kept it.
• During the week following the distribution, 1 800 O-Canada received nearly 11,000 calls generated by Services for You.

With CC regional directors and their departmental partners in the regions:

• We developed content for regionally tailored advertisements in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick and for Services for You (see above).
• We advertised in over 130 community newspapers, promoting Government of Canada involvement in major fairs and exhibits in regions across the country.
• We placed government advertisements on local radio stations that serve minority language groups.

Focus testing and a strategic analysis of the regionally tailored ad campaign found that regional tailoring was effective. For example, focus test groups reviewing Services for You generally appreciated the regional focus, and 51% of those who recalled the guide found it useful.

Promotion of Services for Seniors continued through advertisements in the October 2003 issue of 10 family magazines.

In one week, 1 800 O-Canada received 22,000 calls about Services for Seniors as a result of these promotion activities.

The second edition of Services for Children, which updated the 2001 version, was produced.

Nearly 50,000 copies of the new edition of Services for Children have been distributed since the cheque insert went out.

An insert was distributed with GST rebate cheques that went to 6 million Canadians. The insert promoted four guides (i.e. Seniors, Children, First Nations, Services for You).

Research evaluating Services for First Nations People found that 20% of those surveyed recalled the guide. The distribution of the guide generated 10,000 calls to 1 800 O-Canada and INAC.

Services for First Nations People was distributed in partnership with INAC.

On-line versions of the service guides received an average of 2,200 visits per week (over 110,000 visits annually), with over 5,000 pages viewed weekly (over 260,000 annually) and a repeat visitor rate of almost 25%.

Accessible, user-friendly on-line versions of the service guides were developed to ensure that all Canadians have equal access.

Between October 2003 and March 2004, 13,000 copies of the service guides were requested in various formats using the on-line order form.

Services for First Nations People and the second edition of Services for Children (English and French) were edited for plain language.

Demand for copies of service guides in alternate formats more than doubled compared to the previous year.

All guides were made available in alternate formats such as large print, computer diskette, audiocassette and Braille.